TANZANIA OPPOSITION LEADER IN COURT FOR TREASON TRIAL-The court had upheld their demand for in-person proceedings.“
Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu appeared in court for the first time since his arrest on April 9, facing charges of treason and publishing false information online. The court ruled that he will remain in custody pending further investigations, with the next hearing scheduled for June 2. Lissu’s legal team had objected to virtual hearings, prompting the court to require physical appearances going forward.
His lawyer, Jebra Kambole, said the court had upheld their demand for in-person proceedings.“The court made another order today, that the case on treason will no longer be virtual. It has to be conventional or physical,” Kambole said.
Among those in court was former Kenyan Chief Justice David Maraga, who traveled to Tanzania in a show of solidarity. “We are very concerned about the shrinking democratic space in the East African region,” Maraga told Reuters. “We have seen that in Uganda, we have seen it here in Tanzania, and even in Kenya. What happens in one of these countries affects what happens in the others.”
Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was charged with treason last month over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October.
