Tanzania’s main opposition leader Freeman Mbowe has been released on bail, his party said yesterday, after he was detained just days before local polls.
The elections are viewed as a barometer for Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took over in 2021 with promises of reforms and improved civic freedoms — only to disappoint international observers, who point to a return to her predecessor’s repressive policies.
The party on Friday said that he and other party figures had been “forcibly” detained by officers after leaving a rally that police broke up using tear gas in the country’s south.
Photo: AFP
In a post on social media platform X early yesterday, Chadema party confirmed Mbowe and other detained figures from the party had been released on bail.
“Some of our colleagues were severely beaten by the police despite the fact that nobody resisted the arrest,” Mbowe said following his release.
He said officers had accused them of “violating the campaign schedule” with their intended rally, labelling the allegation “baseless.”
“I believe this is a deliberate move to disrupt our planned campaigns,” he said in a video shared by the opposition.
He added that police were still holding some Chadema members, and that he and others had been told to report back on Friday next week, but that he intended to consult lawyers.
Only last month, Mbowe and his deputy, Tundu Lissu — as well as other opposition figures — were briefly detained after riot police prevented a mass rally in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
The local polls slated for Wednesday next week are expected to be a barometer of the political landscape ahead of a presidential election due October next year.
The arrests come only days after Mbowe protested over the apparent disqualification of scores of Chadema candidates hoping to run in the local polls, calling the move by the authorities a “deliberate manipulation.”
Hassan took office after the sudden death of her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli in 2021 and has yet to be tested at the ballot box.
She was initially feted for easing restrictions that Magufuli had imposed on the opposition and the media in the country of about 67 million people.
However, rights groups and Western governments have criticized what they see as renewed repression ahead of the elections, with arrests of Chadema politicians as well as abductions and murders of opposition figures.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS