Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu has warned politicians against holding rallies where they "insult other people."
Her remarks come after opposition leader Tundu Lissu was arrested and briefly detained in Arusha, a region in northern Tanzania, on Sunday for allegedly holding an outlawed assembly.
“Public meetings are allowed. Our intention as government is to allow political parties to speak to the people and let them know about their policies and plans, and also enable the parties to recruit new members.
“We want the parties to be strong ahead of elections,” Suluhu said on Monday when she presided over a political parties’ consultative seminar in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
“We did not allow public meetings for people to break the law, stand on podiums to insult others, rebuke or mock religious practices,” she said.
'Flip-flop'
The head of state accused the opposition of lacking a clear agenda, making them to flip-flop in their speeches during political events.
“They spoke about the port (of Dar es Salaam), need for constitutional reform and other issues. They are now back again on constitutional reform,” she said.
Lissu, the vice chairperson of Tanzania’s biggest opposition party CHADEMA, is on the record criticising Suluhu’s administration for allegedly curtailing human rights, largely the freedom of expression.
Lissu, a fierce critic of former President John Pombe Magufuli (deceased), was forced to flee abroad after being shot 16 times in a 2017 attack that he says was politically motivated.
Lissu returned to Tanzania in January 2023 after the death of Magufuli and Suluhu's subsequent ascension to power.
