A coalition of African opposition leaders has demanded the release of three jailed politicians, accusing Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda of weaponising courts to crush dissent.

The Platform for African Democrats (PAD) issued the call following a meeting in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on  May 24, signed by former Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

 Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, shared the statement.

PAD singled out the cases of Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu, Uganda’s Kizza Besigye and Rwanda’s Victoire Ingabire, describing their trials as abuses of legal process designed to remove political opponents from public life.

“The prosecution of opposition leaders who are fighting to democratise their countries has become a feature of African autocracies, intent on destroying democratic practices in favour of extending their rule through repression,” the statement read.

Tanzania

Lissu went on trial for treason in Dar es Salaam weeks before Tanzania held an election that his party had been barred from contesting. He was imprisoned from April 9 after speaking at a public rally for Chadema’s “No Reform, No Elections” campaign, which police disrupted with excessive force.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Tanzania’s electoral body, the Independent National Elections Commission, disqualified Chadema from participating in the elections after party officials refused to sign the 2025 Election Code of Ethics, which Chadema said it would not sign until the government undertook electoral reforms.

Tanzania’s October 2025 election triggered days of protests, an internet shutdown, hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.

President Samia Suluhu won a second term with more than 97 per cent of the vote, with no major opposition candidate in the running.

Lissu’s trial has yet to be concluded.

Uganda

Besigye was abducted in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, secretly transferred to Uganda and arraigned before a military court in Kampala on November 20, facing charges related to illegal firearm possession and alleged plans to overthrow the government. Peoples Dispatch

Uganda’s Supreme Court declared on January 31, 2025, that military trials of civilians were unconstitutional and ordered that cases be transferred to civilian courts.

Despite the ruling, Besigye has been denied bail four times and remains at Luzira Prison, where Amnesty International has described conditions as inhumane.

As of February 2026, his trial had yet to commence, with his wife Winnie Byanyima and senior counsel Martha Karua describing his health as increasingly fragile.

Rwanda

In Rwanda, Ingabire, president of the unregistered Development and Liberty for All party, was arrested in June 2025.

Her re-arrest came only hours after she had fulfilled her civic duty as a witness in a trial concerning nine defendants, including eight members of her party and an independent journalist. 

Rwanda’s Supreme Court in March 2026 rejected Ingabire’s challenge to the constitutionality of her arrest, clearing the way for prosecutors to proceed with a trial in which they seek a life sentence. 

PAD called on the international community to demand the end of what it termed “farcical” legal proceedings and the provision of medical care for Lissu and Besigye.

“The fight for democracy in Africa cannot be stopped by the actions of tyrants determined to hold onto power,” the statement noted.

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