The High Court in Dar es Salaam has adjourned the treason case against CHADEMA Chairman Tundu Lissu until Monday, 17/08/2026, after the prosecution requested more time, citing a health emergency involving one of its witnesses.
Presiding Judge Nduguru delivered the ruling after hearing submissions from both the defense and the state. The judge noted that the court had considered the motion for adjournment as well as the defense’s concerns about the importance of the matter. With the Republic assuring the court that it would produce all outstanding witnesses on Monday, Judge Nduguru ordered that all remaining prosecution witnesses be brought on that date and adjourned proceedings accordingly.
Addressing the court, the government lawyer told the judges that witnesses are human beings and, as such, are subject to unforeseen challenges. The lawyer acknowledged that the prosecution still has many witnesses to call but maintained that it was not necessary to bring all of them at once. According to the prosecution, witnesses should be presented in line with the case plan and preparations already made.
A State Attorney added that the law allows proceedings to be postponed for fundamental reasons, and illness qualifies as one of them. The attorney urged the court not to view the witness affected as the last one and requested that the matter be stood over until Monday. The state further assured the court that all remaining witnesses would be availed within the current period.
Tundu Lissu opposed the application for adjournment. He reminded the court of an earlier order, the date of which he could not recall, directing the prosecution to bring two witnesses at every hearing. He said the same directive was repeated by the court on Wednesday. Lissu argued that the prosecution was not complying with those orders because it knew the court would continue to accommodate it. He told the judges that it was not easy for him to say so, but their orders were being ignored.
Lissu further asked the court not to allow the judicial process to be undermined in the manner of the court that convicted Jomo Kenyatta, which he said accepted everything from the prosecution and rejected everything from the defense. He questioned why the prosecution was not ready to respect the court’s directions and suggested that if the state was exhausted, it should close its case and proceed to the next stage. If it was not ready to continue, he said, it should close the case altogether rather than seek further indulgence.
Describing the matter as the biggest case in the United Republic, Lissu said the Constitution requires the court to demonstrate seriousness in enforcing its orders and decisions. He recalled that Tanzania’s first treason case in the 1970s took six months and 17 days, while another in 1982 and 1983 was concluded in one year and 17 days in the same courtroom. By contrast, he said, the current trial has now reached its 495th day, more than one year and four months, and the prosecution has still not finished calling its witnesses. He warned that if he were to request the appearance of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the trial could take five years, and by then Vice President Philip Mpango and IGP Wambura would have retired without being called. Lissu urged the court not to allow further witnesses and to let the case proceed.
Following the submissions, Judge Nduguru maintained the adjournment and reiterated that the prosecution must present all remaining witnesses when the matter resumes on Monday.
