Tanzania’s Main Opposition Leader Freeman Mbowe Arrested

By Charles Kombe | VOA News |

FILE VOA – Freeman Mbowe, center, chairman of Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, arrives at Kisutu Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, March 10, 2020.FILE – Freeman Mbowe, center, chairman of Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, arrives at Kisutu Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, March 10, 2020.

DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzania’s main opposition party, the Party for Democracy and Progress, also known as Chadema, says police have detained their leader Freeman Mbowe.  Mbowe was arrested before he was scheduled to speak at a conference to announce demands for constitutional reforms.

The statement from Chadema’s Communication Director John Mrema, shared on Twitter, says Freeman Mbowe and 10 other Chadema members were rounded up at night in Tanzania’s northwestern port city of Mwanza.

“The party condemns the repression of the rights of Tanzanians with the strongest force. These are signs that the dictatorship that existed during the rule of President John Magufuli continues,” the statement said.

Mbowe was approached by an army of police officers in his hotel when he arrived at 2:30 am Wednesday and was arrested together with other leaders of the party, according to local reports.

While other Chadema members were taken to the Mwanza police station, there has been no information about Mbowe’s whereabouts so far.

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