The State of the World's Human Rights; Tanzania 2025

Repression of dissent intensified during the election period, particularly against opposition members and supporters. Security forces used unlawful and lethal force against protesters, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. A commission of inquiry into the killings did not make public any findings. The rights of actual and perceived government critics to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly were severely undermined. Opposition and ruling party members were forcibly disappeared, while opposition leader Tundu Lissu was charged with treason. Two foreign activists were tortured and subjected to other ill-treatment. Officials unlawfully demolished property belonging to the Indigenous Maasai People in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The East African Court of Justice’s decision on an appeal brought by regional NGOs challenging the legality of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project remained pending.

Background

In May, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disqualified the main opposition Party for Democracy and Progress (Chadema) from participating in the 29 October general elections after it refused to sign the election code of ethics, citing concerns about electoral integrity. In September, the Dodoma High Court overturned the INEC’s decision to bar Luhaga Mpina from standing as the presidential candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo) party, claiming the party had violated its own internal procedures. However, the INEC reinstated his disqualification.

Following the elections, Samia Suluhu Hassan was re-elected as president with 98% of the vote. Her ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won 99% of the parliamentary seats. The results were highly disputed among opposition members and supporters, leading to nationwide protests that were brutally repressed (see below).

Repression of dissent

The government’s continued campaign to repress dissent escalated during the election period, reaching unprecedented levels on and following election day. From 29 October, authorities severed internet access across the country for five days. Meanwhile security forces suppressed election protests with deadly violence and arbitrarily arrested hundreds of demonstrators solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly (see below, Unlawful attacks and killings).

Throughout the election period, opposition members and supporters, civil society members, journalists and others expressing dissent were targeted by the authorities. Tactics to silence dissenting voices included the use of arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, and torture and other ill-treatment.

Critics faced prosecution and unfair trials under legislation containing vague and overly broad provisions. The prosecution of Chadema’s leader, Tundu Lissu, who was detained simply for urging his supporters to boycott the election, represented the broader crackdown and shrinking space for political participation. He was arrested in April during a political rally in the town of Mbinga, during which police used unnecessary and excessive force to disperse his supporters, including firing tear gas and shooting into the air. He was charged with treason, an offence that precludes bail, and remained in detention at the end of the year. Also in April, five other Chadema leaders were arrested, including Vice Chairman John Heche, to prevent a rally in Kariakoo, an area of Dar es Salaam.

In June a Dar es Salaam High Court injunction barred Chadema from political activities, after three Chadema party trustees from Zanzibar filed a lawsuit alleging discriminatory allocation of the party’s resources, which favoured mainland Tanzania over the Zanzibar archipelago. Dozens of members were subsequently arrested for participating in “illegal assemblies”.

Also in June, police detained Janeth Rithe, Chairperson of ACT Wazalendo’s Women’s Wing, for four days after she expressed doubt regarding President Hassan’s claims about Tanzania’s economic performance.

In July, police in the Lindi region arrested and briefly detained former ACT Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe for comments he made during a rally in Tunduru district about electoral malpractice.

In August, the home affairs minister ordered police to conduct “online patrols” to, he claimed, monitor individuals who used digital platforms to disrupt peace and security.

In September, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority imposed a 90-day ban on online platform JamiiForums, alleging it had published misleading and defamatory content about the government in contravention of the 2020 Online Content Regulations and its amendments.

On 7 September, police disrupted nationwide gatherings commemorating Heroes Day, arresting Chadema party officials in Serengeti region, and 20 supporters at a church in the city of Mwanza.

Unlawful attacks and killings

Between 29 October and 3 November, authorities responded to nationwide protests (see above) with unlawful and lethal force, tear gas and other less lethal weapons. Hundreds were killed and thousands of others injured. The internet shutdown allowed these grave human rights violations to be committed out of public view and with impunity. As a result of the imposition of curfews and the lack of government transparency, the actual number of casualties remained unknown. On 14 November, President Hassan announced the formation of a commission of inquiry into the killings but no findings were released by the end of the year.

In February John James, from Dar es Salaam, was shot dead by a Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) Agency guard in Kisarawe district, Pwani region. In March, two TFS officers were arrested in relation to the killing, and the police said that investigations were ongoing. In July, Frank Sanga was shot dead by a member of a police motorcycle patrol unit in the Ntyuka area of Dodoma region. Police authorities confirmed that two officers were detained in connection with the incident and pledged to conduct a “thorough” investigation. No further information was made public.

In May, Charles Kitima, Secretary General of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), was hospitalized following an attack by unidentified assailants at the TEC headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Hours earlier, he had circulated a video online condemning police “lawlessness” and calling for electoral justice. The incident did not appear to have been investigated.

Enforced disappearances

The fate and whereabouts of tens of political party members, apparently subjected to enforced disappearance, remained undisclosed. Nor was there any public information to suggest their cases were being investigated.

On 27 March, ACT Wazalendo party member Fakih Ali Salim from Zanzibar was reportedly abducted at his home by unidentified men. On 2 May, unidentified individuals – believed to be police officers – raided Chadema member Mdude Nyagali’s home, beat him and took him to an undisclosed location.

The whereabouts of at least four CCM party members remained unknown. Daniel Chonchorio, Siza Mwita Keheta and Anthony Gabriel had not been heard from since March, July and August, respectively. Humphrey Polepole, a former Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba who had criticized the Tanzanian government, was forcibly disappeared on 6 October.

Torture and other ill-treatment

In April police officers assaulted 23 Chadema party supporters in detention, two of whom said they were also sexually abused. They were abandoned in a forest in Bagamoyo district, having suffered extensive injuries. They had been detained at a gathering outside a Dar es Salaam court where Tundu Lissu was facing charges (see above). More than 50 other supporters were also reportedly beaten when they tried to enter the court.

On 19 May, Ugandan human rights defender Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi were arbitrarily arrested by security officers in Dar es Salaam, where they had arrived to observe Tundu Lissu’s trial. They were held incommunicado in undisclosed locations and tortured and otherwise ill-treated for four days, before being forcibly deported to Uganda and Kenya, respectively. Also on 19 May, President Hassan publicly warned foreign activists against involvement in Tanzanian affairs.

Forced evictions

In February, the Presidential Commission on Land in Ngorongoro and the Presidential Commission on Relocation from Ngorongoro were established to assess land conflicts and the relocation of Indigenous Maasai People from their land in the Ngorongoro district. The commissions’ failure to deliver their findings (as mandated) to President Hassan within three months and fulfil their pledges to provide regular updates raised concerns about transparency and accountability.

In June the president publicly criticized the presence of members of the local Maasai community and their livestock in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). The NCA was the subject of protracted land disputes between the Maasai community and the government, which claimed the Maasai’s presence undermined tourism. Following the president’s statement, park rangers demolished newly renovated homes and a church belonging to the Maasai in the NCA’s Oldupai area. They arrested several Maasai villagers, claiming they were encroaching on NCA land. Maasai land activists said the actions were intended to pressure them into “voluntarily” relocating from their land.

Right to a healthy environment

In February, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) heard an appeal filed by four East African NGOs challenging the legality of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, which followed an earlier EACJ ruling that had declared their case inadmissible. The judges’ decision remained pending. The 1,443km underground fossil fuel pipeline, to transport crude oil from Uganda’s oil fields in Hoima to Tanga Port in Tanzania, was nearing completion.

Discrimination

Persons with albinism

In February, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled that the government was responsible for human rights violations against persons with albinism. It highlighted longstanding discrimination, violence and exclusion faced by this group, citing failures in state protection, accountability and access to essential services. The court ordered the government to take measures including compensating victims, reforming legislation to classify violence against persons with albinism as aggravated offences, and conducting national public awareness campaigns to challenge harmful myths and superstitions about albinism.