Tanzania's main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of inciting unrest linked to the country's disputed 2025 general election.
A three-member panel of judges at the High Court in Dar es Salaam acquitted the 58-year-old of treason, ruling that prosecutors had failed to establish a key element required to prove the more serious offence.
However, the court convicted him of incitement, concluding that his campaign slogan, "No Reforms, No Election", encouraged supporters to disrupt the electoral process.
In its ruling, the court said Lissu had intended to communicate the message publicly to influence people to interfere with the 2025 elections.
Lissu, who heads the opposition Chadema party, has been in detention since April 2025 and has consistently denied the accusations, describing the prosecution as politically motivated.
Following the judgment, he challenged the incitement conviction, arguing that the charge had not formed part of the original treason case against him.
"The offence of incitement is one that you, honourable judges, have manufactured. You have created an offence that did not exist, and you have done so on political directives," he told the court.
The case has attracted attention from observers concerned about political freedoms and the treatment of opposition figures in Tanzania.
Lissu's conviction comes amid wider scrutiny of the country's political environment following the contested 2025 elections.
