DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s government Friday banned political rallies ahead of planned protests against last year’s disputed election and the detention of an opposition leader.
Internal Affairs Minister Patrobas Katambi directed Police Inspector General Camillus Wambura to officially stop issuing permits for political activities across the East African country.
Tanzania witnessed its first-ever postelection protests in 2025. The general election was overwhelmingly won by the ruling party after the country’s main opposition party boycotted the polls and the presidential candidate for the second-largest opposition party was barred from running.
The country’s young people have said they plan to demonstrate on July 7 to protest President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s reelection and push for a new constitution.
Police have arrested people linked to the organizers of the planned protests, which have been mobilized through social media.
The country’s youth are also calling for the release of opposition party leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges after calling for reforms before last year’s elections.
They have also called for accountability over the widespread postelection violence, during which more than 500 people died.
Tanzania Law Society President Boniface Mwabukusi said the government had “no authority whatsoever to prohibit or permit meetings that are legally allowed.”
We will convene to determine the legal measures we will take, both domestically and internationally, against anyone who attempts to enforce this unlawful and invalid directive in violation of the Constitution and the laws of the country,” Mwabukusi said.
President Hassan in 2023 lifted a six-year ban on opposition rallies imposed by her predecessor John Magufuli.
Opposition parties in Tanzania have described the ban as politically motivated and a violation of constitutional rights, asserting that political parties are constitutionally guaranteed the right to hold public meetings.
Opposition party Chadema’s chief legal counsel, Rugemeleza Nshala, said the ban was intended to “muzzle political freedom,” and that the party was “contemplating other legal actions locally and internationally to challenge the decision.”
The main opposition party ACT Wazalendo’s shadow minister for Defense, Internal Affairs and Security, Rashid Ali, said the directive was yet another move aimed at violating the Constitution.
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