Opposition Leaders Arrested in Tanzania Over Protest Against Abductions and Killings

In the lead up to the planned protests, opposition and observers said Tanzanian authorities, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, have grown increasingly repressive, despite Hassan stating that she would uphold democratic values better than her predecessor, John Magufuli, who died in 2021.

Last week, Hassan stated that her government wouldn’t tolerate demonstrations threatening to break down law and order, and the police followed her statements shortly after by declaring the planned protests illegal. This is the second time in two months Chadema party leaders have been arrested by the police. In mid-August, security operatives arrested Mbowe, Lissu, party Secretary-General John Mnyika, and many more after the party planned a parade in Mbeya, in the country’s southern region, to mark International Youth Day. They were released on bail on the same day.

The latest planned protests followed the brutal killing of senior Chadema member Mohamed Ali Kibao, who was “severely beaten and had acid poured on his face,” after he was dragged out of a bus while traveling from Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, to his hometown of Tanga. Mbowe said the perpetrators of the crime are suspected state security agents, adding that Kibao was abducted in broad daylight in the full view of witnesses.

The killing of Kibao ignited a call from Chadema for a judicial inquiry into the alleged abductions and killing of opposition figures, with Mbowe alleging that over 200 people have suspiciously gone missing. “What we’ve found is alarming,” Mbowe said in a press briefing. “There is a task force initially set up to combat armed robbery that seems to have shifted its focus. This group now appears to be involved in these abductions, operating outside the formal legal framework.”

Hassan condemned Kibao’s killing, saying she had “ordered the investigation agencies to bring me detailed information about this terrible incident and others like this as soon as possible.” She issued the statement in an X post, adding that Tanzania is “a democracy and every citizen has the right to live.”

Last week, while speaking at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Tanzanian Police Force, Hassan sternly addressed foreign diplomats and agencies against getting involved in the country’s internal affairs. The European Union, British and Canadian High Commissions, and Switzerland and Norway embassies had issued a joint statement condemning the disappearances, detentions and deaths of political and rights activists. The U.S. embassy also issued a statement calling for transparent investigations.

Hassan said the comments of the foreign agencies were undermining her country’s sovereignty. “It is our own responsibility to find out why they (abductions and killings) are happening at this moment in time,” she said. “We know what we need to do as a sovereign nation, and do not appreciate other countries telling us to do one, two, three.”

The arrests, alleged abductions and killings of opposition figures is coming as the country gears up for municipal elections in November, which is the precursor to next year’s general election, where Hassan will put her incumbency to the test. Hassan, Tanzania’s first female president, took over from Magufuli, who critics say was authoritarian and had a generally toxic style of leadership where he turned democratic institutions into tools for repressing his opponents.

Hassan was expected to promote democratic ideals when she assumed office, but observers say that she has regressed to Magufuli’s autocratic leadership style, after initially saying she would foster an environment for healthy multiparty politics.