Prominent government critics across Africa are facing treason charges. It's often to silence them

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Veteran Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu was acquitted of treason on Friday but sentenced to four years in prison for inciting others to disrupt last year’s elections.

The 58-year-old Lissu had faced the death penalty on the treason charge.

His case mirrors others in Africa where opposition leaders and other critics have been charged with treason or similar offenses and have faced the death penalty. Many of the cases are attempts by leaders to silence or remove the opposition, according to rights groups.

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and brought back to his country to face allegations of plotting to overthrow its long-ruling president .

Zambian opposition figures came out of hiding and were arrested on treason charges following an election this year marred by allegations that government critics were detained, beaten and threatened.

Former Congo President Joseph Kabila was convicted of treason by a military court and sentenced to death in absentia last year in a trial Human Rights Watch described as a “political vendetta.” Mozambique's popular opposition leader will go on trial this month accused of inciting terrorism and civil disobedience.

Here is a look at some of Africa's most prominent cases:

Lissu has been in jail since he was arrested in April 2025 at a political rally where he had called for electoral reforms in Tanzania. Lissu criticized the absence of an independent electoral body and alleged that laws favored the dominant CCM party, which has held power for decades.

Authorities said his “No Reforms, No Election” slogan encouraged supporters to stop or interfere with the 2025 election. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the CCM was reelected with more than 97% of the vote after Lissu’s party and another major opposition party were barred from contesting the polls.

Lissu was charged with treason and making false claims against authorities to mislead the public and pleaded not guilty. He defended himself at times during the case, claiming he had been denied private consultations with his lawyers.

Lissu is a longtime government opponent who survived an assassination attempt when he was shot 16 times in his car in 2017. He has been arrested around a dozen times, according to rights groups and local reports, and spent time in exile.

Former Uganda presidential candidate Besigye was abducted in 2024 while in Nairobi, Kenya, according to Amnesty International.

Days later, he appeared in front of a military tribunal in Uganda to face charges of treachery. His case was transferred to a civilian court where he and two co-defendants were charged with treason for allegedly plotting to overthrow Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

They could also face the death penalty if convicted.

The 70-year-old Besigye, who has been imprisoned for two years, collapsed in court in July and is reported to be seriously ill.

He is a longtime voice of dissent in Uganda, where the autocratic Museveni has been president since 1986 while scrapping term limits and clamping down on criticism.

Uganda's other main opposition leader, Bobi Wine, said he fled the country this year fearing for his safety.

Zambia's main challenger for president was among dozens of opposition members arrested following an election in August won by incumbent Hakainde Hichilema.

Nearly 20 of them, including presidential candidate Brian Mundubile — who finished second to Hichilema — and running mate Makebi Zulu have been charged with treason. Their trial hasn't started.

Authorities allege opposition members were found with weapons at Mundubile's property and were planning an uprising, which they denied. Mundubile said security forces raided the property and shot at an unarmed group that had gathered. A former lawmaker was killed.

Human Rights Watch said authorities have not provided information on how many opposition members in total were rounded up before and after the election and it could be more than 80. The rights group said there is a “post-election climate of intimidation, harassment, and repression" in Zambia, and the southern African country's reputation as a stable democracy is slipping.

The treason conviction and death sentence issued against former Congo President Kabila in 2025 was criticized because he was tried in front of a military court despite being a civilian, which rights groups said undermined democracy and due process.

Kabila, who led the country from 2001 to 2019 after the assassination of his father, was prosecuted for alleged support for Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and their insurrection. He was not present for the trial and has not been apprehended.

Kabila, who was also accused of rights abuses while he was leader, recently teamed up with the rebels in eastern Congo to launch a new political and military opposition coalition against rival and current President Felix Tshisekedi .

South Sudan’s longtime opposition leader, Riek Machar, went on trial in September 2025 on charges including treason, terrorism and crimes against humanity. Authorities allege Machar helped orchestrate an attack by a militia on a military garrison. His allies deny the allegations .

Machar, who has been suspended as first vice president by President Salva Kiir, is under house arrest and has been appearing in a cage during court proceedings. There are seven co-defendants.

Machar's lawyers challenged the special court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the prosecution violated a 2018 peace agreement that brought Machar back into a unity government after a five-year civil war .

His prosecution has been criticized as politically motivated and a violation of the peace deal.

South Sudan still hasn't held an election 15 years after independence. The repeatedly delayed vote is now scheduled for Dec. 22.

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