Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on September 18, 2025.
Legal Battle Intensifies in Lissu Treason Trial as Prosecution Defends Charges
The legal battle in the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu intensified on Thursday, as government prosecutors presented their arguments against Lissu’s bid to have the case dismissed.
The prosecution maintained that the charge sheet is valid and that Lissu’s spoken words can be considered an “overt act” of treason, while Lissu’s defence continued to attack the procedural foundation of the case.
In a session dedicated to the prosecution’s response to Lissu’s second preliminary objection, – the validity of the charge sheet – a team of seven government lawyers, led by state attorney Nassoro Katuga, argued that the charge sheet meets all legal requirements under Tanzanian law.
Katuga cited Section 138 of the Criminal Procedure Act, arguing that the charges were written in ordinary language and provided sufficient particulars for Lissu to understand the offence.
Katuga referenced the 1971 case of Mataka & Others v. R to outline the three essential elements of treason: allegiance to the Republic, formation of a necessary intent, and the manifestation of that intent through an “overt act.” The prosecution argued that Lissu’s public statements fulfilled this third requirement.
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Nine Dead in Dodoma Bus Crash as Tanzania’s Road Carnage Continues
A burst tire on a cargo truck triggered a deadly head-on collision with a passenger bus in Chemba district Thursday, killing nine people and injuring several others, marking the fourth major road accident in just over a week that has claimed 26 lives across Tanzania.
The Babu Trans passenger bus was traveling from Itolwa village in Chemba district to Dodoma when it collided with a Fuso cargo truck at Kambi ya Nyasa village. Eyewitnesses reported that the truck’s tire burst, causing the driver to lose control before the fatal impact occurred.
Dodoma Regional Police Commander Galus Hyera confirmed that the truck driver survived and is receiving treatment at Dodoma Referral Hospital, while the bus driver died at the scene.
“This is clearly negligence that caused the accident,” Hyera told reporters. “Negligence has caused deaths, property has been destroyed, and others are continuing with treatment due to injuries they sustained. Without doubt, the responsible party must be brought to justice.”
Thursday’s tragedy follows a devastating week of road carnage that has shocked the nation. On Tuesday, five people including four Catholic nuns from Kenya and Italy died when their vehicle collided head-on with a truck in Mwanza region.
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Tanzania Unveils Three-Year Strategy to Boost Domestic Revenue
Tanzania has unveiled a new three-year Medium-Term Revenue Collection Strategy (2025/2026–2027/2028), aimed at strengthening the foundations of domestic revenue collection, enhancing predictability in revenue policies, and increasing government revenue.
The strategy outlines reforms in three key areas: policy improvements, enhanced revenue administration, and legal reforms. It builds on ongoing government initiatives to broaden the tax base and increase revenue from domestic sources.
Speaking during the launch at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Dodoma on Thursday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Natu El-maamry Mwamba, said the strategy will encourage voluntary tax compliance, close loopholes for tax evasion, reduce budget deficits, and strengthen public trust and investment in the revenue system.
“The implementation of this strategy will improve government revenue management and ensure a sustainable budget that allows us to accelerate the delivery of essential services to citizens through domestic resources,” said Dr. Mwamba.
Developed by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with development partners, government institutions, and private sector stakeholders, the strategy also proposes the formulation of a national tax policy to guide the preparation and review of tax policies, as well as the modernization of electronic systems used in revenue collection.
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Student’s Horrific Murder Spotlights Tanzania’s Violence Against Women and Missing Persons Crisis
The horrific murder of a 21-year-old law student, who was abducted and set ablaze, has intensified scrutiny of Tanzania’s alarming rates of violence against women and a pattern of enforced disappearances that United Nations experts have condemned as increasingly concerning.
The body of Shyrose Mahande, a student at Mzumbe University, was discovered burning in Mbeya on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, four days after she was kidnapped by unknown assailants.
The perpetrators had contacted her family demanding a ransom, sending a video of her being tortured to extort money. Her death is the latest in a series of violent crimes against women and government critics that have affected the nation.
This incident occurs within a deeply troubling context. According to the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), an average of 492 women have been killed annually in Tanzania in recent years, with the monthly figure rising to 53 by late 2022. The organisation documented 50 cases of intimate partner homicide in 2023 alone, highlighting a crisis of gender-based violence.
Furthermore, UN human rights experts warned in June 2025 of an escalating pattern of concern, noting that over 200 cases of enforced disappearance have been recorded in Tanzania since 2019.
These disappearances frequently have been reported targeting political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists.
Tanzania Police Force have issued public statements several times addressing the growing number of abduction and disappearance reports in the country attributing many of these incidents to staged abductions, jealousy, witchcraft, and other contributing factors.
Mabula Mahande, the victim’s father, recounted the harrowing experience of receiving a call from the abductors. “They told me they had my daughter and were heading towards Tabora,” he told reporters. “They later sent a video clip of my child being tortured, which led me to send them a small amount of money to at least reduce the pain.”
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Lucy Shayo: Tanzanian Opposition Member Charged Under Online Content Laws
An opposition party member in Tanzania, Lucy Shayo, has been charged with the unlawful use of a SIM card and providing online content without a licence, after she was arrested for a social media post critical of the ruling party.
Her case has drawn attention to the country’s increasingly stringent online content laws, which rights groups argue are being used to stifle political opposition and free speech in the run-up to the general election on October 29, 2025.
Ms Shayo, a member of the opposition CHADEMA party, was arrested on September 10, 2025, and held for seven days before being formally charged. Her arrest followed a post on her Instagram account on September 6, 2025, which alleged that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party was using military vehicles to transport people to its campaign rallies.
However, when she was brought before the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Morogoro, the initial accusation of spreading false information was replaced with two different charges: the unlawful use of a SIM card registered in another person’s name, and providing online content services without a licence from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
These charges fall under the Electronic and Postal Communications regulations. Ms Shayo, who is also known by her online moniker ‘Lucy Shayo wa Tundu Lissu,’ is currently out on bail.
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Six Business Owners Arraigned Over Deadly Kariakoo Building Collapse
Nearly a year after a catastrophic building collapse in Kariakoo claimed the lives of approximately 20 people, six individuals connected to the property have been formally charged with negligent homicide.
The accused—Lendela Mdete, Zenabu Islam (aka Zaibanu), Ashour Ashour, Soster Nziku, Stephen Nziku, and Aloyce Sangawe—were arraigned before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court on September 18.
They face charges of causing death through negligence, an offence that carries the potential for the death penalty under Tanzanian law.
The tragedy unfolded on the morning of November 16, 2024, when a multi-story commercial building at the junction of Mchikichi and Kongo Streets suddenly gave way.
The structure, which housed several open businesses, collapsed during peak hours, trapping shoppers and workers inside. In addition to the fatalities, dozens more were injured in one of the city’s worst urban disasters in recent years.
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