NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzanian authorities faced mounting concern over killings during and after last week's election, with the largest opposition party charging on Tuesday that the security forces were secretly dumping the bodies of hundreds killed in the violence that shocked the region.
Protests spread across the East African country in the aftermath of voting on Wednesday, continuing for several days as young people came into the streets of Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital, and elsewhere to protest what they felt was not a free or fair election. Security agencies cracked down on protesters by firing live bullets and tear gas canisters, and a nationwide curfew was declared.
“Tanzanians’ hearts are bleeding right now. This is a new thing for Tanzanians," Brenda Rupia, director of communications for the Chadema opposition group, told The Associated Press by phone from Dar es Salaam.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was of the vote, a rare landslide victory in the region, despite the low turnout reported by foreign observers. It was her first election victory — she rose to the presidency automatically as vice president in 2021 after the sudden death of her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli.
Hassan's controversial win has only intensified criticism of the election as not credible. Her main rivals — Tundu Lissu of Chadema and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo — had been prevented from running for the presidency. Lissu has been jailed for several months, facing treason allegations stemming from his call for electoral reforms. His deputy, John Heche, was also detained days before voting.
Human Rights Watch on Tuesday condemned the violent crackdown on protesters in a statement that urged Tanzanian authorities to “end the use of excessive and lethal force against protests, and take steps to ensure accountability" by security forces. The group cited point-blank shootings reported by various residents.
Tanzanian authorities have not responded to Chadema's claim of more than 1,000 deaths. Others, including the U.K., Norway and Canada, have cited what they said were credible reports of a large number of fatalities. And the Catholic Church says people died in their “hundreds,†although it was also unable to verify or confirm the exact numbers.
Rupia, the top Chadema spokesperson, said at least 400 deaths have been reported by its leaders in the Tunduma area of Mbeya region. Other regions have reported hundreds of victims, she said.
Asked if all the victims were getting funerals, she said that the security forces “are holding dead bodies" and that the remains of victims were being secretly dumped by the security forces to hide the scale of the killings.
Hassan, Tanzania's first female leader, was inaugurated on Monday. She acknowledged in her speech that there had been loss of life and urged security agencies to ensure a return to normalcy.
Authorities have warned people not to share photos and videos that may cause panic as the internet slowly returns after a six-day shutdown. Mobile phone users received a text message on Monday night saying that sharing images that could cause panic or demean human life would lead to “treason charges.â€
The messages came shortly after the internet was reconnected, when people began sharing unverified images of bodies they claimed were victims of the election protests.
A social media page that had been uploading videos and photos of purported election protest victims was pulled down on Monday evening, after attracting thousands of followers within a day.
On Tuesday, life was slowly returning to normal in Dar es Salaam and the administrative capital, Dodoma, with gas stations and grocery shops reopening and public transport resuming after days of closure.
The government spokesperson on Monday asked all public workers to return to work, effectively ending a work-from-home order that had been announced after the curfew imposed on Wednesday.
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Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda. Associated Press journalists in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, contributed.
