Tanzanian opposition lawyer Gaston Shundo Garubindi has accused prison authorities of denying him access to his client, Chadema leader Tundu Lissu, at Ukonga Prison in Dar es Salaam.

He says officials blocked him on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, despite it being a normal working day when lawyers are allowed to meet clients for case preparation.

Garubindi, who represents Lissu in his ongoing treason case, posted on X that he arrived at the prison to discuss the second phase of the trial, which is scheduled to run from November 3 to 11, 2025, at the High Court. He said officers refused his request to see Lissu.

He described the denial as unlawful and warned that he would take further action.

“Nimefika Ukonga Gerezani leo kujadiliana na Mhe Tundu Lissu awamu ya pili ya kesi yake iliyopaswa kuanzia jana tarehe 03/11/2025 hadi tarehe 11/11/2025 Mahakama Kuu DSM. Pamoja na kwamba leo ni siku ya kazi ambayo mawakili tunapaswa kuzungumza na wateja wetu lakini Magereza Tanzania wamezuia,” he wrote.

“Swala la mawakili kuonana na wateja wao haliwezi kutegemea mwenye mamlaka ameamkaje; ni haki ambayo kila mfungwa na Mahakabusu anapaswa kufurahia. Tutachukua hatua zaidi kukomesha hii tabia; kila mtu atawajibika kwa nafasi yake!”

Another opposition leader arrested

The incident comes the same day Chadema said its vice chairman, John Heche, was seized by police in Dodoma and taken to an unknown location. The party says officers picked him up in front of his wife and a party official, and that authorities have not confirmed where he is being held.

The arrest took place amid tension following the contested general election, which the opposition has rejected as fraudulent.

Lissu, a former presidential candidate and one of Tanzania’s most prominent opposition figures, is facing treason charges over a speech he delivered in April. Prosecutors accuse him of urging the public to rebel and disrupt the election.

Lissu, who survived a 2017 assassination attempt and lived in exile before returning to Tanzania, has pleaded not guilty and argues the charges are politically motivated. His party was barred from contesting the 2025 election after a dispute over signing the electoral code of conduct.