Tanzania’s Leader Rallies Behind Security Forces Amid Deadly October Uprising
Tanzanian leader Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday threw her full support behind the nation’s security services, who have been accused of fatally cracking down on hundreds of unarmed demonstrators. She contended that the crowds that filled the streets after the disputed October polls were not peaceful citizens but agitators scheming to topple her administration.
Speaking in a national broadcast, the East African head of state alleged—without offering proof—that young people had been financially incentivized to mount the unrest. “These were not demonstrations,” she declared. “This was orchestrated chaos driven by malicious intent. What unfolded was a fabricated scenario meant to destabilize our government. In such circumstances, the state is obligated to act, sworn to defend our territory, safeguard our people, and protect their property. Under those conditions, the level of force applied matched the severity of the situation.”
The opposition party CHADEMA maintains that more than 2,000 citizens were killed in the aftermath of the election. Government officials have dismissed the claim as “grossly inflated,” while simultaneously declining to release any official casualty figures, choosing instead to highlight incidents of property destruction.
“So when people accuse us of using excessive force, what exactly would have counted as ‘minimal’?” Hassan asked. “Were we supposed to stand by until those intent on toppling the government succeeded?”
A CNN investigative report revealed that police opened fire on unarmed civilians who posed no danger to officers. Using satellite images, eyewitness testimony, and video evidence, the outlet also identified indications of mass burial sites north of Dar es Salaam. Although the administration labeled CNN’s findings as misleading, it did not challenge any individual facts.
Hassan also brushed aside widespread frustration among young Tanzanians, branding the demonstrators as disloyal and misled. Addressing a council of elders in Dar es Salaam, she argued that the youth “had absolutely no justification for being in the streets and were simply manipulated to chant about issues that were none of their concern.”
She went on to incorrectly claim that the political opposition had opted out of the polls—elections she said she won with 98 percent of the vote—even though the country’s two major rival parties were barred on procedural grounds. CHADEMA’s leader, Tundu Lissu, has been detained since April on a treason charge that carries the possibility of execution. Human rights organizations report that numerous other critics were arrested, disappeared, or allegedly abducted by police in the tense months leading up to the vote.
The president further lashed out at opposition figures, civil society groups, religious leaders, and foreign governments that have condemned the violent suppression of dissent and the erosion of democratic norms. “Those foreigners keep dictating what Tanzania should do,” she said sharply. “Who are they? Do they still imagine themselves our masters, our former colonizers? Is it because of the tiny sums of money they hand us?”
Source: Araba Sey
