Opposition parties in Tanzania say proposed law will criminalise them

Opposition parties in Tanzania have called on legislators not to pass proposed amendments to a law governing political parties, saying it would criminalise their activities.
At a news conference in the capital Dar es Salaam, chairman of one of the ten opposition parties, Hashim Rungwe, said the proposed amendments would curtail constitutional freedoms.
He said the law imposed penalties of jail sentences or big fines for minor infringements. Among its provisions, the new law would ban parties from functioning as “activist” groups.