Human Rights Watch has condemned the violent response of Tanzanian security forces to protests that erupted after last week’s disputed national election.
Demonstrators across the country took to the streets to reject what they called a rigged and unfair vote. Security officers reportedly fired live bullets and tear gas at protesters, leading to widespread casualties.
Oryem Nyeko, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said it has been difficult to confirm the scale of the violence due to ongoing internet restrictions. “I imagine that in the coming days, once the internet restrictions are fully removed, people will be able to get a true sense of what has really taken place,” he said.
The opposition party, Chadema, claims that as many as 1,000 people may have been killed in post-election clashes and accused authorities of secretly disposing of the victims’ bodies. These reports have not been independently verified because of the communication blackout and limited access to affected areas.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the October 29 election with over 97% of the vote. Her swearing-in ceremony took place on Monday at a government compound in Dodoma, instead of a public stadium as in previous years, amid tight security and ongoing tension.
In her first public remarks since the election, President Hassan blamed foreign nationals for inciting the unrest. “Most of the youth that were arrested doing bad things came from outside Tanzania,” she said, adding that security agencies would investigate the incidents.
International observers and human rights groups have urged the Tanzanian government to probe the alleged abuses and hold those responsible accountable. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said the election “fell short” of regional standards for democratic elections, citing the exclusion of major opposition candidates.