Tanzania postelection inquiry shows 518 people died

At least 518 people were killed in Tanzania’s post-election violence last year, according to a commission that released its findings Thursday. The bloodshed, which occurred amid an internet shutdown, left thousands injured with more than 800 suffering gunshot wounds.

The commission’s chairman, Mohamed Chande Othman, noted the death toll is likely higher as some families buried their loved ones without taking bodies to morgues. The violence erupted on October 29 when young Tanzanians protested what they saw as government suppression of opposition voices.

During that turbulent period, the country’s main opposition party leader remained imprisoned on treason charges while the presidential candidate from the second-largest opposition party was barred from running. The government shut down internet access for days during the unrest, a decision President Samia Suluhu Hassan later apologized for to the diplomatic community with a promise not to repeat such measures.

President Hassan was seeking her first full term after completing the term of her predecessor, John Magufuli, who died in office. She won with a staggering 97% of the vote, prompting some international observers to question whether the election met standards for a free and fair contest.

The commission received disturbing testimonies from witnesses who claimed their relatives were shot while inside their homes, prompting Othman to recommend further investigation into the use of firearms during the violence. Among the most troubling findings, 245 people remain missing, and 39 families reported seeing their loved ones’ bodies in morgues before they mysteriously disappeared.

Despite allegations from human rights groups, the commission ruled out the existence of mass graves. However, it characterized the demonstrations not as peaceful protests but as “acts of violence” since they violated laws requiring 48-hour police notification and disrupted the election process, preventing some citizens from voting.

Othman asserted the protests were carefully orchestrated, involving recruited and trained individuals who coordinated simultaneous violence across multiple locations to overwhelm police response capabilities.

The unrest represents one of the most serious political crises in Tanzania’s recent history, highlighting tensions in a country that has struggled to build democratic institutions following decades of one-party rule. East Africa has seen several contested elections in recent years, but the scale of violence in Tanzania shocked regional observers.

In response to the commission’s findings, President Hassan announced they would guide constitutional amendments and promised to establish a reconciliation commission to address the national trauma. She also ordered the formation of a criminal investigative body specifically tasked with reviewing the post-election unrest.

This investigative team will identify those who planned, financed, and participated in criminal acts including looting and infrastructure damage. Importantly, it will also investigate claims of missing bodies and allegations of abductions that have haunted affected families for months.

The violence has placed Tanzania’s democratic trajectory under international scrutiny. While the country has been historically more stable than some of its neighbors, these events have raised questions about political freedoms and human rights protections under the current administration.

For many Tanzanians, the commission’s report represents a first step toward accountability, though human rights organizations have expressed concern about whether the government-appointed commission can deliver full justice to victims and their families.