Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — Amnesty International has accused Tanzanian authorities of carrying out “systematic human rights violations” in the run-up to the country’s October 29 presidential election, which has already been marred by the exclusion of key opposition candidates.
In a new report released Monday, Amnesty detailed an alarming rise in abuses between January 2024 and October 2025, including “enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists.”
The report, reviewed by AFP, is based on interviews with 43 individuals — among them victims, witnesses, family members, NGO workers, and lawyers — as well as verified images and social media publications.
Initially lauded for reversing the repressive legacy of her predecessor, the late President John Magufuli, current President Samia Suluhu Hassan is now facing mounting criticism from human rights groups and opposition figures as she seeks a second term in office.
“Authorities have ramped up their clampdown on civic space and the right to participate freely in elections through the passing of deeply flawed legislation,”
— Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa
One of the most shocking cases documented by Amnesty involves Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior official of the main opposition party Chadema, who was abducted in September 2024 and later found dead. Despite an official investigation, no progress has been reported.
In a separate incident this month, Humphrey Hesron Polepole, Tanzania’s former ambassador to Cuba and a vocal government critic, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Chadema has been barred from participating in the upcoming polls after refusing to sign the government’s Electoral Code of Conduct, which opposition parties say unfairly restricts their operations.
Party leader Tundu Lissu, one of the country’s most prominent opposition voices, remains in detention on treason charges — an offense that carries the death penalty under Tanzanian law.
Meanwhile, Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo), has also been disqualified from the race, effectively leaving President Hassan with little organized competition.
Human rights observers warn that Tanzania’s democratic backsliding could deepen political instability and erode hard-won freedoms in one of East Africa’s largest economies.
About The Author
