Tanzanian opposition leader stopped on his way to Kenya
Former Tanzanian MP Godbless Lema
What you need to know:
- Tanzanian immigration authorities have reportedly prevented Godbless Lema, a senior CHADEMA official, from travelling to Kenya for a health check.
- They claimed that 'CHADEMA officials have been banned from leaving Tanzania'.
- This incident follows the arrest last month of another senior CHADEMA official and comes amid heightened tensions as Tanzania approaches a general election.
Immigration authorities in Tanzania on Friday blocked a senior official of the country's main opposition party, CHADEMA, Godbless Lema, from travelling to Kenya in what appeared to be part of an ongoing government strategy to diminish the party's influence abroad ahead of a general election later this year.
According to Lema, he arrived at the Namanga border post between the two countries yesterday afternoon en route to Nairobi for a routine health check, only to be told by border officials that "CHADEMA officials have been banned from going out of Tanzania."
Former Tanzanian MP Godbless Lema at Kajiado Police Station on November 9, 2020. He has vowed not to return to his country saying it is a "persecution paradise" for opposition leaders.
Orders from above
"My passport has been confiscated, and I am required to return home to Arusha. To obtain further information, I must visit the Immigration Headquarters in Dodoma," he wrote on his X handle.
CHADEMA said in an official statement that the immigration officials at the border had informed Lema they were acting on "orders from above."
"This is a deeply troubling phrase that points to the use of state power to pursue political vendettas," the party added, calling the action against Lema "unlawful, unjust and politically motivated."
In a brief statement issued late Friday, the Immigration Department said the measures taken against Lema were "normal procedures used in the case of any Tanzanian citizen whenever we receive information that needs extra checking."
Department spokesperson Paul Mselle confirmed that the opposition politician's passport had been seized and he was required to report to Immigration Headquarters "for further questioning."
But Mselle denied claims by Lema and CHADEMA that the move was politically motivated and targeting "all officials of that party."
Former Arusha Urban Member of Parliament Godbless Lema.
Just last month (May 13), another top CHADEMA official, Amani Golugwa, was arrested at Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport as he prepared to travel to Brussels, Belgium, to represent the party at a meeting of the International Democracy Union (IDU).
Police issued a statement explaining that Golugwa’s detention was based on “confidential information indicating that he has been travelling in and out of the country in secret and without adhering to legal procedures.”
Although he was released later on the same day, the police intervention effectively ensured that CHADEMA did not attend the IDU convention.
Treason charges
The opposition party is currently at loggerheads with the government over its uncompromising stance on reforms to Tanzania's electoral laws that will allow for a fair vote when the time comes.
As a result, it has been barred from participating in the election, and its leader, Tundu Lissu, was placed behind bars indefinitely on a non-bailable treason charge for spearheading the crusade.
