Doctored image falsely linked to Tanzanian treason case

Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu is facing treason charges just months before scheduled general elections in October. During Lissu’s July 1, 2025, trial, social media users shared a photo purportedly showing President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the televised court proceedings. But this is false; the image is an altered version of a photo of Hassan watching the presentation of the national budget in 2024.

“President Samia and other leaders following the progress of the ‘Treason’ case facing Chadema Chairman, Tundu Lissu,” reads an Instagram post published on July 1, 2025.

“Among other things, Lissu has provided a legal class to the Attorneys of the Republic by citing articles showing how they violated his fundamental rights and demanding that the case be dismissed, opposing the postponement. All people following this case continue to receive lessons from the learned Advocate Tundu Lissu,” the post adds.

Similar claims were shared on X here and here.

The image shows Hassan and a group of people in a stately room focused on a television screen purportedly showing Lissu in court.

Lissu, a lawyer and chairperson of Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema, was arrested in April 2025 and charged with treason (archived here).

His case was adjourned to July 30, 2025, despite the prosecution telling the court at the beginning of the month that investigations were completed, paving the way for the matter to be transferred to the high court (archived here).

Chadema has been disqualified from the general election, scheduled for October, after demanding electoral reforms (archived here).

Lissu, who has in the past had several brushes with the law, was accused of inciting the public to obstruct the 2025 polls during a political rally (archived here and here).

Human rights organisations have since called for his unconditional release, amid accusations of Hassan’s government stifling political opponents (archived here and here).

However, the image purportedly showing Hassan watching Lissu’s recent trial is digitally manipulated.

Doctored image

AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and found that not only is the image altered, but the original predates the start of Lissu’s trial.

The original image was published on June 13, 2024, on the official Facebook page of the presidential communications directorate, State House, Tanzania (archived here).

“The President of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Samia Suluhu Hassan with her aides while following the 2024/25 Government Budget Session via television at her home in Chamwino, Dodoma Region,” reads the post.

“The speech was being read in parliament by the Minister of Finance, Hon. Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba on June 13, 2024,” the post adds.

A comparison shows that the visuals on the television were replaced with a shot from Tanzanian broadcaster ITV’s coverage of the trial (archived here).

The original photo, alongside others, was also published by the Tanzanian parliament X account on the same day (archived here).

The image was also featured in local news reports at the time (archived here and here).