Tanzania:Chadema Gagged As Court Slams Breaks On All Political Activities in Unprecedented Crackdown

By Adonis Byemelwa

Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, is facing one of its most trying moments yet—what many see as a calculated political siege. This escalation comes after the Registrar of Political Parties, Judge Francis Mutungi, revoked the public subsidies previously allocated to the party, citing alleged irregularities in its internal elections.

And now, in what seems to be an even heavier blow, the High Court of Tanzania through its Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry has temporarily barred Chadema, its Secretary General, agents, and followers from engaging in any political activities until a main case challenging the party’s internal resource distribution is heard on June 24, 2025.

It’s a bruising turn for Chadema, a party already navigating turbulent waters. Andrew Boman, a political analyst writing in the Pan African Visions magazine, recently argued that “doing politics in Tanzania is like walking a tightrope over a pit of crocodiles.” His think piece paints a grim picture of a country where opposition politics are not just contested—they’re criminalized. That sentiment now feels eerily prophetic.

This latest legal showdown stems from a case filed by three senior figures within the party’s Zanzibar branch: former Deputy Chairperson Said Issa Mohamed and two trustees, Ahmed Rashid Khamis and Maulida Anna Komu.

They accuse the party’s leadership of unjust and unconstitutional allocation of resources—claims they notably never raised while Freeman Mbowe, not Tundu Lissu, was at the helm. This silence has sparked suspicions across the political spectrum, with many on social media and within opposition circles viewing the suit not as a genuine pursuit of justice, but as a tactical move to dismantle the popular “No Reform, No Elections” campaign that had been gaining momentum.

It’s no secret that Chadema has been on a collision course with the establishment. The “No Reform, No Elections” mantra was not just a protest slogan—it became a clarion call for systemic change. But ever since the campaign caught fire, the party has faced mounting legal and political pressure. Chadema's leader, Tundu Lissu, is himself battling treason charges—a development critics argue is part of a wider clampdown aimed at paralyzing Tanzania’s political opposition.

Now, the court's temporary injunction extends beyond political activity. It freezes the use of all party assets and resources—essentially placing Chadema in a state of suspended animation.

This, after Chadema’s legal team, led by advocate Jebra Kambole, saw its challenge to the case thrown out. In a dramatic courtroom moment, Kambole withdrew from proceedings concerning the temporary injunction, requesting to step aside so the party could find a new lawyer—a move that left the case to be heard from only the plaintiffs’ side.

At the heart of the matter is Civil Case No. 8323 of 2025, in which the plaintiffs allege that Chadema’s leadership has violated key provisions of the Political Parties Act, particularly sections 6A (1), (2), and (5), which emphasize equitable treatment within parties, transparency, and national unity. They claim the leadership discriminates based on geography, gender, and even religion—accusations that would, if upheld, reshape the very structure of the party.

But the timing, again, raises questions. Why now? And why these specific plaintiffs? Critics argue this isn’t just a legal dispute over resources—it’s a targeted effort to neutralize a political force that had begun to mobilize the public imagination. The fact that these grievances are surfacing now, after years of silence during Mbowe’s tenure, is seen by many as convenient at best, and orchestrated at worst.

The High Court’s decision to allow the main case to proceed, while also granting a temporary freeze on political activity, has essentially put Chadema in political lockdown. It’s a situation without precedent in Tanzania’s recent history, where the main opposition party is stripped of its voice and agency through judicial processes that critics say may have more to do with silencing dissent than settling internal party grievances.

What happens next will be critical—not just for Chadema, but for the entire democratic fabric of Tanzania. The case is set to resume on June 24, and with each passing day, the weight of the court's restrictions deepens the sense of democratic suffocation. Tanzanians watching this unfold are left to ponder: if political expression can be legally paused, is democracy itself just on borrowed time?