Tanzania's main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, was cleared of treason but sentenced to four years in prison for incitement on Friday, in a case his supporters and rights groups say is politically motivated. A three-judge panel at the High Court in Dar es Salaam delivered the verdict on 6 November 2026, ending treason proceedings that had kept the CHADEMA chairman in custody since April 2025.

According to Reuters, the judges found that prosecutors had failed to prove a key element of the treason charge — that Lissu intended to intimidate the government. The treason charge had carried a possible death sentence. However, the court convicted him of incitement, ruling that his campaign slogan "No Reforms, No Election" and remarks urging supporters to disrupt the October 2025 general election amounted to the offence.

Appeal planned

Lissu, 58, had pleaded not guilty, arguing that his speech did not break any law and that the charges were politically motivated. People Daily reported that the court granted him leave to appeal to Tanzania's Court of Appeal, and his party said it would appeal the conviction and seek bail while the appeal is heard. Although the treason acquittal removes the threat of a death sentence, the four-year term means Lissu will remain in prison as the appeal proceeds.

Police surrounded the courtroom in Dar es Salaam and crowds gathered nearby as Lissu was brought to the hearing in a heavily guarded convoy. His arrest in April 2025, over a speech calling for electoral reforms, helped fuel the worst political unrest in the country's history during the October 2025 elections. Regional reactions followed swiftly, with Kenyan opposition figures welcoming the treason acquittal while condemning the jail sentence.