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A government-appointed commission of inquiry has officially acknowledged that at least 518 people were killed during the violence surrounding Tanzania’s elections last October.
This marks the first time the state has provided a formal casualty count for the unrest, which erupted following the exclusion of major opposition candidates.
While the commission chair noted that the figure might be an undercount due to identification difficulties, the report notably avoids criticising the actions of security forces.
The findings have sparked intense backlash from opposition groups, as the commission largely attributed the violence to “trained” organisers who allegedly manipulated desperate youth and used foreign funding to stage protests.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who secured nearly 98% of the vote, characterised the unrest as an attempted coup.
However, the main opposition party, CHADEMA, has rejected the report, arguing that a government accused of human rights abuses cannot impartially investigate its own conduct.
In contrast to the commission’s focus on demonstrators, independent reports and human rights organisations have previously accused security services of using excessive force.
Witnesses have described incidents of police firing on unarmed civilians far from protest sites, including a reported massacre in the city of Mwanza.
Despite these allegations, the President has stated that the report remains “property of the president,” leaving its full content and the prospect of further criminal investigations uncertain.
