DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — The main opposition leader in Tanzania was granted permission on Monday to represent himself in his treason trial after being denied the right to meet his lawyers in private by prison authorities.
Tundu Lissu was arrested on April 9 and charged with treason after addressing a public rally calling for electoral reforms ahead of planned general elections in October.
Lissu’s Chadema party has been critical of the absence of an independent electoral commission and laws that favor the ruling CCM party, which has been in power since Tanzania’s independence in 1961.
Lissu survived an assassination attempt after being shot 16 times in 2017, three years before the last election.
The opposition leader told the court on Monday that he was being forced to speak to his lawyers through a phone in a small room and was worried that anyone could be listening or recording the conversations.
“I have more than 30 lawyers who I trust very much. Today is the 68th day since I was arraigned and charged with treason, but my lawyers have been repeatedly denied the right to see me in private,” Lissu said.
The chief magistrate at the Kisutu court in Dar es Salaam, Franco Kiswaga, said Lissu would be allowed to engage directly with the prosecution unless he later decides otherwise. He urged the prosecution to speed up investigations and set a hearing date for July 1.
Lissu also protested what he called a denial of basic rights including the right to worship. He said he was being held in a section of the prison designated for inmates sentenced to death, even though he has not been convicted.
Human rights activists have accused Tanzania’s government, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, of heavy-handed tactics against the opposition. The government denies the claims.
