Freeman Mbowe, the leader of Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, along with more than 10 others, were reportedly arrested by the Mbeya Regional Police on 12th August 2024.Photo: Courtesy
By
Adonis Byemelwa
Dar
es Salaam, August 12, 2024—The Legal and Human Rights Centre
(LHRC) has condemned the Tanzanian Police Force for detaining several leaders
and members of the Chadema party, alongside journalists, ahead of the World
Youth Day commemoration planned by the opposition party in Mbeya.
The
event, scheduled for today, August 12, 2024, was met with heavy-handedness as
the police arrested key Chadema figures yesterday, disrupting preparations and
travel plans for the event.
The
detention of Chadema leaders and supporters has sparked outrage, as it directly
contravenes Article 20 of the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of
Tanzania, the Political Parties Act No. 258, as amended in 2024, and international
treaties such as the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
These legal frameworks guarantee the right of
political parties to hold public meetings, conventions, and
demonstrations—rights that the police action blatantly disregards.
The
crackdown also flies in the face of President Samia Suluhu Hassan's January
2023 announcement, lifting the ban on public political activities imposed in
2016. The President's 4Rs initiative, aimed at fostering reconciliation and
political tolerance, appears undermined by this recent action, which seems
selectively enforced, given the freedom afforded to other political youth
groups in recent days.
While
Chadema's Youth Wing (Bavicha) faced police intervention, other political
factions, notably the CCM Youth Wing, gathered without interference in Zanzibar
on August 10, 2024. Similarly, ACT Wazalendo held their Youth Day events
peacefully in Wete, Pemba, on August 11, 2024. The disparity in the enforcement
of political freedoms raises serious concerns about discrimination and the
selective application of the law.
LHRC
is now calling on the police and other security agencies to immediately release
the detained Chadema leaders and members without conditions, urging them to
allow the exercise of their legal and constitutional rights to political
participation.
The
situation escalated this morning when Chadema National Chairman Freeman Mbowe
and the party's Youth Chairman John Pambalu were arrested at Songwe Airport in
Mbeya as they arrived from Dar es Salaam. The duo was en route to meet police
officials in Mbeya to address the status and well-being of the detained leaders
and members.
The arrest was confirmed by Chadema's Director
of Protocol, Communication, and Foreign Affairs, John Mrema, through his X
(formerly Twitter) account at 5:45 a.m., stating that the arrest was led by the
Mbeya Regional Police Commander (RPC).
Efforts
to obtain comments from Mbeya Regional Police Commander Benjamin Kuzaga have
been futile, with Kuzaga claiming to be occupied with other matters. Similarly,
attempts to reach Mbeya Regional Commissioner Juma Homera and the Police
Spokesperson David Misime have also been unsuccessful, further deepening the
lack of transparency surrounding the arrests.
The
situation has been tense since Sunday night, August 11, 2024, when several
Chadema leaders, including the party's Mainland Vice-Chairman Tundu Lissu,
Secretary General John Mnyika, and Nyasa Regional Chairman Joseph Mbilinyi
(commonly known as Sugu), were reportedly detained at the Chadema Nyasa
Regional Offices. As well, numerous Bavicha leaders and members are said to be
held in various police stations across Mbeya.
The
police intervention was allegedly triggered by a statement from Bavicha
referencing the actions of Kenyan youth, which was interpreted as incitement to
unrest. This led the police, in conjunction with the Registrar of Political
Parties, to ban the event, citing the potential for violence and public disorder.
On August 8, 2024, the Registrar issued a letter to Chadema's Secretary General
John Mnyika, instructing him to halt all planned activities for today, citing
concerns over Bavicha's rhetoric.
The
letter, copied to the Inspector General of Police, also summoned Chadema
leaders, including Mbowe, Mnyika, and Pambalu, to the Registrar's office in Dar
es Salaam tomorrow, Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 5:00 a.m.
The
Legal and Human Rights Centre remains vigilant in monitoring the situation and
stands firm in its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all
detained Chadema leaders and members, urging the police to respect the rule of
law and the democratic rights of all citizens.
