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Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in for a second term on Monday, with the internet still disabled following election-related protests in which the opposition claims that security forces killed hundreds.
The electoral commission announced that Hassan secured 98 per cent of the votes cast.
She was sworn in despite the main opposition party, Chadema, which was not allowed to participate, dismissing the results and demanding new elections, labelling last Wednesday’s ballot a sham.
Ahead of her arrival, state television showed officials and foreign dignitaries in stands overlooking parade grounds in the State House in the capital, Dodoma, rather than at a stadium as usual. Earlier, the broadcaster said the public would not attend.
A complete internet blackout has been enforced since protests erupted on election day, leaving only a small trickle of reliable information from the East African nation.
A diplomatic insider who provided credible evidence of hundreds, possibly thousands, of fatalities has been recorded in hospitals and health clinics across Tanzania.
Chadema informed AFP that it had documented “no less than 800” fatalities by Saturday, but none of these figures have been independently confirmed. The government has not addressed any reports of deaths, aside from rejecting charges of having employed “excessive force.” Schools and colleges remained closed on Monday, and public transportation was suspended.
The diplomatic source remarked that there are “concerning reports” suggesting that police might be using the internet blackout to stall as they “hunt down opposition members and protesters who could have footage” of the atrocities committed last week.
Dar es Salaam and other cities experienced relative calm over the weekend due to a near-total lockdown.
An AFP journalist reported that police were stopping nearly everyone moving through the city, checking identification and bags, and permitting shops to operate only in the afternoons. AFP reporters on the island of Zanzibar, which enjoys more political freedoms and experienced minimal protests, witnessed masked armed individuals patrolling without visible insignia or identification in the days following the election.
A human rights organisation from neighbouring Kenya presented disturbing footage on Sunday, claiming it was collected from within Tanzania, showing images of dead bodies stacked in the streets. These images could not be confirmed independently.
Pope Leo XIV called for prayers for Tanzania on Sunday, saying that post-election violence had erupted “with numerous victims.”
Hassan was elevated to the presidency following the unexpected death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.
Analysts suggest she sought a decisive electoral victory to solidify her position and silence dissenters within her ruling party.
Rights organisations claim that she managed a “wave of terror” in the lead-up to the election, including numerous high-profile abductions that intensified in the final days.
Despite a significant police presence, election day descended into chaos as crowds gathered in the streets nationwide, tearing down her campaign posters and assaulting police and polling locations, leading to an internet shutdown and curfew.
Polling stations had been largely vacant before the outbreak of violence, although the electoral commission later claimed a 87 per cent turnout.
