Tanzania urges exiled politicians to return home

Chadema Secretary-General John Mnyika on Thursday guaranteed all exiled party members that they would not be harmed should they choose to return to the East African nation.

This comes after Tanzania's Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni, during a parliament session in Dodoma on June 7, 2022, assured asylum seekers of their safety.   

“The country is safe, I urge those who fled the country to return, because the country is safe and dialogue between the government and political parties is going well,” Masauni said then. 

The exact number of Tanzanians living in exile remains unknown but some high profile names include former Presidential candidate Tundu Lissu and legislators Godbless Lema and Ezekiel Wenje.

Lissu fled the country in 2020 after initially seeking temporary refuge at the residence of the German Ambassador in Dar es Salaam on grounds that he had received death threats after unsuccessfully attempting to usurp then president, the late John Magufuli, at the country's General Election. 

Lissu had been living abroad since 2017 after a botched assassination attempt on his life.

Lissu was shot 16 times in 2017, in an assassination attempt that many perceive to have been politically motivated. He returned in 2020 solely to contest against Magufuli in the race to Tanzania's house on the hill.

Magufuli however successfully defended his seat though the election results were disputed. 

Lema on the other hand sought asylum for himself and his family in December 2020 after having a few run-ins with Magufuli's administration. 

Following Magufuli's death in March 2021, Suluhu took over as Tanzania's president.