Dozens feared dead in Tanzania protests over election that critics call a sham

As thousands took to the streets for the third day in a row in Tanzania’s biggest cities and towns, protesting an election in which the country’s president barred her two main opponents from running against her, human rights groups warned of growing violence against demonstrators.

Activists conducting independent tallies of the casualties said they had recorded more than 100 dead. Roland Ebole, a researcher with Amnesty International, said the prominent rights organization had received reports that police had killed dozens in at least nine regions across Tanzania. Amnesty said it could not directly verify the numbers because of challenges in getting information from inside the country.

Protests began Wednesday after the polls opened. Police responded with tear gas and live ammunition to disperse crowds.

“We cannot verify the actual figure of the dead and injured so far because most are going to public hospitals,” said Tito Magoti, a human rights lawyer from Tanzania. “We record what we get from the people, but the figures we have so far do not look so good.”

At the heart of the discontent with Wednesday’s election is the spate of legal obstacles placed before the most viable competitors to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Tundu Lissu, the leader of the main opposition party in the elections, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, or Chadema, has been on trial for treason since April. During his most recent court appearance in October, his trial was adjourned until Nov. 3. Lissu sought bail and was denied.

Chadema itself was barred from participating in the elections after Tanzania’s electoral commission said in April that the party had failed to sign a mandatory code of conduct.

The other consequential candidate, Luhaga Mpina of the Alliance for Change and Transparency, or ACT-Wazalendo party, was disqualified from running, supposedly for failure to comply with nomination procedures.

Lissu “has been widely popular in Tanzania for his pushing for changes that people seek, like the push for a new constitution,” said Oryem Nyeko, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. “Locking them out was calculated and set an unfair playing field from the onset.”

Social media was ablaze Thursday with videos of men bringing down Hassan’s campaign posters. In some, crowds stormed the streets, chanting in Swahili, “We do not want Mama,” a common respectful reference to older women in Tanzania.

“The problem here is the undermining of freedoms, that’s why the people are on the streets,” said Janet Mavura, one of the protesters who turned out in the streets of Dar es Salaam, the nation’s largest city. “We have been oppressed for so long, and now we have our moment to change things. All we are saying is that we want a better life for ourselves and our children.”

Police on Wednesday imposed a 6 p.m. curfew in Dar es Salaam, where a majority of the protests were centered. The internet was also cut off, limiting communication.

Nicodemus Minde, a researcher with the Institute of Security Studies, said he was able to communicate again upon leaving and landing in another country. “There was no Airtel in Tanzania, there was total internet shutdown,” he said, referring to one of the main telecommunication companies operating in Tanzania.

Minde said that as he drove to the airport, he saw deserted streets filling up with army personnel. Many flights had been canceled.

Gen. Jacob John Mkunda, Tanzania’s chief of defense forces, described the protests Thursday as “criminal acts.” He urged protesters to cease immediately.

“The government is continuing like nothing has happened, and they are still using live bullets on people, and that’s disastrous, it only makes people more angry,” Minde said. His mother runs a medical facility in Arusha, he added, and had treated three gunshot wounds.

Hassan was sworn in as the first female president of Tanzania in March 2021, following the death of President John Magufuli. In her first year, Hassan lifted bans on media outlets, and political rallies that had been outlawed during Magufuli’s regime resumed. But optimism about her rule waned over time.

Maria Sarungi, a Tanzanian rights activist, shared with the Washington Post a list of more than 100 people who she said had either been abducted or killed, or disappeared under mysterious circumstances, since Hassan came to power. “I am still updating the list,” she said.

Sarungi is among the growing number of journalists and activists who have fled Tanzania for fear of reprisal from Tanzanian authorities. In January, Sarungi was abducted in Nairobi, in neighboring Kenya, and shoved into a car by unknown men. She was later released, dumped on the roadside by her captors.

Chadema officials also shared with the Post a list of 52 people believed to have been abducted by Tanzanian authorities in October alone.

Before his arrest, Lissu led a campaign for electoral reforms, including a more independent electoral body whose election results could be challenged in court. He encouraged his supporters not to show up for elections if Chadema’s suggestions were not implemented. The government arrested him, saying he was inciting the public against participating in the elections. Lissu’s deputy John Heche was arrested on Oct. 22.

“Hassan clamped down every critical voice,” said Magoti, the human rights lawyer. “Now she has no one to negotiate with because the people are telling her that you cannot kill us and lead us.”