Tanzania Opposition Challenges Tigo Over Alleged Government Surveillance

Tanzania's main opposition party CHADEMA has demanded that telecom firm Tigo explain allegations that it helped the government track the location of opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu before a 2017 assassination attempt. Tigo's parent company Millicom is currently facing a lawsuit filed by a former employee who raised those concerns.

Tanzania's main opposition party has demanded an explanation from telecom company Tigo regarding allegations that the firm assisted the government in monitoring an opposition leader's movements ahead of a failed assassination attempt.

In a British court, a former employee of Tigo's parent company Millicom claimed that mobile phone data was shared with the government, detailing the location of lawmaker Tundu Lissu weeks before he was attacked. The court filings, observed by Reuters, revealed that Lissu's car was riddled with bullets in September 2017 by unknown assailants.

Millicom responded by stating it became aware of concerns about a local politician's data in late August or early September 2017. While Millicom disciplined the involved individuals and provided additional training on data request protocols to its subsidiaries, the company denied allegations in a lawsuit by former employee Michael Clifford, who claimed he was dismissed for flagging the tracking issue. Both Millicom and the Tanzanian government have not replied to requests for comment.

(With inputs from agencies.)