Opposition political parties in Tanzania are beginning to find their voice again after being almost totally silenced over the last five years.

A few months after he was sworn in for his first term in office in 2015, former President John Pombe Magufuli, who died on March 17, 2021, banned opposition parties from conducting political activities until the next elections, which were held in October 2020.

The order, which was zealously enforced by the police force and regional and district administrators, effectively paralysed Tanzania’s opposition parties which normally depend on public meetings to rally grassroots support.

A number of party officials were arrested after they were accused of defying the order.

-The East African