Dar es Salaam. Scenes of jubilation, relief and emotional breakdowns played out at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday after 198 out of 216 treason suspects were discharged and set free.
The mass release took place on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed a notice indicating that the State no longer intended to proceed with the charges against them.
However, 18 suspects, among them the well-known cosmetics entrepreneur Jennifer Jovin, popularly known as “Niffer”, remain on remand as the DPP continues with the case against them.
Relatives of the suspects began arriving at the court early in the morning, forming small clusters in the waiting shed as they anticipated the day’s proceedings.
One relative carried a bouquet of flowers to welcome a family member expected to be freed, while another held balloons with the message: “Welcome home my husband.”
The long wait ended at 2:30pm when the first group of 116 suspects arrived aboard two Tanzania Prisons Service buses.
A second group of 99 suspects reached the court at 5:16pm. Upon arrival, officers from multiple security agencies took their particulars, including fingerprints and photographs.
The registration process continued until around 6:20pm, when the cases were called before various magistrates handling preliminary proceedings before the files are transferred to the High Court, the only court with jurisdiction to hear treason cases.
In total, 314 suspects had earlier been charged with treason, divided into six separate groups and accused of involvement in events connected to the general election held on November 29, 2025.
Before Senior Resident Magistrate Aaron Lyamuya, 20 suspects were discharged, except for Niffer and her co-accused, Mika Chavala.
The decision triggered intense emotional reactions. Niffer’s mother broke down in tears and collapsed, prompting those nearby to assist her.
Inside the courtroom, one of the freed suspects nearly fainted while standing in the dock, forcing prison officers to help him sit down.
Outside, relatives, friends and neighbours received the discharged suspects with cheers, hugs and shoulder-hoisting celebrations. Amid the joy, some family members broke down as they reunited with loved ones they had not seen for nearly a month.
The last group of suspects walked free at 8:48pm. Some, unfamiliar with the courthouse layout, became disoriented and mistakenly headed towards a corridor leading to the women’s washrooms before bystanders redirected them to the main exit.
‘I wasn’t even protesting’
Joseph Martin (24), a Kigamboni resident and one of those released, maintained that he had not participated in any protest. A student at a mid-level college, he said he earns money by transferring music to mobile phones using his laptop.
He recounted that on October 29 he travelled to Kijitonyama for work and ended up spending the night at a friend’s house. The next day, October 30, he was arrested alongside the tenants of that house.
“That day, officers passed by and when people saw them, everyone rushed inside. The officers came in and dragged us out, asking why we were running. They ordered us to lie down, and one of them said, ‘Anyone who lifts their head, shoot’,” he recalled.
He said that despite their police uniforms, the officers spoke Kiswahili in a strange and rough manner, which made him suspect that they were not familiar with the language. He said they tied them up and bundled them into a vehicle.
With this development, a total of 245 suspects have been freed by the court since Monday, November 24, 2025.
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