“Tanzania ‘s jailed Opposition leader Tundu Lissu will begin a hunger strike on Monday (October 26, 2026) to protest prison authorities’ alleged refusal to allow court-ordered private consultations with his lawyers,” his lawyer said on Saturday (October 24, 2026).
Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam, Mr. Mr. Nshala quoted him as saying. Mr. Lissu altogether.
Because he relies on medication, lissu about the implications for his health.
The lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, said Mr. Lissu told him of the planned strike during a meeting in prison. Nshala said he warned Mr. Nshala said Lissu was prepared to stop taking his medication. “I am ready to face the consequences, but I will fight for the rule of law,” Mr. Nshala said authorities had denied private consultations despite a court order and, on some occasions, barred access to Mr.
Inquiry found hundreds died in election violence
Prison authorities, police and the government had issued no public statements on the planned hunger strike. An inquiry into the election violence found in April that at least 518 people died. Chadema put the death toll at about 2,000, a figure the U.N. said it could not verify amid insecurity and an internet shutdown during the election period.
Because some families buried relatives without taking their bodies to morgues, mohamed Chande Othman, who chaired the inquiry, said the toll was likely higher.
“Lissu questioned why court decisions keeping him in custody were enforced while an order protecting his access to lawyers was allegedly disregarded,” Mr. Nshala said.
The United Nations had earlier called for an investigation into the killings and reports that police removed bodies from mortuaries to undisclosed locations.
