Lissu, who came second in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested in April and charged with treason over a speech he reportedly delivered, in which he encouraged citizens to rebel and disrupt the upcoming vote.

He had vowed to boycott the elections unless significant reforms were made to the electoral process, claiming that it consistently favors the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, which has been in power since Tanzania gained independence in 1961.

Lissu, who leads the opposition party CHADEMA, survived an assassination attempt in 2017 when he was shot 16 times. To date, no one has been prosecuted for the attack.

The court has banned live coverage of the trial following a request from the state prosecutor, who said it was necessary to protect the identities of witnesses.

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Earlier, Tanzania’s electoral commission barred CHADEMA from participating in the October 28 elections, citing the party’s failure to sign a code of conduct. The commission also disqualified the candidate from the country’s second-largest opposition party, leaving only minor party candidates to challenge President Hassan.

President Hassan was welcomed when she took office in 2021 for easing restrictions on political opponents and reducing the media censorship that was common under her predecessor, John Magufuli. However, she has faced mounting criticism from human rights activists over reports that other government critics have been abducted or detained.

Hassan has stated that her government is committed to respecting human rights and has called for an investigation into the reported abuses last year. So far, no official findings have been released.