By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
Tanzanian authorities have detained key opposition leaders, Freeman Mbowe and Tundu Lissu, alongside 12 other members of the Chadema party, following a government ban on their planned protest in Dar es Salaam. The demonstration was organized to oppose the alleged killings and abductions of political critics.
Despite warnings from President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who declared that her administration would not tolerate any breach of peace, Chadema vowed to proceed with the rally. As police blocked access to their homes, Mbowe remarked, “We’re paying the full price of democracy… as opposition leaders, we have to show the way.”
Lissu, who survived a 2016 assassination attempt, was also taken into custody by a convoy of police. Critics argue that these arrests suggest a return to the authoritarian tactics of former President John Magufuli, dampening hopes of greater political freedom promised by Hassan.
SOURCE: BBC
