Amnesty International on Monday condemned “systematic human rights violations” in Tanzania ahead of presidential elections on October 29. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, initially praised for easing restrictions under her authoritarian predecessor, now faces mounting criticism from opposition and NGOs.
Between January 2024 and October 2025, Amnesty documented enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings targeting opposition figures and vocal activists nationwide. The report, reviewed by AFP, drew on interviews with 43 witnesses, victims, relatives, lawyers, and NGOs, plus analysis of images and publications.
In September 2024, Chadema senior official Ali Mohamed Kibao, 69, was abducted and found dead, with no investigative progress reported by authorities. This month, former ambassador Humphrey Hesron Polepole, also a government critic, disappeared under circumstances that remain unexplained and deeply concerning.
Authorities “have ramped up their clampdown on civic space and the right to participate freely in elections,” said Amnesty’s Tigere Chagutah. The main opposition party, Chadema, was barred from elections for refusing to sign the Electoral Code of Conduct, effectively silencing dissenting voices.
Chadema leader Tundu Lissu has been on trial for treason since his April arrest, a charge carrying the death penalty if convicted. Luhaga Mpina, candidate for the third-largest party ACT Wazalendo, was also disqualified, leaving voters with a sharply narrowed political field.
The mounting abuses and electoral exclusions paint a grim picture of democracy under siege in Tanzania as polls approach rapidly. Amnesty’s findings underscore growing repression, hinting at a government increasingly intolerant of opposition and willing to subvert international human rights standards.