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

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.