Wire reporting: (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer), (Reuters, via Nation Africa)

Tanzania's High Court in Dar es Salaam on Friday sentenced main opposition leader Tundu Lissu to four years in prison for incitement after acquitting him of treason, a charge that can carry the death penalty^1,4,5,8.

Lissu, 58, chairs Chadema and has been held since April 2025, about 19 months or 577 days in custody according to Africanews and The Rio Times^1,3,4.

A three-judge panel led by Justice Dunstan Ndunguru found prosecutors had not proved the intent required for treason, then convicted him of incitement under a procedure that allows a lesser offence even if it was not separately charged, The Rio Times reported⁴.

The judge said the court was satisfied that through his statements Lissu intended to disrupt elections and instigate violence, and that the doors were open for appeal^5,8,10.

Lissu, who represented himself, denied the charges and called the trial political persecution, saying excuses were created to imprison him^1,5,10.

Chadema deputy chairperson John Heche said the party considered the day victorious because the treason count had failed, and representatives said they would appeal and seek bail¹.

Defense lawyer Rugemeleza Nshala said incitement is bailable and that Lissu has already served about one year and seven months of a term whose maximum is five years, The Rio Times reported⁴.

Prosecutors tied the case to remarks, including at a 3 April 2025 meeting, that they said urged the public to block or disrupt the October 2025 election; Lissu said the comments were a campaign for electoral reform under the slogan No Reforms, No Election^3,4,10.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan won that election with 98 percent of the vote after Lissu and other main challengers were excluded; her government has denied targeting opponents^3,8.

An official inquiry put deaths in the post-election crackdown at 518, while opposition figures and rights groups have said the toll was in the thousands^1,3,10.

British and EU lawmakers described the case as politically motivated and called for Lissu's immediate release^1,5,10.

Hassan's government has not been shown in these reports to have issued a detailed on-record reply to Friday's verdict beyond prior denials of political repression^3,10.