Samia, Museveni regimes use treason to block rivals as elections approach
Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu (left) and Uganda’s opposition leader Kizza Besigye are on the same side of the dock, charged with treason, as countries head to the polls.
The arraignment of Tanzania's opposition leader Tundu Lissu on treason charges this week has cast a new shadow on the push for a fair and credible general election later this year and is seen as a sign of determination by the administration to nip the “No Reforms, No Elections” campaign in the bud.
And across the border in Uganda, opposition doyen Kizza Besigye languishes in jail after a court in Kampala denied him bail following his indictment in a court martial late last year on treason charges, even after the country’s apex court ordered his trial in a civilian court.
