“Assuming that the playing field shall be free and fair, with the opposition allowed to freely tour the country and sell its vision, it also depends on how CHADEMA's unity shall sustain during the next eight months, and also as has been seen in other African countries where incumbents have been toppled, whether the opposition shall coalesce and field a single candidate.”
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Tundu Antiphas Mughwai Lissu is an unapologetic troublemaker. President Samia Hassan Suluhu thinks Lissu’s mission is to ignite trouble in the east African nation that has undergone the political hegemony of one political party since its independence.
The rise of Lissu to the helm of the Party for Democracy and Progress, commonly known as CHADEMA defined his tortuous legacy as a human rights defender and biggest critic of President Samia Suluhu’s administration.
Tundu Lissu has become the face of opposition in Tanzania following his defiant and unrelenting criticism of the government. Since he came into the national limelight in 1995 when running for a parliamentary seat, Lissu has been a champion of democracy and human rights. He has taken on the ruling elite, exposing corruption and demanding accountability. This almost cost him his life in 2017.
After a deadly attempt on his life that saw more than 33 bullets aimed towards him in 2017, Lissu spent about three years in exile in Belgium. He staged a comeback as a presidential candidate in the 2020 elections. He lost to John Magufuli in a poll marred by violence and allegations of rigging.
Lissu’s political activism began during his university years in the early 1990s. This marked the start of a career that would later shape Tanzania’s political landscape. Lissu studied law at the University of Dar es Salaam before going to the UK for a master’s degree in law.
His first foray into national politics came in 1995, when he vied for a parliamentary seat. He was 27. The election was Tanzania’s first under a multiparty system. It introduced Lissu to the arena of opposition politics following his defeat.
In 2010, Lissu won the parliamentary seat for Singida East under the opposition party Chadema. As a first-term member of parliament, he attracted prominence by exposing significant state corruption scandals, particularly in the energy sector.
Lissu and other Chadema opposition figures became a formidable force, openly naming corrupt government officials and exposing grand theft.
Lissu’s legal acumen played out in the constituent assembly, the body convened to deliberate on constitutional reforms. However, the assembly, dominated by members of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi, rejected many of the key provisions of the draft constitution. It had been widely regarded as the “people’s draft” because it included citizen participation. Its key provisions included reduced presidential powers and the establishment of independent state institutions.
The process was to culminate in a referendum in 2014. This prematurely aborted and Tanzania went into the 2015 election without a new constitution.
Lissu became very critical of Magufuli’s economic policies. In a public address in 2017, Magufuli admitted to the government’s tapping of Lissu’s phone and described those who opposed his own economic reforms as traitors.
Lissu officially went into exile in Belgium after the shooting. In 2020, he published Remaining in the Shadows: Parliament and Accountability in East Africa, a critical examination of the presidentialist systems in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, which he argued had undermined democratic consolidation in the region.
His brief return to Tanzania to contest the presidency in 2020 was marked by repeated arrests and intimidation during the electoral campaign. After his loss to Magufuli, Lissu went back to Belgium.
The ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, has in the recent past relied on state violence to secure electoral victories. The last general election in 2020 was marred by violence, as well as intimidation of the opposition and censorship.
Chadema has once again nominated Lissu to contest the presidency in the October general election against president Samia. According to most political observers, Lissu’s fearlessness and defiance make him the best candidate to take on the ruling party.
According to Peter Veit, a leading governance expert who worked with Lissu for many years, the opposition figure during his time as a member of parliament represented his constituents while taking on important lawmaking and accountability responsibilities seriously.
“He has been arrested for calling the president a dictator, for accusing the government of muzzling the opposition, even for pointing out that a Tanzanian plane was confiscated in Canada because the government had failed to pay for it,” said Peter.
Governance expert and political analyst on Kenyan and African Affairs Javas Bigambo who spoke to Sisi Afrika is however not optimistic about Chadema’s chances of winning in the upcoming election.
“Chadema is merely going to be a participant in the election. CCM will win. Rather, CCM will be declared the winner of the election. This outcome will continue until the time Tanzanians grow a backbone and push for a new democratic order through a new constitution,” says Bigambo.
He avers that there is no mechanism for verification of election results to the lowest possible unit. Presidential results once announced cannot be questioned or contested in court. There is also overt intimidation of the opposition party and its members and leadership as a national duty of CCM.
According to Bobby Mkangi, a leading Constitution and governance expert, unseating CCM will be a tall order but it is not impossible.
“We have recently seen the defeat or erosion of the influence of independence or long standing political parties and formations in Africa. This happened in Botswana, Mauritius, and SA to name a few. “ notes Mkangi.
He further avers that the change of guard at CHADEMA, with a charismatic, energetic and very popular and visionary leader like Tundu Lissu does reinvigorate the party and opposition as a whole, and presents CHADEMA with the impetus and momentum needed to better its 2015 performance.
“Assuming that the playing field shall be free and fair, with the opposition allowed to freely tour the country and sell its vision, it also depends on how CHADEMA’s unity shall sustain during the next eight months, and also as has been seen in other African countries where incumbents have been toppled, whether the opposition shall coalesce and field a single candidate.”
