Summary
The number of Tanzanians living in exile remains unknown but some high profile names include former Presidential candidate Tundu Lissu and legislator Godbless Lema.
Dar es Salaam. Minister for Home Affairs, Hamad Masauni has asked Tanzanians who left the country to seek refuge due their safety to come back because the country is safe
He made the remarks on June 7, 2022 when speaking during parliament in Dodoma.
“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,” he said.
The number of Tanzanians living in exile remains unknown but some high profile names include former Presidential candidate Tundu Lissu and legislator Godbless Lema.
After 2020 General Election, Tundu Lissu sought a temporary refuge at the residence of the German ambassador in Dar es Salaam, claiming that he had received death threats in the wake of a disputed election results.
The outspoken lawyer and his bodyguards were spotted at the departure lounge of the Julius Nyerere International Airport leaving the country.
Mr Lissu said when fleeing the country that he was not fleeing the “fight” but rather “exploring other avenues to fight for democracy and human dignity and justice for the country”.
Prior to taking a temporary refuge, Lissu was arrested outside the diplomatic mission and questioned on suspected plot to overthrow the government. He denied the claims and was immediately released without charges.
December 2020, former Member of Parliament for Arusha Urban Godbless Lema fled to Canada with his family after he was granted political asylum in the country.
Godbless Lema and his family had crossed from Tanzania through the Namnaga Border Post, soon Amnesty International called on the Kenyan government to process Godbless Lema and his family’s quest for asylum per its obligations to the Refugee Convention, OAU Convention on Refugees and the Refugee Act 2006.
Mr Lema was among those who were arrested and later released on police bond without charge by police in Dar es Salaam in the aftermath of the October 28 general elections.