Tanzania: Has Tanzania’s Protest Crackdown Dented Democratic Gains?

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When President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office, her easing of opposition restrictions was praised. But a recent protest crackdown shows that progress on political freedom under her leadership has been inconsistent.

A recent crackdown on opposition party activities in Tanzania has left many political observers and analysts concerned about the East African country’s democratic space and the lack of competitive politics.

Ahead of International Youth Day on Monday, police arrested prominent politician Tundu Lissu and four other officials from his Chadema party. Authorities had banned a youth rally organized by the party on Sunday, citing concerns that it would incite chaos and violence.

Those arrested were subsequently released on bail — but the incident seems to have cast a slur on Tanzanian President Samia Hassan’s promise to allow her political opponents to freely operate.

Tanzania’s constitition guarantees the liberties of citizens, granting them free speech and freedom to peacefully asssemble, but opposition politicians have hardly enjoyed this, Godwin Gonde Amani, a political analyst, told DW.

What is the issue?

“The problem comes to the definition of freedom of speech and how those in government want people to express themselves. And it has been seen that few people are enjoying more freedom than the others,” Amani said.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

A year ago, President Samia Hassan ended a ban on opposition rallies imposed by her strongman predecessor, John Magufuli.

She also promised to restore competitive politics in the country, a practice that had been absent during Magufuli’s presidency.

Inconsistent progresss

But progress hasn’t been consistent under Hassan’s leadership.

Beatrice Bandewa, a Tanzanian citizen resident in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, told DW that the president has demonstrated good faith so far and can’t be faulted for recent turn of events.

“In 2021 when President Samia came into power, she allowed all political activities to take place in the country, on condition that [political] parties observe rules and regulations,” she said.

Bandewa said that hasn’t been the case. “In any political demonstrations, not all partakers are in good will. Some are taking advantage of displayingn hate speech and inciting violence.”

Police reportedly cracked down on Monday’s planned rally because organizers had asked people to come out like the “youth in Kenya” — a reference to Gen-Z protests against Kenya’s now-scrapped finance bill which demonstrators said would raise taxes on already overtased Kenyan workers.

Kenyan President William Ruto refused to sign the Finance Bill 2024 into law following the significant public unrest and calls for his resignation.

William Maduhu, a Tanzanian who disagrees with the actions of the police said, the latest move points to a return to the dark days in Tanzania when opposition parties and their supporters faced significant crackdowns, arbitrary arrests and other forms of political persecution — particularly during Magufuli’s rule, which lasted from 2015 until his death in 2021.

“Those dark days of 17 years are like coming back,” he said as he expressed concerns about how other Tanzanians seem to be worried.

At a public event earlier this week, Emmanuel Nchimbi, the secretary general of Tanzania’s ruling center-left Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), expressed concern about the actions of the police. He fears they could thwart efforts to reduce tensions between the opposition and the ruling party.

“Give us politicians the chance to address these matters through dialogue,” he said. “Not everything should be handled through legal channels. Some issues are inherently political.”

Achieving political reconciliation

Amani suggested that the recent crackdown could hinder reconciliation efforts aimed at reducing political tensions.

“A lot has been changing with the president compared to the previous times under President Magufuli and the other presidents,” the political analyst told DW.

“Now there are issues of reconcilation, there are issues of resolving the conflict between the opposition and the ruling party.”

Amani criticized the police and other governmental agencies for excessively exercising their powers and mandates in response to the potential replication of youth protests from Kenya and Nigeria in Tanzania.

“What happened in Nigeria and what happened in Kenya can affect any country and Tanzania has a lot to learn from it,” Amani said.

Bandawe said the recent crackdown shouldn’t be considered irrelevant since they only seem to prevent any act of violence ahead of the elections.

“As we know, this year the country is going for local government elections. This is the reason why the government organs are not allowing these political demonstrations and protests of any kind,” she said.

Human Rights Watch said in a report on Wednesday that Tanzanian police arbitarily arrested 375 members and supporters of the country’s main opposition party.

Amani said Tanzania must free up its democratic space and allow for divergent opinions and activities if it is to deepen its democratic system.

Tanzania must allow for “tolerance within the field of politics because people cannot think the same all the time,” he said.

“Using pressure or force trying to limit the [opposition] in exercising their freedom seems to be a threat towards sustainable peace.”

Edited by: Keith Walker

Source: allafrica.com

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Tanzania: Freed Tanzanian Opposition Leaders ‘Beaten’ During Mass Arrests

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Top leaders from Tanzania’s main opposition Chadema party and other senior officials were freed on bail Tuesday following their arrests ahead of a planned youth event in the southwestern city of Mbeya. Chadema said they had been badly beaten during their detention.

Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and his Deputy Tundu Lissu – both former presidential candidates – were “seriously beaten during the arrest” on Monday, the party’s deputy secretary general Benson Kigaila said on Tuesday.

Secretary general John Mnyika and the head of the party in the southern Nyasa region Joseph Mbilinyi were also beaten, Kigaila said.

Lissu, who survived an assassination bid in 2017 and had previously lived in exile for several years, “was dragged by the officers before he was thrown to the vehicle”, Kigaila told reporters.

Mbowe, 62, was detained on Monday at the airport in Mbeya, the day after Lissu and other officials were arrested.

Tanzania arrests top opposition figure Lissu in mass round-up

The detained opposition leaders had been escorted from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam where they were released on Tuesday, Kigaila said.

“After their release this morning, they individually went to hospital and we will give their health status in future,” he added.

Over 500 arrests

As many as 520 people were arrested across the country, according to a police statement, before the Chadema youth wing’s rally that had been expected to draw thousands of young people.

Rights groups and government opponents have raised fears the arrests could signal a return to the authoritarian policies of Tanzania’s late president John Magufuli, who died suddenly in March 2021.

His successor President Samia Suluhu Hassan had vowed a return to “competitive politics” and eased some restrictions on the opposition and the media, including lifting a six-year ban on opposition gatherings.

Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in as Tanzania’s first female president

Awadh Haji, police chief of operations and training, confirmed the Chadema releases but warned that police would “take strict legal action against any individual or group involved in disrupting peace”.

Officers will continue to closely monitor the situation, he said, and will “strengthen security in the city of Mbeya and all other regions of Tanzania to prevent any planned acts of violence”.

Hundreds of youth supporters were also rounded up by police as they travelled into the city, according to the party. About 10,000 had been expected to meet in Mbeya to mark International Youth Day on Monday.

But police accused Chadema of planning violent demonstrations and made reference to widespread anti-government protests in neighbouring Kenya, led largely by young activists.

Worrying signs

Rights groups and government opponents voiced alarm at the developments as Tanzania gears up for local and national elections.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election,” Amnesty International said.

Tanzania’s opposition rallies against ‘cosmetic’ electoral reforms

“The Tanzanian authorities must urgently respect people’s rights to freedom of expression and association.”

Tanzania’s Legal and Human Rights Centre also denounced the arrests, noting that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and another opposition party ACT Wazalendo had been able to hold youth day rallies at the weekend without any issues.

Lissu, 56, a fierce critic of the CCM, returned to Tanzania in 2023 after Hassan lifted the ban on opposition rallies. He had spent the previous five years largely in exile in Belgium, returning only briefly to run for the presidency in 2020.

Mbowe was also previously arrested in July 2021 ahead of a Chadema meeting to demand constitutional reforms but was freed the following March after prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against him.

(with AFP)

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Tanzania Set to Introduce the Ritz-Carlton Brand

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Tanzania Set to Introduce the Ritz-Carlton Brand

Tanzania is set to make history as the first Sub-Saharan African country to introduce The Ritz-Carlton brand, bolstering its position as one of the premier tourism destinations on the continent, The Citizen reports.

Tanzania to become first Sub-Saharan African country to introduce The Ritz-Carlton https://t.co/ZthErvVFqw— TheCitizenTz (@TheCitizenTz) August 12, 2024

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addition to 46 hotels with 8,755 rooms planned for the future.

Currently, only Morrocco and Egypt have the brand in Africa, it is reported.

Source: allafrica.com

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Tanzania Opposition Leaders Released After Mass Arrests

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Hundreds of leaders and supporters of the Chadema party had been arrested ahead of a planned youth day rally. Dissidents voiced concerns about a return to the repressive policies of President Hassan’s predecessor.

Most leaders of Chadema have been released as of Tuesday, officials said, a day after some 520 people connected to Tanzania‘s main opposition party were arrested.

In a post on social media site X, Chadema spokesman John Hrema said that party chairman Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu “have been returned to Dar es Salaam by police and have bailed themselves out.”

Police chief of operations Awadh Haji said “all the top Chadema leaders who were arrested, after interrogation and other procedures, have been returned to where they came from.”

Chadema disputed that all of its officials had been released, but did not give any names.

The arrests came as young supporters of the party gathered for a rally meant to honor International Youth Day.

Fears of return to repression

Rights groups and dissidents have voiced concerns that the mass arrests signal a return to the repressive politics of the late president John Magufuli ahead of national elections next year.

Magufuli’s former vice president and successor Samia Suluhu Hassan had promised a return to “competitive politics” upon taking office, and in 2023 she lifted a six-year ban on opposition gatherings. She has also eased restrictions on freedom of the press implemented under her predecessor. However, Chadema leader Mbowe has still expressed significant distrust of her administration.

es/nm (AFP, epd)

Tanzania Opposition Leaders Released After Mass Arrests

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Kenya’s food insufficiency highest in East Africa region – Agra report

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Kenya has the highest number of people skipping meals or surviving without essential diets in East Africa, and is second only to South Sudan in the number of people classified as food insufficient.

This is according to a new report by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), which shows that of the 33 million people classified as food insufficient in the five East African countries, 13.6 million are Kenyans.

The report by Agra and its partners, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid), found that by June 2024, South Sudan will have the highest proportion of its population living in food insufficiency (32.73 percent), followed by Kenya with 26.46 percent of its population living in food insufficiency.

The report analysed the prevalence of food insufficiency in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan within the East African region.

“As of June 30, 2024, the number of people across five selected East African countries who did not have sufficient food for consumption was 33 million, a 100,000 more people over May. This signifies a deterioration in the food insecurity situation across these select countries, driven mainly by South Sudan,” the report notes.

In June, 21.14 percent of the Rwandan population was classified as food insufficient, while 18.74 percent of Ugandans and 9.24 percent of Tanzanians were also living in difficult conditions, having to skip meals or survive on limited diets.

According to the report, people with insufficient food consumption are those with poor or borderline food consumption according to the Food Consumption Score (FCS), which measures the diversity of household diets and the frequency with which food is consumed.

The FCS looks at the frequency with which a household consumes eight food groups in the week prior to the survey to classify households as having ‘poor’, ‘borderline’ or ‘acceptable’ food consumption. A household is considered to have a poor diet if it does not consume staple foods and vegetables every day and never or rarely consumes protein-rich foods such as meat and dairy products, while a household is considered to have a borderline diet if it consumes staple foods and vegetables every day and oils and pulses a few times a week.

While the organisations note that the current level of food insecurity across the region is lower than in June last year, when 42.9 million people were food insecure, they point out that Kenya has seen a huge increase in the number of people affected over the past two years.

“Except for Kenya, all other East African countries have registered declines in the prevalence of people with insufficient food consumption over the past year,” Agra notes.

Within the region, the report notes, Kenya has seen a 74.36 percent increase in the number of food-insufficient people, while countries such as Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda have seen a decrease in the number of food-insufficient people compared to the situation in 2022.

The main drivers of hunger and food insufficiency in East Africa remain conflict – which is rampant in South Sudan – seasonal dynamics such as floods and droughts, and macroeconomic shocks such as trade disruptions.

“Above average rains in some parts of the region may have affected the ease of movement of crops impacting prices,” the report notes.

In Kenya, the report notes that food insufficiency remains critical across the country, with flood-affected areas, particularly Garissa, Tana River and Mandera counties, facing crisis levels.

“In South Sudan, emergency phase outcomes persist in 28 counties and catastrophe phase outcomes are likely in Pibor County of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and among returnee households due to low seasonal food supplies, insecurity affecting ground transportation and the suspension of UNHAS airdrops in April, and deteriorating economic conditions,” the report said.

The reports of food shortages within Kenya come even as the Ministry of Agriculture continues to report improved harvests of maize, rice, beans, potatoes, sorghum, millet and avocados for the 2023 harvest season, and predicts further increases in production of some key food crops this year.

The ministry expects maize production to reach 50 million 90kg bags this year, up from 47.6 million bags last year and 34.3 million bags in 2022.

According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Kenya, the ministry also expects wheat production to grow by 55.8 percent to 5.35 million bags in 2024, sorghum by 48.1 percent to 3.26 million bags and potato production to reach 29 million bags this year.

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Tanzania: Youth Key Players in Digital Economy, Says Dr Kusiluka

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THE government will ensure the Tanzanian youth become key players as it implements the Tanzania Digital Economy Strategic Framework, Chief Secretary Ambassador Dr Moses Kusiluka, pledged here over the weekend.

He made the assurance as he was shedding light on key resolutions of the 15th meeting of the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) held at the State House in Dar es Salaam recently.

Dr Kusiluka said the meeting was emphatic about making the Tanzania youth central in implementing the strategy.

He said the global trend is towards digital transformation. “We cannot afford to lag behind. The government has the strategy in place.

We want the private sector to grab and make use of this opportunity and promote our planned national digital economy.

Something of huge importance is to ensure our young people are deeply involved in this effort so that they become part and parcel of the emerging global digital economy,” he said.

He said members of the business community feel local capable people are not given a fair opportunity to become central players in building the national economy.

The meeting noted that the impediment is lack of action on local content policy law. The meeting called for immediate action, he explained.

The meeting also resolved that efforts must be made to ensure Tanzania has stable and predictable policies and laws.

ALSO READ: Samia graces TNBC meeting today as Tanzania basks in peace, tranquility

Following the meeting’s resolution on the tax system, he explained, President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed a team of experts to look into the issue and recommend to the government the kind of steps to be taken.

The meeting also called for continued efforts aimed at improving conditions for doing business and investment based on the Blueprint for Regulatory Reforms.

The meeting also called for strengthening of TNBC district and regional meetings because, he said, the forums are important in identifying and solving challenges relating to doing business and investment at those levels.

“We shall work on this because the meetings bring together government and private sector leaders. Problems that will be forwarded to us, if any, will have been jointly acted upon and processed by public and private sector leaders,” he said.

He also said regions that have done well in promoting business and collecting public revenue were recognised by President Samia and given awards.

Source: allafrica.com

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Tanzania: Conservationists Say Large-Tusked Elephants On Kenya-Tanzania Border Are Endangered

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Tanzania: Conservationists Say Large-Tusked Elephants On Kenya-Tanzania Border Are Endangered

Nairobi, Kenya — Scientists and conservationists in Kenya are sounding the alarm over the killing of elephants with large tusks. According to scientists, the elephants were killed by trophy hunters in Tanzania. They say other elephants in the group are in danger if they cross into Tanzania where hunting is allowed.

In a news briefing Monday, conservationists and scientists said five large-tusked elephants were targeted and killed in the last eight months by trophy hunters in Northern Tanzania.

They added that only 10 of the elephants, with tusks weighing 45 kilograms (100 pounds) each, remain in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, which has the highest density of the animals.

Conservationist Paula Kahumbu is the chief executive officer at Wildlife Direct.

“This is bigger than Kenya, this is bigger than Tanzania. It’s actually a global issue because elephants cannot speak for themselves. We as the people of the world have to speak for these elephants. They cannot go to court; they cannot go to the east African court,” she said.

In March, Tanzanian authorities issued controversial hunting permits for the large-tusked elephants, known as “super tuskers,” in the greater Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro border area.

Festus Ihwagi, a research scientist for conservation group Save the Elephants, called on Kenya to raise the issue with Tanzania.

“They may not overhaul it immediately but for the interest of cross border conservation initiatives it would be very good if our president engaged [with] his counterpart in Tanzania and we come up with an arrangement whereby no more hunting blocks are allowed within the defined range,” said Ihwagi.

To mark the August 12 World Elephant Day, the group of scientists say they have handed the Tanzanian government a global petition with over 500,000 signatures, calling for an end to trophy hunting along the country’s border with Kenya in Tanzania’s portion of the park.

In a telephone interview, Conservation Commissioner Mabula Misungwi Nyanda of the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority said the hunters are required to follow protocol.

“Hunting depends on whether the procedure has been followed or not. If you found them, they would explain whether they follow the procedure or not, but the animals should be protected as required.” said Nyanda.

Kenya is home to over 2,000 different species of elephants. About 600 of them, conservationists say, cross over to Tanzania regularly.

Kenya has banned elephant hunting for more than four decades. Authorities hope the campaign to stop hunting the “super tuskers” in Tanzania will help save the remaining elephant families.

Source: allafrica.com

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Tanzania: End Mass Arrests and Arbitrary Detentions of Political Opposition

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The Tanzanian authorities must urgently halt the mass arrests and arbitrary detention of government critics, Amnesty International said today, as intimidation of members of the political opposition intensifies in the run-up to local government elections in December and the general election in 2025.

On 11 August, Tanzanian police arrested and detained leading figures from Tanzania’s Party for Democracy and Progress, the main political opposition party known as Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), including former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu and more than a hundred youth supporters, as well as five journalists for violating a ban on holding a youth conference. They were arrested during a meeting at Chadema’s Nyasa zonal office in Mbeya, southwest Tanzania, ahead of International Youth Day on 12 August.

The Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), the bar association of mainland Tanzania, said police also arrested 107 Chadema party members the same day in Iringa region in Nyasa zone, in the country’s southern highlands.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election. The Tanzanian authorities must urgently respect people’s rights to freedom of expression and association,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Two eyewitnesses told Amnesty International that those arrested include Chadema vice chair, Tundu Lissu, secretary general, John Mnyika, Nyasa regional leader, Joseph Mbilinyi, and leaders of the party’s youth wing, Baraza la Vijana Cha Chadema (Bavicha). According to a party official, the leading figures were taken by police to unknown locations, while other party members and journalists were transported to various police stations in Mbeya.

The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election. Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

The police later, on 12 August, arrested Chadema party chairman Freeman Mbowe and the Bavicha national leader John Pambalu at Songwe airport after they arrived from Dar es Salaam to follow up about other party leaders and members who had been arrested.

Chadema lawyers told Amnesty International that they had not been allowed by the Mbeya Regional Police Commander to know the whereabouts of the arrested individuals or information regarding the charges against them. The lawyers were however able to independently confirm that Joseph Mbilinyi was detained in Iringa Central Police Station.

The authorities have been restricting activities of the political opposition while allowing politicians from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party to meet unhindered.

“The Tanzanian authorities must urgently release all of those detained or charge them with a recognizable criminal offence, in line with international standards. If there are legitimate charges against any of the detainees, authorities must respect their rights to a fair trial, in line with international human rights law and standards, such as informing detainees of the reasons for their arrest, presenting them promptly before a judge, and granting access to legal counsel,” said Sarah Jackson.

The Tanzanian authorities must urgently release all of those detained or charge them with a recognizable criminal offence, in line with international standards.Sarah Jackson

“Ahead of the upcoming elections, Amnesty International calls on the Tanzanian authorities to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all people, including the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. They must end arbitrary arrests and detention of political opposition members and reverse the escalating crackdown on civic space,” said Sarah Jackson.

Background

Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as Tanzania’s first female president following the death of President John Pombe Magufuli on 17 March 2021.

While President Magufuli was in power, opposition politicians faced arbitrary arrest and detention — a trend that has continued under President Hassan.

On 21 July 2021, the police arrested opposition leader Freeman Mbowe and 11 other Chadema party officials and staff members at a hotel in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania. They were arrested hours before a planned conference, in which party members would discuss demanding a new Cconstitution for the country. Although seven of them were released days after their arrest, Mbowe was only released more than seven months later, after the Director of Public Prosecution dropped terrorism charges against him and three others.

On 14 July 2023, lawyer and activist Boniface Mwabukusi and political activist Mdude Nyagali were arrested days after holding a press conference in Dar es Salaam, where they criticized a port deal between Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On 12 August 2023, they were re-arrested while travelling to Dar es Salaam and taken to the Central Police Station in the city of Mbeya. The next day, police arrested Willibrod Slaa, a former parliamentarian and diplomat, at his home in Dar es Salaam and took him to Mbweni Police Station. They faced treason charges but were released on 18 August 2023 under strict reporting conditions.

On 10 September 2023, police arrested Tundu Lissu for holding an “unlawful assembly” after he attended a political rally in Loliondo division, northern Tanzania.

On 11 August 2024, Tanzanian police raided a meeting at Chadema’s zonal office in Mbeya shortly after 6pm, during which party members were reportedly making plans for a youth rally the following day to mark International Youth Day.

Source: allafrica.com

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Tanzania: FM Looking Forward to Boosting Ties With Tanzania

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Tanzania: FM Looking Forward to Boosting Ties With Tanzania

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday he is looking forward to boosting relations between Egypt and Tanzania, scaling up the volume of trade exchange and promoting joint investments.

The foreign minister’s remarks came at a meeting with his Tanzanian counterpart Mahmoud Thabit Kombo on the sidelines of his current visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali.

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the meeting discussed bilateral ties between the two sides.

Abdelatty was keen on conveying the greeting of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to the Tanzanian leader, added Abu Zeid.

The spokesman noted that the foreign minister tackled cooperation projects between Egypt and Tanzania, topped by the Egypt-Built Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam in Tanzania.

Abdelatty said Egypt is very interested in removing any obstacles to the completion of the project for the sake of the Tanzanian people, said Abu Zeid.

The foreign minister invited his Tanzanian counterpart to visit Egypt soon.

MENA

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Tanzania police arrest senior opposition leaders, ban meeting

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By REUTERS

Police arrested senior leaders of Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema and hundreds of its supporters ahead of a meeting in the southwest of the country, the party said on Monday.

Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and the leader of its youth wing John Pambalu were arrested at a regional airport on Monday, the party said on social media platform X.

A day earlier, the party’s Vice-Chairman Tundu Lissu and Secretary-General John Mnyika were arrested, party spokesperson John Mrema told Reuters.

Since coming to power in March 2021 following the death of her predecessor, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a ban on political rallies and relaxed restrictions on media.

However, she has faced criticism from opposition parties and rights groups for arrests last year of those planning protests against a port management deal.

The latest arrests came hours after police banned a conference planned by Chadema’s youth wing Bavicha, saying the event was likely to breach the peace.

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Police said the party’s youth leaders planned to influence young people across the country to meet and demonstrate in Mbeya, a city in southwest Tanzania, which a party spokesperson denied.

Mrema said the conference was to celebrate International Youth Day, where top party officials, including Mbowe, were set to address the youth.

“There are more than 400 people who have been arrested by the police,” the spokesperson added.

Police spokesperson David Misime did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all our leaders, members and loved ones who were arrested in various parts of the country,” Mbowe had said late on Sunday on X.

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