By Khaled Kazziha
Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu will begin a hunger strike Monday to protest prison authorities’ alleged refusal to allow court-ordered private consultations with his lawyers, his lawyer said Saturday.
Lissu, who survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt, faces a treason charge carrying a possible death sentence. The leader of Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, has been detained for more than 18 months, with a final judgment scheduled for Nov. 6.
The lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, said Lissu told him of the planned strike during a meeting in prison. Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam, Nshala said he warned Lissu about the implications for his health because he relies on medication.
Nshala said Lissu was prepared to stop taking his medication.
“I am ready to face the consequences, but I will fight for the rule of law,” Nshala quoted him as saying.
Nshala said
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