Attention is expected to shift to Tanzania’s Court of Appeal tomorrow, June 11 as proceedings resume in the high-profile case involving CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu. Lissu, one of Tanzania’s most prominent opposition figures, has been in custody since April 2025 after being charged with treason. The charges are linked to remarks he made during his “No Reforms, No Election” campaign ahead of the 2025 General Election. He denies the accusations.

During the hearing scheduled for Thursday, the Court of Appeal will consider an application filed by the State challenging an earlier High Court decision. The dispute focusses on additional evidence that prosecutors wanted to introduce through a State witness. Lissu objected to the move, arguing that the evidence should not be allowed at that stage of the trial. The High Court agreed with him and rejected the prosecution’s request.

Following that ruling, the State moved to the Court of Appeal seeking a review of the decision. As a result, the main treason trial was put on hold pending further direction from the higher court. Before the case was suspended, prosecutors had already presented 15 of the 30 witnesses they intended to call.

The outcome of Thursday’s hearing could determine the next direction of the case. If the Court of Appeal sides with the State, the disputed evidence could be reconsidered. If the High Court’s ruling is upheld, the treason trial is expected to resume from where it stopped.

More than a year after his arrest, Lissu remains in detention, with the case continuing to attract attention from political leaders, legal observers and human rights groups both within Tanzania and beyond.