A Tanzanian court has barred live broadcasting of the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, citing the need to protect civilian witnesses. The ruling, delivered Monday by Principal Resident Magistrate Franco Kiswaga in Dar es Salaam, prohibits media from live streaming or online distribution of the proceedings.
Lissu, head of the opposition party CHADEMA, was arrested in April after prosecutors accused him of urging the public to disrupt October’s presidential and legislative elections. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Condemning the ban, Lissu said the move risked shrouding the trial in “darkness,” stressing that justice must remain transparent.
The case has intensified scrutiny of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s human rights record. Rights groups accuse her administration of arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and curbs on free expression. With CHADEMA banned from contesting the upcoming election, Lissu’s trial has become a flashpoint in Tanzania’s democratic struggle.
