President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania has finally met with the opposition leader Tundu Lissu for the first time since he went to exile.
Lissu, who is Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) party vice-chair, held a discussion with President Samia in Brussel, Belgium, on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the State House, Dar es salaam, the two discussed a myriad of issues.
“President Samia, who is also the Chairperson of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, and the CHADEMA leader discussed various issues of mutual interest on the state of Tanzanian nation,” the statement reads.
Suluhu is in Belgium after attending the meeting that brought together the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
The meeting took place on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.
In June last year, Lissu had said he was ready to return to his country only if the president addresses his assassination attempt.
Addressing the press in Nairobi, Kenya during the launch of his book titled Parliament and Accountability in East Africa, Lissu said President Samia had not responded to his appointment request.
Lissu had earlier stated that his attempt to meet Samia through her secretary Juma Mkomi did not bear fruits.
Lissu’s car was sprayed with bullets in September 2017 after leaving the Parliament Buildings, leaving him with severe injuries.
The incident happened during the era of the late President John Magufuli, whom he did not see eye to eye with.
Lissu was a great critic of Magufuli’s administration, blaming him for undermining the rights of the opposition leaders as well as human rights groups in Tanzania.
He however returned home in 2020 for elections where he sought to oust Magufuli but he lost.