Dissent Behind Bars: Political Prisoners in Africa

Thursday, 8 October 2026

12 noon Washington D.C.
5pm London / Lagos
6pm Paris / Harare
7pm Kampala / Nairobi

Across Africa, governments are increasingly treating political opponents as criminals. Opposition leaders, activists, journalists and human-rights defenders are increasingly being detained for challenging those in power. No reliable continent-wide count exists, but the total runs into the tens of thousands. Uganda’s Kizza Besigye and Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu are among the most prominent examples: both face treason charges after decades of pursuing nonviolent change through the ballot box, the courts and civic mobilization. What does imprisonment do to individuals, families and opposition movements? Why are governments turning to criminal law to muzzle dissent? And what can activists and international partners do to secure their release and defend political space?

Treason is an especially potent political weapon. It does more than imprison an opponent; it recasts dissent as absolute betrayal. By branding critics as enemies of the state, governments can use the gravest charges in the criminal code to discredit, intimidate and sideline credible challengers. Besigye remains in detention in declining health, while Lissu is imprisoned after campaigning for political and electoral reform. Their cases—and many others across the continent, from Rwanda to Niger—show how autocrats weaponize the law to close political space and entrench their grip on power.

Join the Resistance Bureau for a special Twitter Space featuring people with firsthand experience of political imprisonment, along with family members, lawyers, colleagues and activists on the front lines of the struggle. Hear their perspectives on the human cost of repression, the use of criminal law to silence dissent and the fight to defend political space. Set your reminder and join the conversation.