Tanzanian Telecom Company Tigo Accused Of Illegally Sharing Data Of Tundu Lissu With The Govt Before His Attempted Assassination

Evidence presented at a London tribunal has placed Millicom, the former parent company of telecom firm Tigo, at the center of serious allegations regarding an attack on Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

According to UK’s The Guardian, the tribunal has heard claims that the 2017 attempted assassination of Chadema leader Lissu is connected to Millicom, which allegedly shared his mobile phone data with the Tanzanian government.

In the case against Millicom, it is alleged that Tigo provided Tanzanian authorities with round-the-clock access to Lissu’s phone call and location data in the weeks leading up to the September 2017 attack.

The accusation surfaced as part of a claim by Michael Clifford, a former internal investigator at Millicom and ex-Metropolitan Police officer, who raised concerns about the company’s actions.

Clifford alleges he was wrongfully dismissed by Millicom for “whistleblowing” about the affair.

Clifford’s lawyers stated that Millicom had been tracking Lissu’s two mobile phones since August 22, 2017, and intensified the tracking on August 29. The data, they allege, was shared with the government through WhatsApp.

Lissu narrowly survived the attack in Dodoma when gunmen fired multiple shots into his vehicle, leaving him severely injured. He sought medical treatment in Kenya and Europe before returning to Tanzania years later. No one has been prosecuted for the attack.