MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) Freeman Mbowe, the leader of Tanzania's opposition Chadema party, has been detained in the city of Mwanza and transported to Dar es Salaam for interrogation, Mwanza Regional Police commander Ramadhani Nganzi said on Thursday.
The party's press office reported Mbowe's detention along with other political figures in Mwanza on Wednesday, saying that his whereabouts were unknown.
"After the detention, our colleagues from Dar es Salaam told us that they wanted Mbowe over other crimes he purportedly committed there. Therefore, we transported him to Dar es Salaam for interrogation," Nganzi said, as quoted by Tanzanian newspaper Mwananchi.
Mbowe was detained on Wednesday morning at the Kingdom hotel, the police official said, adding that the Chadema leader will be returned to Mwanza after the interrogation along with fifteen other suspects.
According to the party, Mbowe is being prosecuted in a terrorist case involving several other suspects who are now in prison in Dar es Salaam, as police officers told him after searching his home.
Media reports suggest that the detention of opposition activists took place just before they were due to convene a conference demanding constitutional reform and criticizing the government.
Last November, the Tanzanian police detained several opposition leaders, including Mbowe, in an attempt to prevent mass protests following the October general election, which was won by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and never recognized by the opposition.
