Chadema Leaders Freed After Mass Arrests

Several leaders of Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA and hundreds of their supporters were released on Tuesday after mass arrests over a banned youth meeting in the southwest of the country, police and a party spokesperson said.

Most of the senior leaders of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, have been released, according to government officials. This comes a day after around 520 people affiliated with the party were detained.

In a social media post, Chadema spokesman John Hrema stated that party chairman Freeman Mbowe and deputy chairman Tundu Lissu “have been returned to Dar es Salaam by police and have bailed themselves out.”

Awadh Haji, the police chief of operations, confirmed that “all the top Chadema leaders who were arrested, after interrogation and other procedures, have been returned to where they came from.”

However, Chadema disputed the claim that all of its officials had been released, though the party did not provide any specific names.

The mass arrests occurred as young Chadema supporters gathered for a rally meant to commemorate International Youth Day.

This incident highlights the ongoing political tensions in Tanzania, where the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has been accused of cracking down on opposition voices. The release of the Chadema leaders may be seen as an attempt to ease the situation, but the full extent of the government’s actions remains unclear.