Tanzanian authorities have failed to hold anyone accountable for the violence security forces inflicted on protesters, which left hundreds of people dead and thousands of others injured in the wake of the 2025 general election, Amnesty International said on the first anniversary of the crackdown.
Instead of delivering justice and accountability, authorities have withheld a Commission of Inquiry report from the public and intensified attacks on civic space through the abuse of counterterrorism laws.
The organization has documented how, over the past year, security agencies have committed human rights violations with impunity against government critics, opposition supporters, media organizations, and dissenting members of the ruling party. These include acts that may amount to torture or other ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, abductions, and severe restriction of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Not a single official has been criminally investigated, let alone prosecuted and punished for the excessive force that Tanzanian security forces used against protesters. In fact, the situation has only deteriorated since the crackdown began. In a classic tactic pulled out of the authoritarian playbook, the authorities are increasingly weaponizing counterterrorism laws to silence critics and instill fear,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
Although the Commission of Inquiry report into the 2025 election-related killings was handed over to President Samia Suluhu in April 2026, it has yet to be made public. She has repeatedly alleged that the post-election protests were funded by foreign actors in a bid to overthrow the government.
In August 2026, President Suluhu inaugurated another Commission of Inquiry to identify those who planned, funded, coordinated, or executed the violence, as well as investigate the excessive use of force and the whereabouts of missing persons.
“President Suluhu’s continued refusal to release the Commission of Inquiry report not only entrenches a culture of secrecy, but it also perpetuates impunity,” Tigere Chagutah said.
“It is imperative that this new commission comprehensively address the role of security forces in the election-related crackdown. Its investigations must be thorough, independent, impartial, and transparent. On concluding its mandate, it must ensure its findings are made public immediately.”
Between September 3 and 17, 2026, Amnesty International interviewed 17 people, including victims of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and abductions, as well as journalists, opposition officials, lawyers, and friends and relatives of the victims of the October 2025 election-related crackdown. Amnesty International also verified charge sheets for those arbitrarily arrested and charged with terrorism in different parts of the country.
Tanzanian authorities did not respond to Amnesty’s request for comment.
Abductions, enforced disappearances and torture or other ill-treatment
Amnesty International documented numerous cases of individuals being abducted by suspected state security officers, held incommunicado, and later charged in court. Some of them remain missing.
Among them is Ibrahim Myovella, a youth leader from the opposition party CHADEMA. He went missing alongside two friends on April 18, 2026, after reporting to Central Iringa police station as per their bail conditions following allegations of involvement in the October 2025 protests. The authorities deny ever holding them.
Also missing is Mashaka Nestory Kindikwa, 37, a former official of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) who was abducted from his home and led away blindfolded by seven men believed to be security officers on June 25, 2026. The police have denied holding him.
On May 20, 2026, David Djumbe, personal assistant to opposition leader Tundu Lissu, was abducted near his Dar es Salaam home by people believed to be state security officers and subjected to severe beatings which may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. He escaped. Police denied involvement and said they had opened an investigation, but there has been no update on progress or findings.
Stefano Patrick,* 26, who expressed support for protests on Saba Saba Day, a national public holiday commemorating the pivotal moment in Tanzania’s struggle for independence, was arbitrarily arrested on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, and detained for 47 days without being charged in court. He told Amnesty International that during his detention, he was tortured and beaten, while also denied food and water.
He said his interrogators demanded to know who was funding the protests: “I was blindfolded… but I could hear some people crying in the next room. Some officers came to me and said, ‘Can you hear how your friends are crying, if you don’t cooperate, we will kill you.’ On the first day, they didn’t give me food. When I asked for water, they urinated on my blindfolded face and said ‘that is the price for those of you opening your mouths to make noise.’ On the second day, I was taken to Gogoni police station where they beat your legs until they get numb but then insist that you must stand. I saw another person’s legs broken at the police station. Even though I was in trouble, I felt pity for what other people were going through.”
Misuse of counterterrorism laws to target critics
Amnesty International documented the frequent abuse of counterterrorism laws to target opposition supporters and government critics. On July 9, 2026, police spokesman David Misime said 130 people had been arrested for allegedly organizing meetings and preparing and circulating messages that encouraged criminal acts aimed at destabilizing the country. Of these, 57 were charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, an unbailable offense.
In April 2026, Pendo Jonas Kileo went missing. For two months, the family of the CHADEMA member from Temeke, did not know of her whereabouts. On July 27, they learned that alongside another CHADEMA member, Kileo had been charged in Temeke District Court with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts as well as participating in terrorist meetings between September 2025 and July 2026.
On July 4, 2026, police arbitrarily arrested university students and CHADEMA student-body members Noah Mwalwange, Gwamaka Mboka, Augustino Wasinyo and Rojas Mpani. They were held at Mbeya Central Police Station until July 23, when they were charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. A source familiar with their case said they were denied access to lawyers, beaten with batons during interrogation, stripped, and forced to record confessions and name CHADEMA leaders as their financiers.
On July 8, 2026, Melkisedek Kaijage, a political science lecturer at the University of Dodoma, was arrested on allegations of inciting people to participate in Saba Saba protests. He was detained for 17 days on allegations of engaging in sedition, before the charges were later changed to terrorism. These were eventually dropped and he was released on September 10 but must report to the police in Dodoma every month for a year.
In Iringa, three CHADEMA members were arrested ahead of the July 2026 Saba Saba protests. During their three-week detention, they said police told them to sign a pre-written statement before receiving bail. Instead of being bailed, they were taken to court and charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
“By resorting to terrorism-related charges against its perceived critics, the Tanzanian government is sending a chilling message that it won’t stop at anything in its effort to repress any and all dissenting opinions,” said Tigere Chagutah.
“The authorities must end the abuse of counterterrorism laws to stifle freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. They must immediately and unconditionally drop all terrorism charges against those unjustly detained and end harassment of individuals solely for peacefully exercising their human rights.”
Restriction of civic space and violations of press freedom
Over the last year, authorities have adopted numerous tactics to narrow civic space.
They have restricted access to social media sites, such as Club House and X, and deployed large numbers of security forces to intimidate protesters ahead of planned demonstrations on December 9, 2025 and July 7, 2026. On June 26, 2026, the Home Affairs minister banned political rallies and mass gatherings, further stifling freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
In February 2026, the Chief Justice issued an order barring lawyers from speaking to the media on cases before the court, violating the rights of lawyers representing their clients, as well as the rights of the media to seek, receive and share information.
Media freedom has also come under increasing and unwarranted pressure.
On April 2, 2026, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) suspended the online-broadcast license of Jambo Online TV for 90 days, over content TCRA called unverified and misleading concerning the Commission of Inquiry into the October 2025 general-election unrest. Jambo TV’s license was reinstated and the station returned to air on July 3, 2026, after the 90-day suspension lapsed.
On August 19, 2026, the Information Services Department suspended Mwanahalisi newspaper’s publishing and distribution license for six months, over a report that Vice-President Emmanuel Nchimbi had rejected calls to resign.
“The authorities must revoke the suspension of Mwanahalisi newspaper, restore access to banned social media platforms, and end censorship of online content. They must also ensure that media outlets are free to operate independently, and that journalists can carry out their legitimate work without fear of reprisals,” said Tigere Chagutah.
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