Tundu Lissu jailed for four years for incitement
The High Court acquitted the CHADEMA chairman of treason but found his remarks on the 2025 election constituted incitement.
The High Court in Dar es Salaam on November 6, 2026, sentenced CHADEMA national chairperson Tundu Lissu to four years in prison for incitement. A three-judge panel found that the prosecution had failed to prove the treason charge against him.
Judge Dunstan Ndunguru's panel ruled that Lissu's remarks calling for the obstruction of the 2025 election amounted to incitement, a lesser offence than treason. Lissu, who conducted his own defence, insisted on his innocence and accused the judges of political persecution, requesting bail pending appeal.
The original charge concerned remarks made at an April 3, 2025 meeting in Dar es Salaam during CHADEMA’s No Reforms, No Election campaign. The prosecution had called 17 witnesses, alleging Lissu intended to mobilise the public to obstruct the election to intimidate the executive.
Why it mattersCHADEMA national chairperson Tundu Lissu was sentenced to four years in prison for incitement, a political conviction that removes the threat of a death sentence for treason.