Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu ends brief hunger strike

What the report says

Tanzania’s detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu has ended a brief hunger strike after prison officials allowed him to meet privately with his lawyers, according to his lawyer and reporting by Al Jazeera drawing on AP and Reuters. Lissu, who leads the opposition party CHADEMA, had reportedly refused food after his legal team was denied access to him in prison.

The dispute centers on Lissu’s detention and a treason case that could carry a death sentence. He was arrested in April 2025 after a rally calling for electoral reforms, and prosecutors say he made remarks urging rebellion and disruption of the country’s general election. Lissu has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say the case is politically motivated. A ruling is due on November 6.

Al Jazeera reported that accounts differ on exactly when the hunger strike began, with party officials saying it started on Monday and a lawyer saying it began on Tuesday morning. Tanzania’s prison service denied that Lissu was on hunger strike, while his legal team said they were worried about his health because he takes medication. Lissu previously survived a 2017 assassination attempt.

The case comes amid wider scrutiny of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government over alleged abuses, including reports of abductions of government critics. The government has denied systemic rights violations. CHADEMA has also announced a period of mourning tied to the anniversary of the October 29 election, after unrest that a government inquiry said killed at least 518 people.