'CHADEMA suspends demos'

saying it has temporarily suspended the demos deemed illegal by the police and government to allow the country's religious leaders to mediate an apparent political standoff.
Chadema's national chairman Freeman Mbowe announced in Dar es Salaam that the party had agreed to delay its pro-democracy marches for at least a month to make way for the mediation initiative.
According to Mbowe, Chadema was heeding a growing chorus of calls from religious leaders to call off the demos - dubbed the 'Day of Defiance' – and give the clerics enough time to talk to President John Magufuli and his government about allowing more democratic space to opposition political parties in the country.
"The nationwide rallies planned for September 1 have been postponed to allow religious leaders to resolve this issue through dialogue," the CHADEMA chairman told a somewhat surprised group of media representatives in the city.
"However, if the efforts of our religious leaders do not bear fruit, we will proceed with our planned peaceful demonstrations on October 1," he added.
He insisted that the party’s ‘wall’ of defiance against what he described as an infringement on democratic rights by President Magufuli's government will resume should the religious leaders fail in their intervention.
The president warned back in July that he would crack down on political troublemakers "without mercy" after Chadema vowed to defy the initial police ban on the planned rallies.
Opposition leaders have argued that the ban on peaceful political demonstrations is unconstitutional because it amounts to denying them their "inalienable" right to freedom of assembly. But authorities maintain that the country's laws give the police powers to outlaw protest rallies for security reasons.
While Tanzania has enjoyed relative political stability in a volatile region for many years, political analysts warned that the stalemate between police and the main opposition party over the planned but banned rallies was stoking tensions that could have led to violent confrontations.
Mbowe yesterday accused the government of cracking down on Chadema, saying dozens of leaders and supporters of the party have in recent weeks been arrested and some were now facing criminal charges in court.
Police in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday took in for questioning five top Chadema leaders including Mbowe and former prime minister Edward Lowassa but released them without charge some hours later.
"We have decided to give the local religious leaders two or three weeks to make an effort to meet with President Magufuli and try to work out a lasting solution to this conflict," Mbowe told reporters yesterday.
"Apart from religious leaders, we have also been urged by members of the civil society to temporarily postpone our planned demonstrations," he added.

KWA Video+Picha Za WhatsApp Namba, KuunganishwaBONYEZA/PLAY HAPA👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇>>>>>