DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — A court in Tanzania convicted the country's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu of incitement Friday and sentenced him to four years in prison, but acquitted him of the more serious charge of treason.
Lissu, the chairman of the Chadema party, was found guilty of inciting people to disrupt last year’s election. The three-judge panel in Dar es Salaam ruled, however, that prosecutors had failed to prove he intended to intimidate the government. The treason charge carried a possible death sentence.
Lissu was arrested on April 9, 2025, after addressing a rally calling for electoral reforms and was charged with treason the following day.
Lissu, who has spent more than 18 months in detention, denied wrongdoing, saying his speech was part of a legitimate campaign.
“Those who are innocent, like me, do not apologize,” Lissu told the court. “You have sought out an offense that did not exist, and you have done so following political directives,” he said.
Lissu’s lead lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, said the defense planned to appeal and seek bail pending the appeal.
Amnesty International called for Lissu's conviction and sentence to be quashed and for his immediate and unconditional release. “The conviction and sentence cannot be considered the outcome of a fair trial,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Supporters chanted “Viva!” as Lissu arrived at court amid tight security and raised a clenched fist. His hair had grown longer during his detention, and he wore it in dreadlocks. His elder sister and several Chadema leaders attended the proceedings.
Lissu remained in custody during last year’s general election, in which presidential candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from competing.
His detention has been marked by disputes over access to his lawyers. After prison authorities allowed him to meet privately with his younger brother, he ended a brief hunger strike on Oct. 27, his lead lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, told The Associated Press.
The election triggered protests and deadly violence. An inquiry reported in April that at least 518 people had died. Its chairman, Mohamed Chande Othman, said the toll was likely higher because some families buried relatives without taking their bodies to morgues.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into the killings and reports that police removed bodies from mortuaries to undisclosed locations. Chadema estimated that about 2,000 people were killed, a figure the U.N. said it could not verify amid insecurity and an internet shutdown.
The judgment came days after Lissu’s elder brother, Alute Mughwai Lissu, died on Sunday. Lissu appealed to the court to release him so he could attend the burial.
“Please, let me go and lay Mzee Alute to rest,” he said.
Lissu was taken back to prison after sentencing.
He survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt and has spent periods in exile, citing threats to his life.
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Associated Press writer Khaled Kazziha in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
