DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu has begun a hunger strike to protest restrictions on his access to lawyers, according to his party, CHADEMA, escalating a dispute with prison authorities less than two weeks before a court verdict in his treason trial.

Lissu began refusing food on Monday, October 26, after his lawyers were reportedly denied access to the prison where he is being held, CHADEMA spokesperson Brenda Rupia said in a post on X on Tuesday.

The protest follows a High Court ruling on October 16 that prison authorities must allow confidential consultations between detainees and their lawyers. Under the ruling, prison officers may observe meetings for security purposes but must remain beyond hearing distance.

CHADEMA's chief legal counsel, Rugemeleza Nshala, previously accused prison officials of failing to comply with the order. He said Lissu had refused to hold discussions with his legal team under conditions that would allow officers to overhear their conversations.

Tanzania's Prisons Service spokesperson, Elizabeth Mbezi, said the service would provide an update on the situation. Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.

Treason Trial Verdict Expected in November

Lissu, who leads CHADEMA and finished second in Tanzania's 2020 presidential election, was charged with treason in April 2025. Prosecutors allege that a speech he delivered encouraged the public to rebel and disrupt the country's general election. He has pleaded not guilty, while his lawyer has described the case as politically motivated.

The court is scheduled to deliver its judgment on November 6. A treason conviction can carry the death penalty under Tanzanian law.

The case has unfolded amid wider political tensions following Tanzania's October 2025 general election. CHADEMA was barred from participating after it failed to sign an electoral code of conduct, while protests and deadly violence followed the vote.

A government-appointed commission of inquiry reported that at least 518 people died in the post-election violence. Opposition figures have disputed the scale of the official toll, and the events have drawn scrutiny of the government's handling of political dissent.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration has rejected allegations of widespread human rights abuses and says it remains committed to respecting human rights.

Lissu's hunger strike adds pressure to an already closely watched legal case, with the dispute over access to legal counsel now unfolding ahead of the court's expected decision.

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