High Court of Tanzania convicts Tundu Lissu of incitement

DAR ES SALAAM: THE High Court of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry, has convicted CHADEMA Chairman Tundu Lissu of incitement.

Lissu, who had been facing a treason charge, was found guilty of the lesser offence in a judgment delivered today, Friday, November 6, 2026, by Judge Dunstan Ndunguru, who headed the three-judge panel that heard the case.

In the judgment, the court acquitted Lissu of treason after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove that he intended to threaten the government through his statements.

However, the court convicted him of incitement as a lesser alternative offence to treason, having found that the prosecution had successfully proved the lesser charge.

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Judge Ndunguru said that, under Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), the court has the authority to convict an accused person of a lesser offence as an alternative to a more serious charge, even where the accused was not originally charged with that lesser offence.

“This court is satisfied that, pursuant to Section 319 of the CPA, the accused committed the lesser offence of incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code,” Judge Ndunguru said.