In a strange twist of fate, or perhaps an example of how life shapes people, Edgar Mwakabela, a 24-year-old who was abducted in June 2024, tortured, shot, and left to be consumed by wild animals, has sponsored the candidacy form of opposition figure Tundu Lissu. This remarkable gesture occurred on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The opposition party CHADEMA has set a nomination form collection fee of Sh1.5 million, or US$652. While several youths had already collected the amount, intending to donate it to Lissu, the CHADEMA deputy chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) revealed Tuesday that a single donor stepped forward as he collected the candidacy forms at CHADEMA headquarters in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam.
“The Sh1.5 million required to pay for these forms has been provided by one of our members named Edgar Edson Mwakabela, popularly known as Sativa,” Mr Lissu told reporters outside CHADEMA’s headquarters.
“He called me and said, ‘I want to pay for that form because I believe that if you become the chairperson of this party, you will carry out the work that needs to be done in this country, which is fighting for the rights of Tanzanians and advocating for a new Tanzania that ensures we are not abducted or disappeared,” Lissu continued.
Lissu went on to reveal that Sativa, who was shot in the head after his abduction on June 23, 2024,had fled the country in fear for his life. In his recount of his abduction, Mwakabela says he was taken to various police stations in Dar es Salaam and Arusha by his abductors, whom he alleges were police officers.
Despite naming an individual he was able to identify during his ordeal, the police have suggested there might be some “distorted facts.” To date, no one has been charged for Mwakabela’s abduction, and updates about the investigation have been sparse.
Lissu, the survivor
Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017, arrived at CHADEMA headquarters in the same car that was soaked in his blood on the afternoon of September 7, 2017. Mr Lissu, who ran for president in 2020 under the ticket of CHADEMA, seeks to unseat Freeman Mbowe in an election set for January 22, 2025.
The election has been one of the most contested issues within CHADEMA, with members supporting Mbowe and accusing Lissu of “dividing” the party. While Mbowe has yet to declare his intention to run, he is widely expected to do so.
Regarding his assassination attempt, so far, Lissu has been accusing the current Arusha Regional Commissioner, Paul Makonda, of being involved in the effort by plotting and leading a team of assassins to Dodoma.
“It was Paul Makonda who led the Task Force,” Lissu told reporters on September 26, 2024, during a press briefing. “He was staying at the African Dream Hotel, which is why he wasn’t present at the State House event that day. Among those who need to be criminally investigated regarding my allegations is Paul Makonda. Even the two young men who shot me are still out there; when the time comes, we will name them.”
When Makonda was asked by reporters on November 17, 2024, about Lissu’s accusations, he refuted them, arguing that they were political statements with no basis in truth.
“There is no truth to it,” Makonda responded. “If the people at Clouds [Media] were to look back and recall their records, they would remember that on the very day the incident occurred, I was in Dar es Salaam at Mnazi Mmoja grounds. We were holding a free medical check-up campaign, so I wasn’t even at the scene of the incident,”
While Lissu insists his allegations are based on credible sources, he has also questioned the unusual circumstances surrounding the Regional Commissioner’s absence from a historical event presided over by the President at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
On that fateful day, President John Magufuli was receiving a report from the parliamentary committee on Tanzanite and diamond mining in Tanzania. The Regional Commissioner of the host region is always expected to be present when the President has a significant function in their area.
While various media reports confirm Makonda’s presence at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital on September 6, 2017, during the opening day of a free treatment campaign, where he was seen surrounded by hundreds, there is no media evidence of his presence on September 7, 2017. This absence is unusual for a figure who maintains a strong media presence at his events.
Makonda suggested that Lissu was using him as a political scapegoat, saying: “Do the math. Someone was attacked years ago, then came back to Tanzania and even ran for the presidency. Have you ever heard them mention Makonda? After losing the presidency, he left and returned to his home. Now, he has come back and suddenly started mentioning Makonda in 2024. When you see how this thing is developing, it’s clearly a political issue.”
It’s unclear if the assassination issue was ever investigated, as the Police have never provided any update about the issue.
