Tanzania arrests opposition officials, hundreds face treason charges

(CLO) Tanzanian police have arrested a senior opposition official, after more than 200 people were charged with treason in a wave of anti-election protests.

The opposition Chadema party said its deputy secretary general, Amani Golugwa, was arrested early Saturday morning. He is the third senior Chadema official to be arrested, after leader Tundu Lissu and deputy leader John Heche were arrested ahead of the October 29 election.

The arrests came a day after more than 200 people were charged with treason for allegedly taking part in protests over the election results.

After opposition candidates were disqualified, protests erupted across Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The regime responded with a curfew, arrests, and an internet blackout.

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Video of protesters clashing with Tanzanian police.

Lawyer Peter Kibatala told AFP that more than 250 people “have been brought to trial in three separate cases… and all of them have been charged with two sets of charges. The first is conspiracy to commit treason. And the second set of charges is treason itself.”

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took office in 2021 after the death of his predecessor, won the election with 98% of the vote, despite opposition from the Chadema party and pressure from protests.

Police confirmed the arrest of Golugwa and nine others in connection with the investigation into the unrest.

“Police, in coordination with other defense and security agencies, are continuing a rigorous manhunt,” police said in a statement, adding that Chadema party secretary-general John Mnyika and the party’s head of communications, Brenda Rupia, were on the police wanted list.

This week, the African Union said the election was “not in compliance with the AU’s principles, normative framework and other international obligations and standards on democratic elections”.

Meanwhile, President Hassan on November 3 blamed outside interference for the serious protests and riots in the country.

"It is not surprising that those arrested come from other countries," she said, pledging to unite the country and calling on security agencies to ensure normalcy returns.

Source: https://congluan.vn/tanzania-bat-quan-chuc-doi-lap-hang-tram-nguoi-doi-mat-toi-phan-quoc-10317133.html