Dar es Salaam. Races for leadership within CHADEMA, Tanzania’s main opposition party, concluded Wednesday after delegates to the centre-right political party’s annual general meeting gave firebrand opposition leader Tundu Lissu a thumping mandate to lead the party in the next five years.
Mr Lissu’s victory ends Freeman Mbowe’s 21-year-reign as CHADEMA’s national chairperson, through which the party witnessed exponential growth in terms of membership and influence in Tanzania’s pluralistic politics, earning it the position of a leading opposition party in the East African nation.
However, new politics ushered in by then-President John Magufuli when he took power in late 2015, which many associated with some elements of authoritarianism, fundamentally impacted CHADEMA, which had identified itself with anti-corruption stances, undermining its ability to organise and function. This gave the party a new challenge, which CHADEMA has been struggling to find its most appropriate solution for a while.
This challenge wasn’t resolved when President Samia Suluhu Hassan succeeded Magufuli in early March 2021 despite her promises of reforms; instead, it took CHADEMA further into crisis as its top brass differed substantially and publicly on the appropriate way to engage with the Samia Administration, which some CHADEMA leaders accused of “preaching what it doesn’t practice.”
Mbowe, with support from his key allies within the party, responded positively to Samia’s invitation to reconcile and chart a different future for Tanzania’s political pluralism. Mr Mbowe gave Samia the benefit of the doubt, believing that she meant what she was preaching on the need to liberalise Tanzania’s politics, actively participating in all initiatives organised to accomplish such a goal.
However, this approach was not very popular among most of the rank and file of CHADEMA, who found the best spokesperson in Lissu who criticised the approach publicly, including going as far as alluding that Mr Mbowe was “compromised” by the promise of sharing power with the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) under the arrangement Lissu coined as “half-loaf-of-bread government.”
Lissu has also been very outspoken about the presence of “a lot of money” within CHADEMA, whose source he claims to be unclear, sometimes alleging that state authorities fund the party to make it compliant to terms they dictate and which hurt CHADEMA’s long term plans and strategies. Lissu said he was running for the party’s national chairperson to address these and other concerns.
Mbowe vehemently denied these allegations, noting on several occasions that he was not compromised as it is being alleged, and he does everything as party leader for the interests of CHADEMA and Tanzania in general. However, as election results show, Lissu’s criticisms appealed more strongly to party delegates than Mbowe’s defences.
Mr Mbowe immediately conceded defeat after Lissu was announced winner, writing on X: “I fully accept the decision of the General Assembly election of our party, CHADEMA, concluded this morning, January 22, 2025. I congratulate Hon. Tundu Lissu and his team for being entrusted with the party’s leadership. I wish them all the best as they move the party forward.”
Apart from Lissu, party delegates elected John Heche, a close Lissu ally and outspoken opposition figure, as CHADEMA’s deputy party chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) and Said Mzee Said as deputy party chairperson (Zanzibar).
The following is a timeline of key events that dramatised races for leadership within CHADEMA:
December 12, 2024: Then-CHADEMA Deputy Chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), Tundu Antipas Lissu, officially announces to run for the position of party national chairperson, a role he had previously stated he had no intention of vying for. Lissu explained that it was not an easy decision for him to run for the chairperson position, but he had assessed himself and deemed himself fit to contest the position to give CHADEMA “a new direction.”
December 16, 2024: Lissu reports a plot to harm him, claiming that the plan is to commit such a crime against him and blame Freeman Mbowe, then-CHADEMA national chairperson and Lissu’s opponent in the race, for it. Mr Lissu survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after he shared similar concerns publicly and with relevant authorities.
December 17, 2024: Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Jumanne Muliro downplays Lissu’s claims, describing the remarks by the firebrand opposition figure as “mere personal opinions” in a press conference. Muliro, however, emphasised that security measures are in place and urged individuals not to politicise safety concerns.
December 18, 2024: Lissu arrives at CHADEMA’s headquarters in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, to pick up nomination forms wearing a bulletproof vest, signifying that he took the security threats posed to him seriously. He criticises the police’s dismissal of his fears, describing their response as “inadequate.”
December 18, 2024: A group of CHADEMA members and leaders pay a visit to the home of Mr Mbowe to “convince” him to run for another term in the January 21st elections. They said they still believe in Mbowe, who has led the party for two decades, to take CHADEMA to its rightful future. Mbowe promised them to respond to their call within 48 hours.
December 19, 2024: Romanus Mapunda becomes the second CHADEMA member to announce his intention to run for the position of party chairperson.
December 21, 2024: Mbowe becomes the third CHADEMA member to run for the party chairperson. He said he was responding to the voices calling on him to continue leading the party. Mr Mbowe also said he wanted to “take care of some unfinished businesses” within the party.
January 03, 2025: Mbowe does an interview with television channel Crown Media, where he boasts of his twenty-year record of party-building, claiming that CHADEMA still needed him to achieve its goals as a political party. During the interview, Mbowe said that Lissu’s “surprising” announcement to run for the chairmanship contradicted an earlier understanding that he would contest for the deputy chairperson position. Mbowe hinted at a gentleman’s agreement with Lissu that the latter would not run for the chairmanship. He criticised Lissu for his lack of “humility” and a “bigger-than-life” attitude, cautioning him against believing he was more important than the institution he represents.
January 5, 2025: CHADEMA Central Committee member John Heche announces his bid to run for deputy party chairperson (Tanzania Mainland). Heche, an outspoken critic of the government who served as Tarime MP (CHADEMA) from 2015 to 2020, supports Mr Lissu and urges Mr Mbowe to step down as the party needs fresh “blood and ideas.”
January 06, 2025: Lissu addresses journalists at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport on his way from Belgium, where, among other things, he called Mbowe a “liar” for hinting that they had agreed on who should run for what position within CHADEMA. Lissu revealed that he and Mbowe had undergone a three-day mediation process to determine who should run for the party chairmanship and the presidency on CHADEMA’s ticket. Throughout all the meetings, Lissu alleged that Mbowe appeared undecided for either position.
January 7, 2025: Romanus Mapunda, a candidate for party chairperson, drops out of the race and supports Lissu’s bid for the highest position in the party. He says that Lissu is the “most suitable” person to lead the party, given the current political circumstances.
January 09, 2025: Lissu does an interview with the BBC Swahili in which, among other things, he accused Mbowe of “clinging” to power for too long, likening him to Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe. He claims that his decision to run for the position was motivated to save Mr Mbowe from what he called ‘Mugabe’s Syndrome.”
January 13, 2025: BBC Swahili interviews Mr Mbowe, who, among other things, defends his record as party leader for two decades. He reiterates his stance that there is still some unfinished business within the party that he wants to take care of. He again expresses surprise that Lissu decided to challenge him for the position.
READ MORE: Key Figures in CHADEMA Enter the Race for Leadership Positions in the Party
January 13, 2025: Deogratius Mahinyila, a young and charismatic lawyer, is elected chairperson of CHADEMA’s youth wing, BAVICHA. He succeeds John Pambalu, who didn’t seek re-election. Mahinyila beat Masoud Mambo after another candidate for the position, Shija Shibeshi, dropped amid debate to support Mahinyila’s bid. Some voter fraud reports emerge during the election.
January 14, 2025: Suzan Lymo, a veteran opposition politician, elected chairperson of CHADEMA’s elder wing, BAZECHA. She beat Hashim Issa, who was defending his position in the relatively calm and uneventful election. Hellen Kayanza was elected BAZECHA’s secretary-general.
January 14, 2025: Godbless Lema, renowned and influential CHADEMA leader, throws his weight behind Lissu’s bid for the party chairmanship. Lema, a former MP, urges Mbowe to step down to allow new ideas within the party. He criticises Mbowe and Ezekiel Wenje, who is running for deputy party chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), as the source of internal conflicts within CHADEMA.
January 16, 2025: Sharifa Suleiman, an outspoken CHADEMA member, is elected as the new chairperson of the party’s women’s wing, BAWACHA, after a re-run that pitted her against Celestine Simba. Frequent clashes were reported during the election, fueled by mistrust and voter fraud.
January 16, 2025: Ezekiel Wenje holds a press conference to respond to allegations Lema threw at him at his January 14th press conference. He accused Lema of plotting to overthrow Mbowe as party chairperson while he was in prison. He criticised the fundraising campaign, Join the Chain, as “fraud” and part of the larger campaign to instigate a “revolution” within CHADEMA.
January 16, 2025: CHADEMA’s Secretary-General, John Mnyika, clarifies funds raised through Join the Chain were used, including covering the costs of the NEC meeting held in May 2022. He said no fraud was reported as the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) audited the funds and issued the party an unqualified report.
READ MORE: Will Intra-Party Elections Within CHADEMA Make or Break Tanzania’s Main Opposition Party?
January 17, 2025: Lema holds another press conference to respond to Wenje’s allegations. At this conference, he clarifies the genesis of the Join the Chain campaign and the vision behind it. He says the campaign’s aim was solely to strengthen CHADEMA as a political party, not to grift, as alleged.
January 17, 2025: Odero Charles Odero gives an interview to The Chanzo, highlighting his vision for empowering the party to take state power. In the interview, Mr Odero emphasised the need for structural improvements within CHADEMA, such as establishing an internal party court to resolve conflicts.
January 17, 2025: Lissu and Odero, candidates for CHADEMA’s national chairperson position, participate in a debate organised by Star TV, where each one explained his vision for the party and what he’d do if entrusted with the mandate to lead it. Mbowe skipped the debate.
January 19, 2025: CHADEMA approves 23 members to contest for the party’s Central Committee positions. CHADEMA’s Director of Protocol and Foreign Affairs, John Mrema, confirmed the decision following a vetting process. However, some candidates supporting Tundu Lissu, including John Pambalu, Twaha Mwaipaya, and Rose Mayemva, claimed they were disqualified unfairly. Mrema denied the allegations.
January 20, 2025: CHADEMA’s General Assembly announces candidates for the 2025 elections for the party chairperson position: Tundu Lissu, Freeman Mbowe, and Charles Odero. The Assembly also approved candidates for the Mainland and Zanzibar Vice Chairperson positions, with voting scheduled for January 21, 2025.
January 22, 2025: Voting for party chairperson and deputy chairperson starts around 3 AM at the Mlimani City conference hall in Dar es Salaam, where CHADEMA’s general annual meeting occurs.
READ MORE: CHADEMA at a Crossroads: Mbowe vs. Lissu – How It Happened
January 22, 2025: Tundu Lissu announced the election winner, John Heche, as CHADEMA’s deputy party chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) and Said Mzee Said as deputy party chairperson (Zanzibar). Mbowe concedes defeat, congratulates Lissu, and wishes him the best of luck.
