Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu successfully objected to the prosecution’s use of secret witnesses during his trial on Wednesday, the country’s media reported.
In order to protect the witnesses’ identities, the prosecution wanted them to testify from an enclosed cell. But Lissu protested, claiming that by prohibiting “the court from monitoring the witness”, it would be against Rule Three of the Witness Protection Rules.
The court adjourned to review Lissu’s objection and others. Judge Dunstan Ndunguru, who headed the three-judge bench, ruled in favour of Lissu’s objection, concluding that the concealment “obscured the witness from view” and thus broke the rule.
The trial has already been delayed five times for different reasons, according to a Human Rights Watch report from August 2025. Ten months have passed since Lissu was arrested for calling for electoral and constitutional reforms before the election last year.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the incumbent president, received over 97% of the vote in that election. Due to their failure to sign the electoral code of conduct, Lissu and another candidate from the opposition party were disqualified from competing. Mass arrests and murders were the government’s response to the protests that followed the election.
According to Amnesty International, the authorities shut down the internet and deployed excessive, deadly force. Lissu, who is an attorney himself, is defending himself in court after claiming he was not given an opportunity to speak with his attorneys. Lissu’s other Monday arguments were dismissed by the court, and the trial will resume on Thursday.
