Tanzania’s main opposition party on Saturday held its first mass rally since the 2016 ban was lifted, raising hopes of greater political freedom in the East African nation.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan this month lifted the ban on Chadema that was welcomed by hardline predecessor John Magufuli, who was nicknamed the “Bulldozer” for his ferocious style.
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Hassan, who has been in power for 22 months, has sought to reverse some of Magufuli’s policies and has created opposition for the opposition.
“Thank you God for coming when we are talking to our Tanzanian friends despite this rally,” Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe said at the rally, which was attended by thousands in the lakeside town of Mwanza.
The meeting marked the 30th anniversary of the party’s political registration.
Supporters wore party colors – blue, red and white – and sang songs praising the leader while several police officers guarded the area.
“We have been silent for almost seven years, but finally, our rights have been restored and we are ready to move forward,” Mwanza resident Mary Dismas told AFP.
The move was cautiously welcomed as a boon for democracy by the country’s rights groups and opposition.
Magufuli banned political rallies early in his tenure, saying it was time for work, not politics.
But critics say the ban applies only to opposition groups, with the ruling party free to assemble.
Rival meetings were disrupted by the police and jailed party officials.
‘2023 is an important year’
There was early optimism as Hassan, Tanzania’s first female president, reached out to rivals, reopening banned media outlets and reversing some of Magufuli’s most controversial policies.
But his presidency came under fire when Mbowe and other senior Chadema officials were arrested in July 2021 just hours before holding a rally to push for constitutional reform.
Hassan, who had fought against the split in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, began to make conciliatory moves towards the opposition.
At the beginning of 2022, he met in Brussels with the vice-chairman of Chadema Tundu Lissu, who is the party’s candidate in the 2020 presidential elections but lives in exile in Belgium after an attempt on his life in 2017.
Lissu said last week that he would return to Tanzania on January 25, expressing optimism that “2023 is an important year in the history of our country.”
His party colleague Mbowe, who spent seven months in prison on terrorism charges, led a rally on Saturday, organized in the port city where he was arrested.
“Our reconciliation talks with the president have paid off because the police who arrested me in Mwanza today guarded our meeting,” Mbowe said, asking supporters to applaud the officials “for a job well done.”
The new constitution
While praising Hassan, the 61-year-old said the demand for a new constitution and an independent electoral body were at the top of the party’s current agenda.
“I appreciate the tolerance of President Samia Suluhu Hassan during the conversation for reconciliation … some people want to hear me insult him, but I will not do that.”
Adopted in 1977, Tanzania’s constitution has been amended more than 10 times, including provisions to introduce a multi-party system.
A previous attempt to change the basic law stalled in 2014, with the opposition’s push for reform met with a government crackdown.
Chadema officials said on Saturday that several grassroots rallies had been lined up.
“We will organize as many rallies as possible to reach all the wards and villages in the country,” said Sharifa Suleiman, acting head of Chadema’s women’s wing.
“This is the time to build the ground for (elections) 2025,” he said.
Another official, Hashim Juma Issa, said the party had “opened a new page” as it celebrated its 30th anniversary.
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