Tanzania's main opposition party on Tuesday said its chairman had been hospitalised after being beaten up in a "politically-motivated" attack as police said they would investigate the assault.
Freeman Mbowe was ambushed by unknown assailants as he returned home late on Monday in the capital Dodoma, and rushed to hospital with injuries, his Chadema party said in a statement.
A high-profile critic of President John Magufuli, Mbowe has repeatedly accused the government of covering up the extent of Tanzania's coronavirus outbreak and failing to take the pandemic seriously.
Tanzania is one of few countries in Africa that has not taken extensive measures against the virus, and Magufuli is among a handful of world leaders still playing down the seriousness of the pandemic.
The US and Britain expressed concern last November over local government elections in Tanzania after Magufuli's party won 99 percent of seats.
