Lead image for Tanzania court: Lissu has case to answer.
Tanzania’s High Court has ordered opposition leader Tundu Lissu to open his defence in a treason trial after finding that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for him to answer the charge.
The decision on Friday, August 21, 2026, by a three-judge panel at the High Court’s Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry means Lissu, who has been in detention for 14 months, will now go on trial.
Presiding judge Dunstan Ndunguru said the court had considered the evidence presented by the prosecution and submissions by the defence on whether the accused had a case to answer.
Lissu, who is the chairman of the opposition party Chadema, is facing a treason charge under Section 39(2)(d) of the Penal Code, Revised Edition 2023. The penalty, if found guilty, could be as high as death.
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Tanzanian opposition leader and former presidential candidate of CHADEMA party, Tundu Lissu, reacts as he arrives at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania June 2, 2025.