Tanzania has charged hundreds of people with treason following violent demonstrations over last month’s disputed elections, escalating political tensions as the country grapples with an uncertain death toll from post-election unrest.
In Dar es Salaam and other regions, dozens face criminal charges, while arrest warrants have been issued for top opposition figures, including Brenda Rupia, communications director for the opposition Chadema party, and John Mnyika, its secretary-general. Chadema’s leader, Tundu Lissu, has already been jailed for months and faces treason charges after calling for electoral reforms prior to the October 29 vote.
Among those targeted is influential preacher Josephat Gwajima, whose church was deregistered earlier this year after he criticized the government over rights abuses.
The security crackdown followed protests before and after the election, which saw President Samia Suluhu Hassan claim more than 97% of the vote, while prominent candidates, including Lissu and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, were barred from running.
Rights groups and the African Union have condemned the election, citing arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, ballot stuffing, and multiple voting incidents.
The AU concluded that the election “did not comply with AU principles or international standards for democratic elections”, describing the environment as unconducive to peaceful voting and acceptance of results.
Estimates of post-election deaths vary widely. Chadema claims over 1,000 people were killed, while the Catholic Church of Tanzania suggests hundreds, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission claims as many as 3,000, with thousands still missing.
The government denies these allegations, though the heavy-handed security response has drawn international scrutiny.
President Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, has promised steps to restore harmony, but critics accuse her of consolidating power through authoritarian methods, diverging from Tanzania’s previous tradition of tolerating opposition under a dominant party system.
The governing Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in power since independence in 1961, continues to maintain strong ties with the Communist Party of China, a relationship extended under Hassan’s landslide election victory.
Tanzania now faces mounting domestic and international pressure to ensure accountability, respect human rights, and restore confidence in its electoral process.
