DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Thursday expressed shock and sorrow over the shooting of outspoken opposition Member of Parliament Tundu Lissu by unknown gunmen in Dodoma.
"I have learnt with great shock and sorrow the shooting of Hon. Tundu Lissu. I am praying to the Almighty God for his quick recovery," tweeted Magufuli.
"State organs should hunt down the criminals involved in the dreadful act and face the full force of the law," the president added.
Lissu, who was injured in the Thursday incident, is the president of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) and MP of opposition party Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).
Tanzanian police said they have launched a manhunt for the gunmen who shot the lawmaker.
Jordan Rugimbana, the Dodoma regional commissioner, said senior officials, including Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Tulia Ackson, visited the MP at the Dodoma General Hospital.
"We are appealing for calmness as the MP was receiving treatment," he told a joint news conference.
James Kiologwe, the Dodoma regional medical officer, said Lissu was admitted to the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was being treated by a team of specialized doctors.
"I can not say at the moment how many bullets lodged in his body but he was shot in the stomach and legs. But he is alive and doctors are treating him," said Kiologwe.
Freeman Mbowe, Chadema chairman, said Lissu was shot several times shortly after arriving at his home in Dodoma from a parliamentary session.
"He is in critical condition but doctors are fighting to save his life at the Dodoma General Hospital," Mbowe told a radio station.
Last month, Lissu as the president of TLS, called on lawyers to boycott court proceedings in protest against an attack on a law firm headquarters.
However, a number of lawyers defied the call and attended court proceedings as in any other days, saying the TLS had no mandate to order them to boycott court proceedings.
