Tanzanian security forces shot fleeing protesters and carried out alleged execution-style killings during last year’s election unrest, according to a new investigative report.
The Centre for Information Resilience, a UK-based digital investigations group, analysed online footage alongside drone and satellite imagery from late October.
Violence erupted after President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government barred leading opponents and faced accusations of abductions and political killings.
The opposition claims at least 2,000 people died as unrest spread, while authorities imposed curfews, blocked foreign journalists, and shut down the internet.
Hassan was declared the winner with 98 percent of the vote and defended the crackdown as necessary to prevent an attempted overthrow.
CIR reviewed 185 verified images and videos recorded between October 29 and November 4, when the curfew was finally lifted.
The organisation reported repeated use of live ammunition by security forces and armed men in civilian clothing, leaving visible casualties.
Investigators said satellite imagery suggested possible mass graves and showed large piles of bodies in user-generated footage.
Other verified images depicted civilians assaulted and humiliated, painting a bleak portrait of fear spreading across urban neighbourhoods.
Footage included the shooting of fleeing protesters near Arusha’s A104 highway, including a pregnant woman, according to the report.
Night-time video from Mwanza appeared to show execution-style killings away from major protest sites, far from public view.
Drone footage from Dar es Salaam showed a white truck chasing civilians before its occupants dismounted and fired indiscriminately toward houses.
The Tanzanian government did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the allegations documented in the investigation.
A doctor previously told AFP that injured patients and corpses were secretly removed from a major hospital during the height of unrest.
CIR also detected newly disturbed earth at Kondo cemetery near Dar es Salaam, reinforcing claims of a concealed mass grave.
Satellite images further showed temporary structures at Kivule District Hospital, suggesting a hastily built mortuary for mounting casualties.
Possible signs of another mass grave were identified at Tengeru agricultural college in Arusha, the report added.
CIR also mapped verified incidents of protesters vandalising buildings, starting fires, and throwing rocks at police.
Together, the findings sketch a haunting landscape where truth emerged through pixels, shadows, and the quiet testimony of space.