Tanzania police arrest senior opposition leaders, ban meeting

12/8/2024 19:23

        Police arrested senior leaders of Tanzania's main opposition party CHADEMA and hundreds of its supporters ahead of a meeting in the southwest of the
        country, the party said on Monday.
        
        CHADEMA Chairman Freeman Mbowe and the leader of its youth wing John Pambalu were arrested at a regional airport on Monday, the party said on social media platform X.
        
        A day earlier, the party's Vice Chairman Tundu Lissu and Secretary General John Mnyika were arrested, party spokesperson John Mrema told Reuters.
        
        Since coming to power in March 2021 following the death of her predecessor, Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a ban on political rallies and relaxed restrictions on media.