Tanzanian opposition official John Justine Pambalu has been charged with treason, an offence that carries the death sentence, at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam. He is the second senior figure from the opposition party Chadema to face the charge in cases linked to the 2025 election period.

The charge sheet alleges that between 1 September and 29 October 2025 Pambalu, the party's director for organisation, training and elections, intended to persuade the public to obstruct the October 2025 general election. Chadema denies the allegation.

The charge

Prosecutors allege Pambalu showed that intent through “endless protests” across the country meant to intimidate the Executive. He is charged under section 39(2)(d) of the Penal Code, and a conviction under that provision carries the death sentence. He has not been convicted.

Gaston Shundo Garubindi, Chadema's director of legal and human rights, said Pambalu was arrested in Arusha and moved to Dar es Salaam. Garubindi linked the arrest to a wider series of detentions of party officials in several regions.

The Lissu case and the wider crackdown

A separate treason case against party chairperson Tundu Lissu is legally similar. The High Court is due to deliver judgment on 6 November 2026. Prosecutors have asked the three-judge panel to convict him, while Lissu argues the indictment and evidence are legally insufficient. His case stems from remarks he made at an April 2025 party meeting.

Chadema describes the arrests and charges as persecution and says 51 of its members were arrested and charged across several zones after the 7 July Saba Saba demonstrations. Home Affairs Minister Patrobass Katambi rejected claims that a party is being targeted. “No one can be targeted, nor is there any intention aimed at targeting a person or an institution,” he said, adding that authorities are addressing criminal conduct.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was officially declared the winner of the 2025 election with 98% of the vote. A presidential inquiry into the violence around the 29 October 2025 election reported 518 deaths and concluded the unrest was planned; Chadema and ACT-Wazalendo rejected that finding. Opposition groups and rights organisations say about 2,000 people were killed. In April, the Court of Appeal overturned a 309-day injunction that had frozen Chadema's political activity.

What we do not yet know

  • Whether Pambalu has entered a plea or been granted bail, and when he is next due in court, has not been reported.
  • It is not stated whether the charge arose from the work of a six-member regional commission investigating possible criminal accountability.
  • The death toll from the 2025 election violence is disputed (518 according to the presidential inquiry; about 2,000 according to opposition groups and rights organisations) and we cannot verify either figure.