Tanzania police fire shots, tear gas at protesters after chaotic election

According to Amnesty International, at least two people have died after police have opened fire on the streets of Tanzania’s largest city during protests following a tumultuous presidential election.

On the day of the election, protesters who defied a curfew in Dar-es-Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, heard gunshots and tear gas in the Mbagala, Gongo la Mboto, and Kiluvya neighbourhoods on Thursday.

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According to Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, reports that a public figure and a police officer were killed have been made public. He urged police to be restrained in their dealings and described the deaths as “deeply disturbing.”

The Tanzanian authorities must immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the unlawful use of lethal force against protesters, Chagutah continued.

On election day, hundreds of people had lit up polling stations and chanted their discontent on the street, but internet access remained shaky throughout the city.

In a video posted to TikTok and verified by Al Jazeera, one protester yelled, “We have been silent for so long.” What have we been doing lately?

The two main rivals of President Samia Suluhu Hassan were cut from the race on Wednesday, piqueing the attention of citizens and human rights organizations, who have also decried an intensifying crackdown on opposition activists, journalists, and activists.

Protesters discussed possible marches on government buildings on the Zello app despite the internet blackout. However, the United States embassy issued a security alert, citing traffic congestion across the nation, including the main road that leads to Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam.

Hassan took office in 2021 after John Magufuli’s death in office. She has since received increasing criticism for what the UN has called a pattern of “escalating” attacks, disappearances, and torture of critics.

After long-standing leaders in the Ivory Coast and Cameroon, who both tried to hold onto power, the latest election in Africa this month sparked deep resentment among the populace.

After Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, was disqualified in April for refusing to sign an electoral code of conduct, only a small opposition figure was eligible to challenge Hassan in the election.

Tundu Lissu, the party’s leader, was detained at a rally where he called for treason after being arrested for treason at a rally.

Following the attorney general’s objection, the commission also forbade Luhaga Mpina, the opposition candidate for ACT-Wazalendo, whose second-largest party is ACT-Wazalendo.

Over the past few months, local and international watchdogs have been raising concerns about election-related violence and repression.

A panel of nine UN experts said the government’s actions were “unacceptable” and that they had reported more than 200 disappearances since 2019; they had also called them “unacceptable.”

Additionally, Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced in September that it had documented at least 10 recent instances of politically motivated assault, harassment, abduction, and torture as well as “extensive restrictions” on the media and civil society organizations.

Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, a researcher for HRW’s Africa program, previously stated that Tanzania’s elections were “very vulnerable.”