Written by Rodney Muhumuza
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzanian authorities have charged hundreds of people with treason during protests over disputed elections last month, in a major escalation of political tensions in a country reeling from violence that left an unknown number of people dead.
In addition to the dozens who were criminally charged yesterday in Dar es Salaam, dozens face similar treason charges in other parts of the country, according to several indictments published on Saturday.
Police also issued arrest warrants for some key opposition figures who have not yet been in prison, including Brenda Rubia, communications director of the opposition group Chadema, and John Mnyika, its secretary-general.
Chadema is the main opposition party in Tanzania. Its leader, Tundu Lissu, has been in prison for several months and also faces treason charges after calling for electoral reforms before the October 29 elections.
The authorities are facing questions about the death toll due to a campaign by security forces to try to suppress unrest and opposition protests before and after the elections. Chadima confirms that more than 1,000 people lost their lives and that the security forces were trying to hide the extent of the deaths by disposing of the bodies secretly. The Catholic Church in Tanzania said there were likely hundreds of deaths.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who automatically assumed office in 2021 because she was Vice President at the time of her predecessor’s death, received more than 97% of the votes, according to the official count. 16 candidates from minor parties faced off after ACT-Wazalendo’s Lissu and Lohaja Mbina were excluded from the ballot.
Human rights groups described a climate of repression ahead of the elections. Enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial executions occurred, according to Amnesty International and others. The Tanzanian government denies these accusations.
The African Union said this week that its observers concluded that the vote “failed to adhere to the African Union principles, regulatory frameworks, commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.”
UA observers reported instances of election fraud at several polling places and others where voters were assigned multiple ballots. The statement said that the atmosphere surrounding the elections “was not conducive to peaceful behavior and acceptance of the election results.”
Single-party government has become the norm in Tanzania since the advent of multi-party politics in 1992.
Government critics say previous leaders tolerated dissent as they tightened their grip on power, but Al-Hassan is accused of leading in an authoritarian style that challenges youth-led democratic movements elsewhere in the region.
The Maha Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, which maintains ties with the Chinese Communist Party, has ruled Tanzania since its independence from Britain in 1961, a streak that Hassan continued with his victory.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative AI tool.