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Mambo ! | Le Carnet de l'IFRA-Nairobi

Sous titre:

Tanzania 2025. On the Shift Towards State Violence-Episode #1. Tundu Lissu’s “Tutakinukisha (Ignite it): ‘No Reform, no Election’” Speech of 3 April 2025

Auteur:

Par Nicodemus Minde, Marie-Aude Fouéré · Publié 25/02/2026

Date de publication:

02 Mars 2026

Publié ici :

02 Mars 2026

Mis à jour le :

02 Mars 2026

Domaines:

Sciences politiques

Langue de publication:

Anglais

"Mambo!" are IFRA-Nairobi's working papers. They result from research in social sciences and the humanities in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, eastern-DRC)

On 21 January 2025, Tundu Lissu defeated Freeman Mbowe in the internal elections of CHADEMA (Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, Party of Democracy and Development) and became the new party’s chairman. Two burning questions immediately arose: Would the party survive this change from Mbowe, a seasoned politician at the helm of the party for over twenty years and promoter of the political status quo, to Lissu, known to be a radical and uncompromising leader (Minde, 2024)? And how would the long-standing ruling CCM party (Chama Cha Mapinduzi, Party of the Revolution), within an authoritarian one-party system (Makulilo, 2008; Paget, 2019), react to it?

Under Mbowe, CHADEMA became the main opposition party in Tanzania by building strong grassroots support at the national level. This was a big achievement under an entrenched one-party state. With Lissu’s victory and the new men in charge, among them John Heche (Vice Chairperson), John Mnyika (Secretary General), and the resolute Godbless Lema, the party was going to navigate the murky waters of opposition politics in Tanzania in new ways. This was a challenge as CHADEMA had adopted a ‘No Reforms, No Election’ stance during the party’s convention in December 2024. It meant it would not contest the October 2025 general elections without prior significant electoral and political reforms (Minde, 2025). While one faction, allied to Mbowe, saw it as a pressure tactic for securing reforms, the other, allied to Lissu, was ready for an election boycott.

Lissu lifted the lid on the interpretation of the ‘No Reforms, No Election’ slogan while addressing party aspirants on 3 April. His speech, which we title “Tutakinukisha (Ignite it): ‘No Reform, No Election’”, was a programmatic declaration, rhetorical escalation and deliberate move to reframe CHADEMA and Tanzania’s political struggle as a question of liberation rather than (electoral) competition.

A few days later, on 9 April 2025, Lissu was arrested in Mbinga, a town in southern Tanzania, while addressing supporters. He was driven overnight to Dar es Salaam and, on 10 April 2025, was formally charged at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court on two counts: treason and publication of false information. The prosecution’s charge sheet pointed to the speech Lissu delivered on 3 April 2025, in which the state (prosecution) alleged called for the obstruction of the 2025 general election.

While acknowledging the state’s legal interpretation of Lissu’s speech, our objective is to adopt a close reading of it and provide keys to understanding its utterance, meaning and significance. Lissu’s speech is a situated political event that combines historical narrations, personal sacrifice, political morality, and strategic ambiguity. It can be approached as simultaneously a performative act and a materiality act (Barber, 2007) for the sake of rhetorical effects. The link between the text and personhood is also a crucial element of the speech: Lissu’s biography—such as past persecution, potential arrest, and renunciation of electoral ambitions—is woven into the fabric of the speech, shaping the political subject within the text itself. Authority is thus produced through the alignment of speech, personal history, and anticipated audience reception.

The remainder of the working paper can be found here.

Nicodemus Minde, Marie-Aude Fouéré (25 février 2026). Episode #1. Tundu Lissu’s “Tutakinukisha (Ignite it): ‘No Reform, no Election’” Speech of 3 April 2025. Mambo ! Consulté le 2 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15rkb

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