"Party political activities, such as public meetings, demonstrations, rallies, debates inside premises, which are after all every citizen's right, have been suspended until the next elections," said a letter penned by the country's Catholic bishops. The episcopal letter warned such a political climate would only foment "division and hatred." His CHADEMA party has accused the government of trying to assassinate Lissu, who is also president of Tanzania's bar association. Magufuli, nicknamed the Bullzozer, took office in 2015 promising to tackle corruption. But detractors say he is autocratic and has clamped down on freedom of expression with opposition party meetings routinely banned and several newspapers shut while several journalists and artists have suffered death threats for criticising his regime.

Source: Daily Mail February 11, 2018 11:15 UTC