Chadema's Lema needs ‘extra checking,’ says Tanzanian official

Reporter in Dar es Salaam

Nation Media Group

Tanzania’s Immigration Department on Friday said the measures taken against opposition politician Godbless Lema were "normal procedures used in the case of any Tanzanian citizen whenever we receive information that needs extra checking."

Lema, a former Arusha Urban MP, was on Friday blocked from travelling to Kenya in what appeared to be part of an ongoing government strategy to diminish the party's influence abroad ahead of a general election later this year.
Lema said he arrived at the Namanga border enroute to Nairobi for a routine health check, only to be told by border officials that "Chadema officials have been banned from going out of Tanzania."
"My passport has been confiscated and I am required to return home to Arusha. To obtain further information I must visit the Immigration Headquarters in Dodoma," he wrote on social media platform, X.
Chadema, in an official statement, said that the immigration officials at the border had informed Lema they were acting on "orders from above."
"This is a deeply troubling phrase that points to the use of state power to pursue political vendettas," the party said, calling the action against Lema "unlawful, unjust and politically motivated."

Read: Chadema: CCM continues to defy African Court
Immigration later said the man needed to be questioned, further highlighting the tensions steadily building up in the country as election day approaches in October or November.
On May 13, another top Chadema official, Amani Golugwa, was arrested at Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport as he prepared to travel to Brussels, Belgium, to represent the party at a meeting of the International Democracy Union (IDU).
Police issued a statement explaining that Golugwa’s detention was based on “confidential information indicating that he has been traveling in and out of the country in secret and without adhering to legal procedures.”
Although he was released later the same day, the police action effectively ensured Chadema did not attend the IDU convention.
The opposition party is currently at loggerheads with the government over its uncompromising stance on reforms to Tanzania's electoral laws, which they say would allow for a fair vote when the time comes.
As a result, it has been barred from participating in the election and its leader Tundu Lissu is in jail indefinitely on a non-bailable treason charge for spearheading the No Reform, No Election crusade.

Chadema's Lema needs ‘extra checking,’ says Tanzanian official

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