Tanzania has been thrown into turmoil following what observers are calling one of the darkest moments in its post-independence history.
Hundreds of protesters were reportedly massacred during the October 29 general election as a small circle of loyalists tightened their hold around President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Images and videos depicting the bodies of slain Tanzanians have flooded social media since the disputed polls, which the opposition has condemned as a “sham.”
Although Hassan officially secured 98 percent of the vote, most opposition figures were either imprisoned or barred from participating.
Opposition leaders allege that more than a thousand people were killed in a nationwide crackdown that unfolded under a five-day internet blackout. Nearly two weeks later, authorities have released no official casualty figures.
United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk voiced alarm on Tuesday, saying there were “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.”
A senior Tanzanian government official, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal, said they were “horrified” by the events and shared coordinates of suspected mass graves near Dar es Salaam, in Kondo and Mabwepande. AFP could not independently verify those claims.
Multiple sources describe a government paralyzed by fear and disbelief as a small, secretive inner circle consolidates power.
“People in government are in shock,” one senior official told AFP. “Nobody has the courage to speak out. People only whisper.”
Eyewitnesses reported that both police and unidentified armed men fired directly at civilians during the unrest.
One witness described seeing a bystander shot in the head in Dar es Salaam on election day, while another recounted how police shot three protesters “five or six times” in the legs the following day.
Opposition groups have called for new demonstrations on December 9, Tanzania’s Independence Day. Yet many remain terrified. “If we protest again,” a government insider warned, “the youth will be executed.”
According to sources, a tight network of loyalists has emerged around President Hassan, sidelining traditional institutions and voices of dissent.
Former presidential advisers say decision-making has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and suspicion.
“There’s a very small cabal informing and influencing the president,” one adviser said. “It’s unprecedented and very un-Tanzanian. Everyone else has been completely sidelined.”
The violence did not begin with the election. For over a year, Tanzania has witnessed a steady rise in kidnappings, disappearances, and targeted killings of government critics.
Human rights groups accuse the president’s son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, of maintaining a private militia responsible for many of the abductions—an allegation the government denies.
The Tanganyika Law Society reported at least 83 abductions under Hassan’s administration, noting a surge in cases as the election approached.
Among the missing is former government spokesman and ambassador Humphrey Polepole, who disappeared from his blood-stained home on October 6 after publishing a letter critical of the president. Many of those targeted were young citizens punished for comments made on social media.
“Why abduct a 20-year-old just because they criticized you?” asked a senior government official. “You’re the president, for crying out loud.”
When Samia Suluhu Hassan took power in 2021 following the sudden death of President John Magufuli, many hailed her as a reformer who would open political space and restore media freedoms. That optimism has since turned to dread.
“The only explanation is deep-seated paranoia,” said a former adviser. “Those in power know only one tool a very brutal, authoritarian one.”
Lawmakers now speak of the killings in hushed tones, fearful of both the security forces and the wrath of their constituents.
“What’s clear,” said one official, “is that Tanzania will never be the same again.”
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