NAIROBI (Kenya): Tanzania has been plunged into turmoil following reports that hundreds of young protesters were massacred during the country’s October 29 elections, with politicians and insiders gripped by fear as a small circle of hardliners tightens control around President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The election, which officially gave Hassan 98 per cent of the vote, was marred by widespread repression, with opposition leaders jailed or disqualified. Opposition parties claim more than 1,000 people were killed as security forces violently suppressed demonstrations under a five-day internet blackout. The government has yet to release an official death toll.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said there were “disturbing reports” of bodies being removed from streets and hospitals to conceal evidence. An unnamed senior Tanzanian official told AFP that two possible mass grave sites exist near Dar es Salaam, though these claims remain unverified.
Witnesses described police and soldiers shooting civilians at close range, including one bystander killed by a soldier in Dar es Salaam on election day. Many citizens, fearful of further violence, say they dare not protest again.
According to government sources, power now lies with a tight inner circle around President Hassan — including her son Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, intelligence chief Suleiman Abubakar Mombo, and adviser Angela Kizigha. The group allegedly directs state repression and controls the security apparatus.
Critics say repression had been escalating for more than a year, with abductions, disappearances, and murders targeting opposition figures and ordinary citizens. The Tanganyika Law Society previously recorded at least 83 abductions, a number that spiked in the days before the election.
Former officials say Hassan’s early promises of reform have given way to authoritarian rule. “There’s disbelief and fear,” one insider said. “Tanzania will never be the same again.” – AFP
