Tanzanian opposition leader Freeman Mbowe arrested

The leader of Tanzania's main opposition party Chadema Freeman Mbowe has been arrested.

Mbowe was arrested alongside 10 other members of the party in Mwanza on Wednesday ahead of a planned conference for debating the constitution reforms, the party said on Twitter.

"We condemn the repression of the rights of Tanzanians with the strongest force. These are signs that the dictatorship that existed during the rule of President John Magufuli continues," the party charged.

"Freeman Mbowe was accosted by an army of police officers in his hotel when he arrived at 02:30 am and was arrested together with other leaders," it said.

While the other members are said to at Mwanza Police station, it was not immediately established the whereabouts of Mbowe.

" We want the police to come out and say where the chairman is and why he was arrested." the party added.

The arrest of the opposition party members comes just four months after President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli.

In March, President Hassan had reached out to the opposition leaders vowing to defend democracy and basic freedom.