Police Block Tanzanian Opposition Meeting, Party Faces Suspension

Police in Tanzania have blocked a meeting organised by opposition party ACT-Wazalendo.

According to Dar Special Zone Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa the decision was taken as a result of security concerns regarding the meeting. However the party’s secretary general claimed that they had not been informed of the ban.  

"We were caught unawares when some of our new members were chased away by the police... we weren't informed at all about this new development," she is quoted as telling The Citizen.

The meeting was set to involve the joining of 1500 new members to the party who have defected from the Civic United Front (CUF). 

Earlier this week the Registrar of Political Parties Francis Mutungi issued a notice of intention to deregister the party on the basis of an alleged breach of the Political Parties Act. The party has been given 14 days to challenge the decision, which concerns its failure to submit an audited report of its 2013/14 financial records.

ACT-Wazalendo also stands accused of allowing supporters to burn the flags of other political parties and the inappropriate use of religious sentiments. The news came following a high profile tour of the group’s leader, Zitto Kabwe, during which he received large numbers of defectors from the Civic United Front (CUF), including the party’s secretary general Seif Shariff Hamad.