Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, ended a brief hunger strike on Tuesday after prison authorities permitted him to meet privately with his younger brother, according to his lead lawyer.
Lissu, the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt and has previously spent periods in exile citing threats to his life.
He has been detained for over 18 months on treason charges that carry a potential death sentence, with a final verdict scheduled for November 6.
His lead lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, told The Associated Press by telephone that Lissu had initially planned to launch the hunger strike on Monday to protest restrictions on court-ordered confidential legal consultations. He postponed the start after prison authorities promised him private access.
However, when those consultations failed to take place on Monday, Lissu began refusing food on Tuesday morning, Nshala added.
“Lissu did not take his tea, breakfast, or lunch,” Nshala stated. He ended the strike after lunchtime, shortly after his private meeting with his brother.
As of the report, prison authorities and the government had issued no public statements regarding the hunger strike.
Nshala noted on Saturday that prison authorities had, on some occasions, completely barred access to Lissu. He expressed concern about the health implications of a hunger strike, given that Lissu relies on daily medication.
Lissu was arrested on April 9, 2025, following a rally where he called for electoral reforms ahead of the general election, and was charged with treason the following day.
In May 2025, he previously went on a hunger strike to protest being required to appear in court remotely rather than in person.
Presidential candidates from Tanzania’s two main opposition parties were barred from contesting the October 2025 election, a move that triggered widespread protests and deadly violence.
Chadema has announced seven days of mourning ahead of the anniversary of the violence surrounding the October 29 election.
Secretary-General John Mnyika told journalists in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the mourning period would run from Thursday through November 4, with party flags flown at half-mast. He called for an independent investigation involving international bodies and independent Tanzanian stakeholders.
An inquiry into the election violence, released in April, found that at least 518 people died. Its chairman, Mohamed Chande Othman, noted that the toll was likely much higher because some families buried their relatives without taking the bodies to morgues.
The United Nations had earlier called for an investigation into the killings and reports that police removed bodies from mortuaries to undisclosed locations. Chadema estimated the death toll at approximately 2,000, a figure the U.N. stated it could not verify due to insecurity and an internet shutdown during the election period.