Tanzania Suluhu Employs Dictatorial Norms, Arrests Protesting Opposition Leaders
Police arrested Tanzania’s top opposition figures on Monday, according to their party, as authorities attempted to prevent a mass protest in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
Despite an official ban, the opposition Chadema party vowed to hold the rally in response to the alleged kidnapping and killing of its members by security forces.
Chadema said its chairman, Freeman Mbowe, and his deputy, Tundu Lissu, were both arrested on Monday, and riot police were stationed in key areas throughout the city to prevent gatherings.
Mwenyekiti wa Chadema Taifa. Mhe. @freemanmbowetz amekamatwa na Jeshi la Polisi eneo la Magomeni, jijini Dar es Salaam leo Jumatatu Septemba 23, 2024 alipofika katika eneo hilo kuongoza maandamano ya amani. pic.twitter.com/qTyTQVV82g
— CHADEMA Tanzania (@ChademaTz) September 23, 2024
“Demonstration is our constitutional right and we are surprised by the magnitude of force being used by the police to threaten people and suppress our freedom,” Mbowe told supporters before being led away by police, according to a video shared by the party online.
Baba mlezi wa Deusdedith Soka amejitokeza katika maandamano ya amani Ilala Sokoni. pic.twitter.com/NpmQa8ZQi8
— CHADEMA Tanzania (@ChademaTz) September 23, 2024
Chadema accuses President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration of returning the country to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli.
Hassan took over after Magufuli’s sudden death in March 2021 and appeared to take a more liberal stance, lifting restrictions on opposition rallies and media.
However, Chadema accuses security forces of being responsible for the recent disappearance of several members, as well as the murder of Ali Mohamed Kibao, its national secretariat, who was discovered dead earlier this month.
Jeshi la Polisi limemzuia Dr. Lilian Mtei, Mke wa Mwenyekiti wa Chama Taifa Mhe. @freemanmbowetz akiwa anatoka nyumbani kwake Mikocheni, Dar es salaam. pic.twitter.com/5r0NN8d2YV
— CHADEMA Tanzania (@ChademaTz) September 23, 2024
Police also disrupted the party’s youth day rally in August, arresting dozens of its leaders, including Mbowe and Lissu.
Rights organizations and Western governments, including the United States, have expressed concern about renewed repression ahead of local elections in November and a general election in late 2025.
Mwenyekiti wa Bavicha Mkoa wa Dodoma Aisha Saleh Madoga na Rhoda Edward Kunchela mwenyekiti wa Chadema Mkoa wa Katavi mapema leo walikamatwa na Jeshi la Polisi maeneo ya Magomeni. Ambao hawajatajwa katika orodha ya majina ya wanaoshikiliwa na Jeshi la Polisi yaliyotajwa na… pic.twitter.com/d7w0UcukA3
— CHADEMA Tanzania (@ChademaTz) September 23, 2024
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Lissu, an opposition stalwart, was arrested numerous times and sustained multiple gunshot wounds in an assassination attempt in 2017.
He returned to Tanzania last year when Hassan lifted the ban on opposition rallies. Police claimed that the Chadema protests would be violent.
But in a speech broadcast on X on Sunday, Mbowe said: “I remind Tanzanians that we are going to hold peaceful protests. We are neither carrying any weapons nor planning to violate the peace as some people allege.
“In case some of us will be arrested, hurt or even killed, pray for us and never turn back. We are doing this to make our country a peaceful place to live,” he said.
Tanzania Suluhu Employs Dictatorial Norms, Arrests Protesting Opposition Leaders
