The President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, has surprised Rwandans by paying the bail of an opposition leader, saving him from spending five months in prison.

At least, nine politicians were convicted on Monday for organising an illegal rally where police killed a female student in 2018 while trying to disperse the crowd.

According to the BBC, President Magufuli paid over $16,500 (£13,000) for Peter Msigwa, one of nine Chadema politicians who were sentenced to pay over $150,000 in total or go to jail for five months.

Mr Msigwa was supposed to pay over $17,000. The rest was matched by his relatives.

According to reports, three other politicians from the Chadema party were released from jail after supporters raised money to pay their fine.

The Chadema party tweeted a video of people celebrating and singing in Swahili that the community have paid and the three have left jail.

#SHORTCLIP - Umma umelipa wametoka watatu Mh @halimamdee (Mb), @Matiko_Esther_ (Mb) na @esteramosbulaya (Mb).#TumeHuruyaUchaguzi#NoHateNoFear#Chadema pic.twitter.com/V6owBLjGSk

— CHADEMA Tanzania (@ChademaTz) March 12, 2020