The Vice Chairman of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, John Heche, has been arrested by police on Wednesday morning in Dar es Salaam, while entering the High Court gate, to hear the treason case facing its leader, Tundu Lissu.

The party says it is not clear why Heche was arrested and taken to the Central Police Station.

This comes after the Chadema leadership explained on Saturday, October 18, 2025, that the leader was prevented by immigration officials from traveling to Kenya to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The country’s immigration department also claimed that the opposition leader had crossed the border and gone abroad illegally, a claim that CHADEMA has denied.

This comes ahead of the October 29 general election, in which the opposition party will not participate after being prevented by the Electoral Commission for not signing the electoral code of conduct. The party is calling for electoral law reforms before they take place.

In another development, the international human rights organization, Amnesty International, has condemned what it calls a “wave of fear and repression” in Tanzania due to the arrests, disappearances of opponents and activists.