Dodoma-The High Court of Tanzania, Dodoma Registry, has ordered that a University of Dodoma (UDOM) lecturer, Melkisedeki Kitunzi Kaijage, be released on bail with effect from Tuesday, July 21, 2026, while investigations into sedition charges against him continue. Justice Joachim Tiganga delivered the ruling in Case No. 15653/2026.
According to the University of Dodoma Academic Staff Association (UDOMASA), Kaijage, an assistant lecturer in social sciences who teaches African politics, was taken into custody on July 8, 2026, after reporting to police in response to a summons.
“On 3 July 2026, our fellow academic Melkisedeki Kitunzi Kaijage received a summons, delivered through his head of department, to report to the UDOM police station. On receiving it, Mr. Kaijage informed the UDOMASA leadership,” reads a UDOMASA statement signed by its general secretary, Isaac Mahenge.
The statement said Kaijage reported to the UDOM police station at 10:00 a.m. on July 8, accompanied by UDOMASA’s deputy general secretary, a lawyer by profession, and by Deusdedit Kivyiro, an assistant lecturer from Kaijage’s department.
“At 12:20 p.m., officers sent by the Regional Crimes Officer (RCO) arrived at the UDOM police station and took him to the RCO’s office, and shortly afterwards he was taken to Dodoma central police station. At around 4:30 p.m., Mr. Kaijage was taken to the RCO’s office for his statement to be recorded,” the statement continued.
“The statement was taken in the presence of the UDOMASA Deputy General Secretary, and it was then that we established that the allegation against him is that of inciting the demonstrations of 7 July 2026 through social media,” it added.
The Sabasaba-July 07 (Seven-Seven) demonstrations were called by activists on social media and were banned by police. Activists central demands were accountability for killings during earlier election protests and political reform. The demonstrations did not materialise on the streets, but cities across the country fell quiet, with businesses closing and security reinforced.
It was the second time Kaijage has been detained over comparable allegations. On December 9, 2025, he was arrested over a lecture delivered the previous day, after informers in his classroom allegedly told police he was inciting demonstrations planned for that date. Those protests were also called by activists, with demands similar to those behind Sabasaba.
Kaijage was subsequently transferred from Dodoma to Chang’ombe police station in Dar es Salaam, where he had been held since his arrest. After the bail process stalled, UDOMASA’s leadership filed an application at the High Court on July 12, 2026 and the case was called before the Judge on July 17, 2026 and adjorned to July 21.
“We filed an application at the High Court. We were heard, and a ruling has been delivered that he be granted bail. We thank the court for this ruling, under which the applicant, my client, will now be released on bail from this afternoon,” Advocate Prosper Malangalila told reporters outside the court on July 21,2026.
