Police arrested Tanzania's top opposition figures on Monday, their party said, as the authorities moved to block a mass protest in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania’s main opposition party leaders Freeman Mbowe and Tundu Lissu were released on bail late on Monday, their party said on X, after they were detained ahead of blocked protests in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania police on Monday arrested opposition members, including prominent opposition leader Tundu Lissu, and journalists in Dar es Salaam before planned peaceful protests calling on the government

The East African country’s leading opposition party said that its presidential candidate in the last election and its chairman were among dozens detained before a protest called to draw attention to the killing and abduction of government critics.

Two leaders of Tanzania's main opposition Chadema party are among 14 members who have been arrested, as police attempted to block a banned demonstration in the main city, Dar es Salaam. Chadema said on X that its chairman,

The leaders of Tanzania's main opposition party, Freeman Mbowe and Tundu Lissu, were released on bail late Monday, the Party for Democracy and Progress, commonly known as Chadema, said on social media.