The treason case against the National Chairman of the opposition party CHADEMA, Tundu Lissu, continued on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam. The case, which was up for mention, has been adjourned once again until July 30, 2025.
The case proceedings began with Senior State Attorney Nossor Katuga, who is leading the prosecution, informing the court that the case is now at the stage where it is ready for reading and decision-making.
He stated that the investigation has been completed, and the case file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP reviewed the evidence and found it sufficient, meaning the case is now ready to be referred to the High Court for a full hearing.
Katuga further told the court that following the DPP’s assessment, the Republic has submitted an application to the High Court that must be heard before the main case proceeds. He explained that this application, registered as number 17059 of 2025, was filed under Section 124 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Chapter 20, revised in 2023.
The application submitted to the High Court seeks to conceal the identities of certain witnesses, effectively allowing the Republic to bring in some “protected” or “anonymous” witnesses for security reasons.
Following this submission, Katuga requested the Magistrate’s Court to adjourn the case to allow time for the High Court to hear and decide on the application. He said the government was making this request under Section 265, arguing that the adjournment was necessary to protect the safety of its witnesses.
However, this prompted a legal dispute in court, as Tundu Lissu strongly opposed the adjournment, arguing that this was the tenth postponement since the case began and that he had already spent 97 days in custody.
Instead, Lissu urged the Magistrate to either refer the case to the High Court immediately or drop the charges entirely, stating that he was being prosecuted not because of genuine treason, but due to politically motivated reasons aimed at silencing opposition voices in this election year.
“I request this court to dismiss the charges against me and to reject the repeated postponements of this case, because it is tarnishing Tanzania’s international image,” said Lissu.
“I know representatives from the international community have publicly written to their superiors calling for this case to be dropped. I’m not the only one on trial here—this court is on trial, the whole government is on trial because of this cat-and-mouse game of endless postponements,” Lissu added.
He also fiercely objected to the government’s move to conceal witness identities, arguing that for evidence to be credible, it is important to know where a witness lives and what they do.
Lissu was first brought to the Kisutu Court on April 10, 2025, and formally charged with treason after being arrested in Ruvuma region in southern Tanzania, where he had been holding rallies as part of his party’s campaign to push for constitutional and legal reforms ahead of the upcoming general election scheduled for October this year—under the slogan “No Reforms, No Election.”
