Tundu Lissu

Tundu Lissu in the Tanzanian Parliament (2017)

Tundu Antiphas Mughwai Lissu (* 20th January 1968 in Singida ) is a Tanzanian lawyer, politician ( CHADEMA ) and former deputy of the National Assembly , where he the constituency represented Singida East. He was also President of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) and Chief Legal Officer (head of the legal department) of the opposition party CHADEMA.

Life

Lissu established himself over the years as a prominent lawyer, opposition and government critic who publicly criticized the government of President John Magufuli . In the National Assembly, Lissu was his party's chief whip .

Lissu was instrumental in researching and publishing the document known as the "List of Shame", which exposed the embezzlement of public funds by senior government officials. He was arrested six times in 2017 alone, including charges of insulting the president and endangering public order. On August 23, 2017, his home was ransacked by police after he called the President an "insignificant dictator" and was charged again for insulting the president. The arrest came immediately after Lissu made public that a Tanzanian readiness aircraft was confiscated in Canada due to government debt.

In June 2020, Lissu declared his interest in running for the 2020 presidential election .

Tundu Lissu with his wife in Belgium after the attack (2018)

attack

On the afternoon of September 7th, 2017, Lissu was shot several times and seriously injured by an assassin in his car in the parking lot of the parliament during a break in the session. Lissu had announced a few weeks earlier that he was being followed by members of the secret service.

Tundu Lissu was treated for several hours at Dodoma General Hospital before being flown to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi in Kenya due to safety concerns . After spending several months in Nairobi, he was flown to Belgium for further treatment and rehabilitation, where he reportedly underwent 19 surgeries.

The repeated arrests and the attack on Lissu were condemned as "cowardly" and as an "attack on democracy" by religious and human rights organizations, taking Lissu's political views into account. Lissu's party stated that the act was a politically motivated crime, which they associate with Lissus' anti-government stance.

President Magufuli said he was shocked by the attack on Twitter . Several Tanzanian opposition politicians, including CHADEMA chairman Freeman Mbowe , called for a foreign investigator to investigate the case. To this day, the crime has not been solved and the perpetrators have not been caught. The police dropped the case. Due to his absence, Lissu's mandate in the National Assembly was canceled in 2019, so that he lost his seat in parliament.

Web links

Commons : Tundu Lissu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tundu Lissu ashinda Urais wa Chama cha wanasheria nchini (TLS) kwa kupata 88% ya kura. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (American English). 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Tanzania replaces expelled opposition MP Tundu Lissu. africanews.com, September 4, 2019, accessed October 23, 2019
3. ↑ Tanzanian Politician Charged for Insulting President Magufuli. In: Face2Face Africa. July 27, 2017, accessed October 22, 2019 . 
4. ↑ LHRC tells Tanzania to stop harassing MPs after three arrested for insulting president. In: East Africa Monitor. August 27, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (American English). 
5. ↑ Tundu Lissu (CHADEMA): Ndege ya ATCL iliyopaswa kuwasili nchini Mwezi Julai, imekamatwa Canada na watu wanaoidai Tanzania. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (American English). 
6. ^ Tanzanian aircraft seized in Canada over $ 38m debt -Lissu. Retrieved October 22, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Japheth Ogila: Magufuli's fierce critic Tundu Lissu to vie for presidency. standardmedia.co.ke of June 8, 2020 (English), accessed on June 10, 2020
8. ↑ Tanzania: Opposition MP Tundu Lissu wounded by gunmen. Retrieved October 22, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Tundu Lissu flown to Belgium for Further treatment. Retrieved October 22, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Tundu Lissu to undergo surgery 19th in Belgium. Retrieved October 22, 2019 . 
11. ↑ The Independent: TANZANIA: Opposition blames govt for Magufuli critic's shooting. In: The Independent Uganda :. September 13, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (American English).