Tanzania opposition says vice-chairman charged with ‘terrorism’

Tanzania opposition says vice-chairman charged with ‘terrorism’
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan is sworn in during a ceremony in Dodoma, Tanzania. (Reuters)
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Tanzania opposition says vice-chairman charged with ‘terrorism’

Tanzania opposition says vice-chairman charged with ‘terrorism’
  • Rights groups have described a brutal crackdown on the opposition ahead of the election, with leaders either jailed or barred from running

NAIROBI: Tanzania’s main opposition party said its vice-chairman had been charged with terrorism, days after post-election violence shook the country with reports of potentially hundreds dead.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 29 poll with 98 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, but the opposition branded the election a “sham.”
Violent protests broke out across the country on election day.
The government responded with a total Internet blackout and transport shutdown, and the opposition says hundreds were killed by security forces, though getting verified information remains difficult despite an easing of restrictions.
Opposition party Chadema said in a post on X late Tuesday that its vice-chairman John Heche — who was arrested on October 22 — had been charged with “terrorism acts.”
It said police transported Heche from the capital Dodoma to the coastal Kinodoni region where he was charged.
He refused to write a statement but would “exercise that right immediately after being taken to Court,” it added.
It was unclear when he would appear in court.
Rights groups have described a brutal crackdown on the opposition ahead of the election, with leaders either jailed or barred from running.
Chadema party leader Tundu Lissu is currently on trial for treason charges, which can carry the death penalty.


Death toll in Bosnia retirement home fire rises to 11, with over 30 injured

Death toll in Bosnia retirement home fire rises to 11, with over 30 injured
Updated 3 sec ago

Death toll in Bosnia retirement home fire rises to 11, with over 30 injured

Death toll in Bosnia retirement home fire rises to 11, with over 30 injured

SARAJEVO: Bosnian officials said Wednesday that at least 11 people died and more than 30 were injured in a fire in a retirement facility that broke out the evening before in Bosnia.

It was not clear what caused the fire on the 7th floor (US 8th floor) of the building in Tuzla on Tuesday evening. Bosnian media reported that higher floors in the complex were occupied by elderly people who could not move on their own or were ill.

Tuzla mayor Zijad Lugavic said firefighters and rescue workers were among the injured, and that authorities were holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday to assess the situation.

Ruza Kajic, who lives at the third floor, said she had gone to bed when she heard “popping sounds” and saw flames falling from upper floors.