Jailed Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has ended a hunger strike he began to protest the denial of confidential access to his lawyers after prison authorities allowed him a private meeting with them.
Lissu, who chairs the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) party and is on trial for treason, started refusing food on Monday, October 26, 2026. He stopped on Tuesday, October 27, after lunchtime, following a meeting with his brother, according to the party’s chief legal counsel, Rugemeleza Nshala.
“Lissu did not take his tea, breakfast or lunch,” Nshala said, adding that he was worried about Lissu’s health because he relies on medication. The High Court is due to deliver its judgment in the treason case on November 6, 2026.
CHADEMA announced the strike in a statement on X issued by its Director of Communications and Publicity, Brenda Rupia. She said Lissu “has started a hunger strike today, October 26, 2026” after his lawyers “went to the prison to see and communicate with him, but were denied entry.”
She said that “his right to legal assistance and communication with his lawyers continues to be a matter of concern.”
“CHADEMA expresses its grave concern about the lawyers being prevented from seeing the Party Chairman,” she said, adding, “This situation raises serious questions about access to legal services.”
“We call on the relevant authorities to ensure that his lawyers are allowed to see him without any legal restrictions,” Rupia said. “CHADEMA is closely monitoring the Chairman’s situation.”
Lissu’s legal team had warned of the protest days earlier. At a news conference on Saturday, October 24, Nshala said Lissu had been denied privacy during meetings with his lawyers, even though the High Court had ruled the previous week that his constitutional right to confidential consultations with his defence counsel had been infringed.
“Starting Monday, 26th October 2026, Lissu is commencing a hunger strike,” Nshala said.
CHADEMA Secretary General John Mnyika said the party leader was concerned about his safety in custody.
“Because the prison administration openly defies judicial orders, our chairman Lissu has expressed legitimate fear,” Mnyika said. “He questions whether food supplied by officials who knowingly break the law can be trusted.”
The Tanzania Prisons Service denied the reports, telling the Swahili-language daily Mwananchi that Lissu was safe and not on a hunger strike. Prisons Service spokesperson Elizabeth Mbezi had earlier said the service would provide an update on him soon.
Lissu, who came second in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested in April 2025 after a rally speech calling for electoral reforms. Prosecutors say the speech urged the public to rebel and disrupt the general election held on October 29, 2025.
He has pleaded not guilty and maintains that calling for electoral reforms is not treason. His lawyers say the charges are politically motivated. Treason carries a possible death sentence in Tanzania.
The electoral commission barred CHADEMA from the election after the party failed to sign a code of conduct, and the polls were followed by protests and unrest. A government-appointed commission of inquiry found that at least 518 people were killed in the violence and blamed the protesters. CHADEMA puts the toll at about 2,000, a figure the United Nations said it could not verify.
Lissu’s detention, along with reports of abductions of government critics, has drawn attention to the human rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won the 2025 election. The government has rejected accusations of widespread rights abuses and says it respects human rights.
CHADEMA has declared seven days of mourning, from Thursday, October 29, to November 4, to honour the victims of the October 2025 post-election violence.
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