Dar es Salaam – Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, has accused police of secretly disposing of hundreds of bodies following deadly protests over last week’s disputed election, which President Samia Suluhu Hassan won with a near-uncontested landslide.
Protests erupted across the country during and after the October 29 vote, sparked by the exclusion of Hassan’s main rivals. Authorities imposed a curfew and an internet blackout while security forces clashed with demonstrators. Chadema, barred from contesting the elections, reported that its leader, Tundu Lissu, was detained on treason charges over allegations of plotting to disrupt the vote.
Chadema’s director of communications, Brenda Rupia, told CNN that the party has documented about 2,000 deaths, including over 100 members, and claims that police have disposed of more than 400 bodies at undisclosed locations. “As days keep going, we’re establishing that more people have died in different regions,” she said. She added that most bodies remain in hospitals while police restrict access.
The Tanzanian government has not responded to requests for comment and previously described opposition claims as “hugely exaggerated.” Regional observers said the election “fell short” of democratic standards. Hassan, the country’s first female president, was sworn in on Monday for her second term and acknowledged that fatalities occurred during post-election unrest but did not provide numbers.
Human Rights Watch accused Tanzanian authorities of using “lethal force and other abuses” to suppress protests. The African Union Commission expressed extreme concern over election-related violence, noting that internet shutdowns have hampered verification of casualties.
A joint statement from the foreign ministries of Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom cited “credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries” and condemned harassment and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists, and civil society actors in the lead-up to the elections.
Rupia, speaking from an undisclosed location, said she fears for her life. “A lot has happened in the past three or four days ever since the election, and I know that the worst is yet to happen,” she told CNN.
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