Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu Describes Prison Life With Death Row Convicts
Tundu Lissu, Tanzania’s opposition leader, has spoken out publicly from Ukonga Central Prison in Dar es Salaam about the conditions of his imprisonment and the political repression facing his party, CHADEMA.
The remark, which he released on his X account on Friday, December 5, 2025, was addressed to the International Democracy Union’s (IDU) Washington Summit on November 28.
Lissu stated that by the time the conference finished on December 4, he would have spent approximately 240 days in prison.
He regarded it as completely unlawful and unjust. Initially, he shared quarters with more than a hundred convicted murderers, all of whom had received death sentences.
A message from our Chairman @TunduALissu, sent from inside Ukonga Prison, where he continues the fight for Tanzania’s freedom:
— Tundu Antiphas Lissu (@TunduALissu) December 5, 2025
Tanzania is sliding back into outright dictatorship under Samia Suluhu — more entrenched, more brazen, and more repressive than even the Magufuli era.… pic.twitter.com/neMHDslZpD
He claimed that the presence of these death row inmates provided him with insights into the inner workings of the criminal justice system that the authorities would have preferred he not have.
The inmates were eventually dispersed, and Lissu currently occupies a four-block, twenty-four-cell compound with another detainee.
He is constantly monitored by CCTV and at least two jail officials are on duty at all times.
Despite the harsh surroundings, he acknowledged being treated with some respect by his captors.
“Until about two months ago, I was made to live and share quarters with a hundred or so convicted murderers, all of them condemned to death by our courts of law,” he wrote.
“These death row inmates have now been dispersed to various prisons around the country, after it became clear to the powers that be that the experience was giving me insights into the inner workings of our criminal justice system that they would rather I did not have.”
Lissu was more concerned with Tanzania’s political condition than with his own problems.
“I want, instead, to focus on the great events which have taken place in my country and which, I believe, demand our urgent attention given their importance not only to Tanzania, but also to two important regions of the African continent, namely Eastern and southern Africa.”
He attributed the country’s post-independence politics to the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), whose authoritarian model influenced nationalist movements in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Parties such as Kenya’s KANU, Zimbabwe’s ZANU, Mozambique’s MANU, and Namibia’s SWANU adopted TANU’s one-party structures, state-centred economic policies, and authoritarian tendencies.
Lissu said most countries in the region have changed little since independence, maintaining systems shaped by one-party rule. Only Kenya, he noted, has fully moved away from this model.
He criticised the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party for retaining an all-powerful presidency and limiting the independence of Parliament, the judiciary, the press, and civil society.
Opposition parties have faced tight control and harassment, and elections have routinely been rigged.
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Lissu also described the period following President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s rise to power in 2021.
Initially, she allowed some political openings, including releasing prisoners and lifting restrictions on exiles. She held Maridhiano talks with the opposition to discuss reforms.
The elections in Tanzania were anything but democratic. Intimidation, violence, the imprisonment of Tundu Lissu, and the exclusion of the opposition reveal a clear slide into authoritarianism.
— davidmcallister (@davidmcallister) November 27, 2025
There can be no “business as usual” for the EU! The people of 🇹🇿deserve better! pic.twitter.com/RdLOQMq8Zm
However, Lissu claimed she simultaneously consolidated power, promoted enforcers of the previous regime, and stalled constitutional and electoral reforms.
By May 2023, these talks had ended, and repression returned with a wave of abductions, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu Describes Prison Life With Death Row Convicts
