Dar es Salaam. Developments within CHADEMA, Tanzania’s leading opposition party, got more interesting Thursday following the announcement by its deputy chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), Tundu Lissu, that he intends to challenge Freeman Mbowe’s reign as the party’s national chairperson in the party elections scheduled for early next year.
Mr Lissu, a firebrand Tanzanian lawyer and politician, had earlier submitted to the party his intention to contest for the position of Vice chairperson for Tanzania Mainland, which he currently holds. However, he told journalists at a press conference in the city that he has substituted that with his intention to run as party chairperson.
The former lawmaker who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 plans to challenge Mr Mbowe’s 20-year reign as leader of the centre-right opposition party. Mr Lissu is counting on his records as an “unflinching” defender of human rights and constitutionalism in Tanzania as he rallies party members to support his bid to unseat Mr Mbowe.
Mr Lissu wants to organise and mobilise party members and Tanzanians and boost their morale in “rising against the totalitarian rule” that he thinks currently characterises the country’s politics, which “rejects electoral competition, abuse state machinery, and which murder, abduct and disappear critics of the government.”
He said that despite the reforms that President Samia Suluhu Hassan promised immediately after succeeding Mr Magufuli, “no tangible reform has taken place, with her reconciliation agenda suffering a terrible death.” He pointed to the 2024 civic elections, in which the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) won by 99 per cent, as proof of the Samia-led reform agenda hitting a wall.
“Now we need to go back to the basics: a new democratic constitution, a reformed electoral system with an independent commission and better electoral laws, and justice for all,” Mr Lissu added. He reiterated his party’s resolution following the civic elections, saying as the new party chairperson, he will ensure that “if there is no reform, there will be no election.”
READ MORE: Talks of Division as 2025 Nears: Why It’s a Make-or-Break Moment for CHADEMA
Lissu said raising people’s spirit and morale to oppose and against totalitarian practices “will be the first responsibility of the new [party] leadership.” He emphasised, “We have to raise the morale of our party members, leaders, and the general population to stand up against these practices if our efforts to achieve our [democratic] goals are to be successful.”
Rifts
Lissu’s announcement comes as rifts are reported to be forming within CHADEMA. Party members and leaders appear to have differing perspectives on how the party should have responded to the government immediately after President Samia came to power.
Mr Lissu and his followers within the party have been very critical of CHADEMA’s approach to “reconciling” with the government and CCM under Mbowe’s chairmanship. He has criticised party leadership for seeking “a half-loaf-of-bread government” following talks of a possible government of national unity. CHADEMA denied these charges.
Mr Lissu has also criticised the presence of a “huge and unprecedented” amount of “dirty” money within the party. This money’s use in the recently concluded intra-party elections alarmed many observers, including Lissu himself, who asked, “Where is the source of all this money?”
In a recent interview with KTN New Kenya, Mr Lissu responded to a question on the state of Tanzania’s political opposition. He said an opportunity exists for the country’s opposition parties to build a strong opposition force “if we have leaders who are visionaries and firm” in their beliefs. Some interpreted this remark as Lissu’s criticism of Mr Mbowe.
READ MORE: Are Cracks Forming In Tanzania’s Main Opposition Party?
The days before Mr Lissu announced his intention to challenge Mr Mbowe were characterised by an apparent rift between party members on whether anyone within the party could or should come forward to challenge Mr Mbwe.
Screenshots of WhatsApp conversations purportedly showed that some CHADEMA members thought no one should challenge Mr Mbowe, with others describing such a move as “treasonous.” There were also reports of party members supporting Lissu being threatened with warning letters.
In his announcement on Thursday, Lissu criticised these ideas, urging their holders to familiarise themselves with the histories and beliefs of party founders. These included ensuring the smooth transfer of party leadership from one generation to another.
Pledges
Unsurprisingly, one of the pledges that Mr Lissu made to CHADEMA members is that if he gets their approval to be their new party leader, he will reinstate the constitutional arrangement of term-limit to enhance accountability and democracy within the party.
“Reinstating the term limit within the party will not only minimise the possibility of our leaders clinging to power but also help build a culture that prepares the next generation of party leaders who will serve their respective generations,” Mr Lissu analysed, adding that term limit will also apply to special seat members of parliament and councillors.
Lissu also pledged to establish a special party directorate responsible for raising funds and other resources for the party, replacing the current arrangement in which one person, presumably the chairperson, is responsible for the task. He added that he’ll also ensure proper oversight of the use of party funds and other resources.
“An arrangement where we rely on only one person to raise funds and other resources for the party is hazardous, and creates an unhealthy dependence and has no benefit whatsoever for the party,” Lissu noted.
“Also, the arrangement raises some uncomfortable questions over the ownership of the fund and other resources of the party as well as the transparency and accountability in expenditure.”
Mbowe
Mr Mbowe is regarded as a key CHADEMA strategist and financier and has been elected party chairperson for four subsequent terms since 2004.
He is credited with building a strong CHADEMA that ended CCM’s reign in Tanzania in 2015. He engineered the arrival of the late Edward Lowassa in CHADEMA and made him its presidential candidate. Three other opposition parties endorsed him in a coalition then known as UKAWA.
Mr Mbowe has not publicly announced his intention to defend his position within CHADEMA. Still, during a press conference in Dar es Salaam on December 10, 2024, he fell short of ruling out the possibility of running again as the party’s national chairperson.
“Haven’t I remained silent whether I will run or not?” Mr Mbowe said in response to a journalist’s question.
“Why can’t you just wait for the time to speak?” he added. “Where is the problem? It’d have been a different matter if I’d prevented anyone from expressing their intentions by remaining silent. Some stuffs are being cooked within the party; let them be.”
