Tundu Lissu had been scheduled to travel to Washington this week “to discuss the upcoming elections and need for international support for a free and fair process”, according to Jeffrey Smith, founder of pro-democracy advocacy firm Vanguard Africa and a registered lobbyist for Lissu since 2019.
“In today’s #Tanzania, calling for electoral reforms and demanding free and fair elections is tantamount to treason,” Smith said on X. “@TunduALissu survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and he’ll survive this too. Such criminal treatment of the opposition is deplorable.”