Tanzanian Opposition Leader Released from Prison after Trumped Up Charges Dropped

07-03-2022

Clea Strydom

International Justice  and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence. 

On the 4th of March Freeman Mbowe, Tnazania’s opposition leader, and three other senior party members were released after 7 months of detention on charges of terrorism financing and conspiracy. Mbowe and others were arrested on July 21st, 2021,  in a police raid mere hours before they were to hold a public forum to demand constitutional reforms. During his detention, Mbowe claimed  in court that his constitutional rights had been violated during his arrest and when he was charged. He has also accused police of torturing him during his detention. Mbowe’s supporters denounced his arrest and the charges as a political manoeuvre and protested for his release. Amnesty International tweeted last year that “[Mbowe] arrest & continued detention appears to be a tactic to silence critical voices as part of a growing crackdown against the political opposition” and requested that the government substantiate the charges against him and fellow opposition party members (Amnesty International, 2021). The United States  Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland also expressed concern about the treatment and imprisonment of Mbowe after a tour of African countries last year. Fortunately, all this external pressure seems to have contributed to charges against Mbowe and some other senior party members being dropped. 

Mbowe’s arrest was reminiscent of the the oppressive rule of Tanzania’s late leader John Magufuli who passed away suddenly in March 2021. There was hope that President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government would represent a new era of democracy but the crackdown on opposition leaders represented a worrying start. Hopefully Mbowe’s release and the dropping of charges means the Tanzanian government is turning a new leaf.