Tanzanian police crack down on planned opposition rally

Leaders arrested pursuing constabulary chief’s informing of pugnacious measures to artifact protest.

Police person cracked down connected a planned protestation against the authorities organised by Tanzania’s main opposition party.

The leaders of Chadema were arrested connected Monday, the enactment said. Further arrests were made connected the streets of the Magomeni country of the superior Dar-es-Salaam wherever protesters were gathering for a rally against alleged killings and abductions of authorities critics.

The crackdown extends fears of renewed governmental repression successful the East African state up of upcoming section elections and adjacent year’s nationalist vote.

Video footage posted connected X by Chadema showed constabulary arresting the enactment chairman, Freeman Mbowe, arsenic helium arrived “to pb a peaceful protest”.

A abstracted station showed constabulary extracurricular the location of lawman president Tundu Lissu earlier helium was taken into custody.

Police said they had arrested 14 people, including Mbowe and Lissu, for defying a prohibition connected the protests.

In beforehand of these arrests, the constabulary were seen blockading the homes of some enactment leaders.

Lissu, who survived an assassination effort successful 2016 contempt being changeable 16 times, earlier wrote connected societal media level X that 3 constabulary vehicles afloat of officers successful riot cogwheel were extracurricular his house.

“They’ve informed maine I’m directed to beryllium taken to the Regional Crimes Officer. I’m getting acceptable to go,” helium said.

Over the weekend, Dar-es-Salaam constabulary main Jumanne Muliro had warned that the planned rally would breach the bid and that his officers would instrumentality strict enactment to forestall it.

Riot constabulary with h2o cannon person been deployed crossed cardinal areas of the metropolis since Saturday.

Chadema has accused the authorities of President Samia Suluhu Hassan of returning Tanzania to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

Hassan took implicit successful March 2021 pursuing Magufuli’s abrupt death and initially appeared to awesome a much unfastened democracy, reversing restrictions connected absorption rallies and the media.

But Chadema present accuses information forces of being down the disappearance of respective members and the killing of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a elder enactment authoritative who authorities said was doused with acerb and beaten to decease past month.

In a code broadcast connected X connected Sunday, Mbowe insisted that the planned protestation would beryllium peaceful.

“We are neither carrying immoderate weapons nor readying to interruption the bid arsenic immoderate radical allege,” helium said. “We person seen the deployment of equipped constabulary officers successful the metropolis but we are acceptable to look them.”

When Chadema past tried to clasp a rally successful August, constabulary arrested hundreds.

Rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, person criticised the crackdowns arsenic “antidemocratic”.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies