Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Tanzania’s Independence Day Quiet as Security Lockdown Stymies Protest Calls

UN experts estimate hundreds killed after the October 29 election, driving new calls for an independent investigation.

Overview

  • Authorities outlawed planned demonstrations, urged people to stay home and deployed police and soldiers, leaving major cities unusually empty and public transport curtailed.
  • Officers conducted ID checks and set roadblocks in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Arusha as officials warned that any protest would be treated as an attempted coup.
  • Rights groups documented arrests of alleged organizers and opposition supporters ahead of the date, with reports of surveillance and treason charges, and Kenyan police detained six activists at a Nairobi solidarity protest.
  • President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government established a domestic commission to probe the violence, but critics say it lacks independence and its findings have not been released.
  • International pressure intensified, with UN human rights experts estimating at least 700 extrajudicial killings, the United States reviewing relations and EU lawmakers voting to suspend aid while embassies urged restraint and accountability.