Tanzania Elections: Activist Arrests & Repression
Tanzania is escalating its crackdown, detaining activists and intensifying political tensions ahead of the October elections. Foreign activists, including those from Uganda and Kenya, have reported harrowing experiences, alleging sexual assault and facing deportation. opposition leader Tundu Lissu is now charged with treason, while Chadema faces a ban.Discover the full scope of the detentions,allegations,and escalating measures against dissenting voices in Tanzania,as detailed by News Directory 3. What will the upcoming election hold?
Tanzania Detains Activists Amidst Election Crackdown
Updated June 4, 2025
Tanzania is under fire following the detention and deportation of foreign activists, signaling a crackdown on dissent before the upcoming October general election. The actions come as opposition leader Tundu Lissu faces serious charges, including treason.
Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan activist, and Boniface Mwangi from Kenya, reported being sexually assaulted by Tanzanian security forces during their detention in May. The activists had traveled to Dar es Salaam to attend lissu’s trial. Amnesty International reports that both were arrested May 19 and allegedly tortured until May 23 before being released near their respective borders.
Atuhaire told AFP that she was stripped, raped, and smeared wiht excrement, with the ordeal filmed. Despite the trauma, Atuhaire, who has also campaigned against Ugandan President yoweri Museveni, stated she refuses to be shamed by the experience.
The crackdown extends beyond these incidents. Former Kenyan Justice Minister Martha Karua was also detained and deported from Tanzania after arriving to attend Lissu’s trial. Karua accused the Tanzanian government of manipulating the law to suppress opposition ahead of the election.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan addressed the issue at a May 19 event, cautioning against foreign interference. “Let them not come here to meddle,” she said, defending her administration’s actions as necessary to protect the constitution.
Lissu, who leads the main opposition party Chadema, was arrested in April after calling for a boycott of the october vote, arguing the elections cannot be fair with the current composition of the national Electoral Commission. He has been a vocal advocate for electoral reforms.
Chadema has since been banned from participating in the election for allegedly failing to adhere to an electoral code of conduct, according to the Electoral Commission. Lissu now faces charges of treason and sedition.
Religious leaders have also faced repercussions for supporting electoral reforms. Bishop Jacob Mameo Ole Paul of the Evangelical Lutheran Church criticized the government’s tactics, stating, ”Arresting people and detaining them does not silence the people’s grievances; it only deepens the divisions and drives people further apart.”
Recently, police shut down a church in Dar es Salaam after its leader criticized politically motivated abductions. Chadema activist Mdude Nyagali remains missing after being abducted May 2. Lissu himself survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and lived in exile before returning to Tanzania in 2020.
Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed office in March 2021, following the death of President John Magufuli. Initially, she received praise for her pandemic response and for easing restrictions on political expression.
What’s next
The international community will be watching closely as Tanzania approaches its October election. The government’s actions toward activists and the opposition will likely face continued scrutiny.