Nairobi, Kenya- Tanzania is deepening its crackdown on opposition voices following October’s disputed elections, the United Nations warned on Friday.
Rights groups say more than 1,000 people were shot dead during three days of post-election protests on October 29 — unrest triggered by a vote that the opposition and foreign observers have described as fraudulent.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with 98pc of the vote, while main opposition contenders were either jailed or struck off the ballot.
Since then, UN human rights office spokesperson Seif Magango says the state has escalated actions against critics.
Addressing journalists in Geneva, Magango said the government has detained dozens of academics, civil society leaders and local politicians since mid-November — some allegedly seized by unidentified armed men.
He warned that Tanzania has expanded surveillance of digital communications and imposed restrictions on fuel sales, measures he said risk stoking public tension and eroding fundamental freedoms.
Reports indicate hundreds were killed and more than 2,000 detained when demonstrations erupted after the vote. Yet five weeks later, authorities have not released official figures on deaths, disappearances or the circumstances surrounding the violence.
Magango urged the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, saying the ongoing opacity is worsening mistrust at a volatile moment.
Protest Ban and International Pressure
Tanzania’s police on Wednesday issued a sweeping nationwide ban on all Independence Day protests planned for Tuesday — a move the UN called disproportionate.
Magango reminded authorities of their obligation to protect freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, stressing that firearms should never be used to disperse crowds except as a last resort against imminent threat.
The government has launched an investigation into the violence, but the UN insists the probe must meet international standards of impartiality and transparency, while shielding witnesses from reprisals.
Diplomatic friction is also rising. Last week, Tanzania ordered foreign ambassadors to remain silent on election-related violence.
But 17 Western embassies and the EU delegation issued a joint statement expressing “deep regret over the tragic loss of lives” and urging security forces to act with restraint and safeguard fundamental freedoms.
