A senior official of Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, John Pambalu, has been charged with treason, an offence that carries a potential death penalty.

Pambalu, a member of the party's national council and former youth wing leader, is accused of seeking to disrupt the 2025 general election through protests intended to intimidate the government.

He is the second senior Chadema figure to face treason charges after party leader Tundu Lissu.

The charges come amid a wider crackdown on government critics following the October 2025 elections, which President Samia Suluhu Hassan officially won with 98% of the vote. Opposition groups and rights organisations say about 2,000 people were killed during the subsequent protests.

A government-initiated inquiry put the death toll at 518. Chadema was excluded from the election, and party officials have vowed to continue challenging the government.