Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, planned a protest against the government which was met with a crackdown by the police. Leaders of Chadema were arrested in the capital city of Dar-es-Salaam as protestors gathered for a rally against alleged government killings and abductions of critics. The crackdown has raised concerns about renewed political repression in the country ahead of upcoming local elections and the national vote next year. Police arrested 14 people, including the party chairman, Freeman Mbowe, and the deputy chairman, Tundu Lissu, for defying a prohibition on the protests.
Video footage posted by Chadema showed police arresting Mbowe and Lissu, as well as blockading their homes in advance of the arrests. Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2016, reported the presence of police outside his house and his impending arrest on social media. The Dar-es-Salaam police chief had warned in advance that the planned rally would breach the peace, leading to the deployment of riot police with water cannon across key areas of the city since Saturday. Chadema has accused President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government of reverting to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli.
President Hassan took over in March 2021 following Magufuli’s death and initially signaled a more open democracy by reversing restrictions on opposition rallies and the media. However, Chadema now accuses security forces of being behind the disappearance of several members and the killing of a senior party official. Despite the crackdown, Mbowe insisted in a speech that the planned protest would be peaceful and that they were ready to face the armed police officers in the city. Previous attempts by Chadema to hold rallies were also met with police arrests of hundreds of protestors.
Rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, have criticized the crackdowns in Tanzania as “antidemocratic.” The actions of the police and government in response to the planned protest have raised concerns about the state of democracy and civil liberties in the country. The arrests of opposition party leaders, the presence of armed police at their homes, and the deployment of riot police with water cannon indicate a harsh crackdown on dissenting voices in Tanzania. The situation in Tanzania remains tense as political repression and opposition to the government continues to escalate, leading to calls for international condemnation and pressure on the government to respect the rights of its citizens.
