Police release top Chadema leaders on bail, including deputy Chair John Heche

Dar es Salaam. The Police have released on bail several senior officials of the opposition party Chadema, among them the party’s Deputy Chairperson for the Mainland, John Heche.

According to their lawyer, Hekima Mwasipu, the leaders were freed on Monday evening, November 10, 2025, under conditions requiring them to report back to the Central Police Station in Dar es Salaam at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

“It is true that the leaders have been released on bail, and they are required to report at 10 in the morning to the Central Police Station,” Mwasipu told The Citizen.

Alongside Heche, those released include the Deputy Secretary-General (Mainland), Amani Golugwa, Central Committee Member Godbless Lema, and Coastal Zone Chairperson Boniface Jacob, popularly known as Boni Yai.

Lema, Golugwa, and Boni Yai were among those recently arrested by the Police on allegations of involvement in protests that turned violent before and after the October 29, 2025 General Election, in several regions including Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, Songwe, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Mara, and Ruvuma.

Heche had been in police custody since October 22, 2025, following his arrest outside the High Court in Dar es Salaam, where he had gone to attend the treason trial of Chadema Chairperson, Tundu Lissu.