Lissu files appeal against incitement conviction and four-year sentence
CHADEMA chairperson Tundu Lissu challenges the High Court ruling that replaced his treason charge with incitement, after prosecutors failed to prove treason.
CHADEMA national chairperson Tundu Lissu has filed a notice of appeal against his incitement conviction and four-year prison sentence handed down by the High Court on November 6. The notice, dated November 7, bears a Court of Appeal registry stamp showing it was filed on November 9. It states that Lissu intends to attend the appeal hearing, though no hearing date has been set.
The High Court replaced a treason charge with incitement on its own initiative, a finding Lissu disputes. The charge stems from an April 3, 2025 address in Dar es Salaam during CHADEMA's No Reforms, No Election campaign, where Lissu says his remarks sought constitutional and electoral reforms. The three-judge panel, led by Judge Dunstan Ndunguru, found prosecutors had not proven the intent required for treason but convicted him under section 390 of the Penal Code.
The court acknowledged Lissu was a first offender with diabetes who had spent 577 days on remand, but chose imprisonment over a fine, citing statements it said encouraged election disruption. Lissu requested bail pending appeal, including to attend his elder brother Alute Mughwai Lissu's funeral, and no bail was announced. The notice does not overturn the conviction or suspend the sentence.
Why it mattersLissu remains imprisoned under the four-year sentence while his appeal is pending, and no bail has been granted.