Jailed Tanzanian Opposition Leader Begins Hunger Strike anzanian opposition leader

Tundu Lissu, who was charged with treason last year, has started a hunger strike to protest his inability to ​access his lawyers, his party said. Lissu, who leads the CHADEMA ‌opposition party and came second in the 2020 presidential election, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being ​held, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia wrote on X. ... Lissu was charged with treason over what prosecutors said was a speech ​calling on the public to rebel and disrupt last year's general election. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which his lawyer has said are politically motivated. Tanzania's electoral ​commission had barred CHADEMA from participating in the polls after it failed ​to sign a code of conduct document.

Based on reporting by ACSS-EMAIL