EspañolWASHINGTON, DC 27 September 2019 – Tundu Lissu, the Tanzanian opposition figure, Member of Parliament, and chief whip for the CHADEMA party, has retained the international law firm of Amsterdam & Partners LLP to defend his constitutional and internationally guaranteed rights as he prepares to return home after two years spent abroad recovering from an attempt on his life.
On 7 September 2017, Mr. Lissu, an outspoken critic of the regime of President John Magufuli, was brutally attacked by unknown gunmen in his car on his way home from parliament. The gunmen fired some 38 rounds into the vehicle, and Mr. Lissu narrowly survived despite more than 16 bullet wounds to his abdomen, arms, and legs.
As part of this engagement, Amsterdam & Partners LLP will explore options for legal action in international jurisdictions to vindicate Mr. Lissu’s internationally recognized rights and bring pressure against state officials allegedly involved in unlawful activity.
“There are very few leaders we see these days who display such uncompromising courage and integrity in the face of adversity, so we’re proud to work with Tundu Lissu to help raise awareness of his situation and the unlawful campaign to repress rights and political freedoms presently in Tanzania,” said Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP.
Mr. Lissu explains his retention of Amsterdam & Partners LLP as crucial to hold the government to account.
“Unfortunately as my experience has shown, the current leadership of the United Republic of Tanzania appear to feel that they are above the law. So we are sending a very clear message – there will be consequences for misconduct,” Mr. Lissu said. “We are looking forward to working on a range of issues with Mr. Amsterdam, who has vast experience in these matters, having represented opposition political leaders such as Bobi Wine in Uganda.”
Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm engaged in matters and representations globally and throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Most recently the firm has represented opposition Ugandan Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), as well as the former President of Zambia Rupiah Banda, the Governor of Kaduna State (Nigeria) Nasir El-Rufai, and the former Governor of Akwa Ibom (Nigeria) Godswill Akpabio. Previously, Mr. Amsterdam represented the Red Shirt pro-democracy movement in Thailand and succeeded in having the Prime Minister indicted for overseeing violence against protesters.
Amsterdam & Partners LLP maintains offices in Washington DC and London, and is presently engaged in more than a dozen countries around the world. More information about Amsterdam & Partners LLP can be found at amsterdamandpartners.com.
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