Providing Evidence of Violent Repression by Government a Criminal Offence in Tanzania

"The killings were pre-planned to target regions that are known to be politically active, those that are critics of the ruling party. "

"Following people to their homes and killing them amounts to a massacre."

Tanganyika Law Society President Boniface Mwabukusi

 

"People in the government are in shock... there's disbelief,"

"Nobody has the guts to talk... that's the sad part of it. But people do whisper."

"We really don't know what to do. Do we want more demos? No, because the youth are going to be executed again." 

"[Hassan's son, Abdul, has] a private militia and most of the people believe that's the one involved in the abductions from the beginning."

 "Why are you abducting a 20-year-old kid just because they criticized you? You're the president, for crying out loud!" 

Government official, unnamed for protection

 

"There's a very, very tiny cabal who is informing and influencing the president and running the country."

"It's unprecedented and very un-Tanzanian. [Everyone else] has been completely frozen out."

"The only explanation is deep-seated paranoia... and now it's out of control."

"[Those with power] know one tool... a very brutal, crude, authoritarian tool."

"What's clear is that Tanzania will never be the same again." 

Former presidential adviser

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was inaugurated on 3 November 2025 at Chamwino, Dodoma, following her re-election with 97.66% of the vote. Photo: Tanzaniainvest

 

Hundreds of young Tanzanian protesters have been massacred in the wake of the country's recent election. They were out protesting at the behest of the country's opposition party, reflecting a broad general consensus that the vote that gave President Samia Suluhu Hassan a massive win was rigged. In many areas of the country people were unable to cast their ballots. Internet had been shut down. Some candidates had been arrested and imprisoned. The unrest and resistance against the outcome of the election had spread across the country.

 

And everywhere there have been reports of extrajudicial killings, not only of those who have gone out to publicly and vehemently protest, but people who happen to be passersby caught in crossfires, or just people going about their business shot by police; a report of a woman in her car with her children having been shot dead, just one example. In other instances police arriving at the home of those they pinpoint as troublemakers, shot dead.

 

It speedily became generally acknowledged that a small, vociferous and threatening cabal around the president have taken control of government reaction to what has amounted to a popular uprising in the making. Of a population of around 70 million people, Tanzania is majority Christian, with a large minority Muslim population. President Hassan is the country's first Muslim president, purportedly elected on October 29 with 98 percent of the vote. 

 

Tanzanian authorities are facing growing concern over killings during crackdowns on protests surrounding last week's election   Still from video ABCNews

 

It took no time at all for the protests against the election results, and charges of  repression to surface. The country's politicians are reputed to be in shock over the violence that has ensued, with claims surfacing that at least a thousand people have been killed. Many of those politicians, while stunned with disbelief, are silent in the face of what appears to be control grasped by hardliners in support of the new president.

 

Bloody images of the dead have appeared on social media; their ubiquity spurring even wider protests. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan is now officially Tanzania's new leader, the reality also is that key opposition leaders were either disqualified from running or were incarcerated, keeping them out of contention. Protests were speedily crushed while communication was cut off, given a five-day Internet blackout. 

 

The United Nations human rights head Volker Turk announced on Tuesday that: "There are ... disturbing reports that security forces have been seen removing bodies from streets and hospitals and taking them to undisclosed locations in an apparent attempt to conceal evidence". 

  

Demonstrations in Dar es Salaam. Photo: Vellum

 

A Tanzanian government senior official, fearing for his life, should his name be attached to any explanatory revelations given to the Western press, spoke on condition that his name be withheld. He spoke of two suspected sites of mass graves located near Dar es Salaam, and at Kondo and Mabwepande. The levers of power and repression appears to be in total control of a group supporting President Hassan, confirmed those in government willing to speak under cover.

 

Eyewitnesses came forward discreetly to describe their experiences in seeing people shot at point-blank range by police and armed men otherwise unidentified. A bystander was shot in the head by a soldier on election day in Dar es Salaam. Three people were lined up and shot "five or six times" in the legs by police the following day, one of the eyewitnesses said, unburdening himself of a nightmare experience.

 

Independence day, on December 9 has been highlighted by the country's political opposition for country-wide protests.  President Hassan's son Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, her private secretary Waziri Salum, head of the intelligence service Suleiman Abubakar Mombo, and a member of the East African parliament, Angela Kizigha, comprise the principals surrounding and supporting the president, according to discreet government sources.  

 

Funeral for an opposition youth leader killed during election protests   AFP

 

"There is extreme fear for everyone."

"If it wasn’t for the massive efforts of brave activists sending videos to us, and the people recording them on their phones, the world would have no idea of the scale of the killings."

Kenyan activist Mwanse Ahmed 

 

"Avoid sharing images or videos that are disturbing or demeaning to someone’s dignity."

"Doing so is a criminal offense."

Tanzanian Police