Tanzania’s Samia Hassan sworn in amid internet blackout, protest deaths

Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan was inaugurated as president on Monday, with an internet blackout still in place after election protests in which the opposition says hundreds were killed by security forces.

The electoral commission said Hassan won 98 percent of the vote.

She was sworn into office despite the main opposition party, Chadema, which was barred from running, rejecting the results.

It has called for fresh elections, saying last Wednesday’s vote was a “sham”.

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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 total internet blackout has been in place since protests broke out on election day, so only a trickle of verifiable information has been getting out of the East African country.

A diplomatic source said there were credible reports of hundreds — perhaps even thousands — of deaths registered at hospitals and health clinics around Tanzania.

Chadema told AFP it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, but none of the figures could be independently verified.

The government has not commented on any deaths, except to reject accusations that “excessive force” was used.

Schools and colleges remained closed on Monday, with public transport halted and reports of some church services not taking place on Sunday.

The diplomatic source said there were “concerning reports” that police were using the internet blackout to buy time as they “hunt down opposition members and protesters who might have videos” of atrocities committed last week.

Dar es Salaam and other cities were much calmer over the weekend as a near-total lockdown was in place.

An AFP reporter said police were stopping almost everyone who moved around the city, checking IDs and bags, and allowing shops to open only in the afternoon.

AFP journalists on the island of Zanzibar, which has greater political freedom and had few protests, saw masked armed men patrolling without visible insignia or identification in the days after the election.

A rights group in neighbouring Kenya presented footage on Sunday that it said was gathered from inside Tanzania, including images of dead bodies piled up in the street.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for prayers for Tanzania, where he said post-election violence had erupted “with numerous victims”.

“I urge everyone to avoid all forms of violence and to pursue the path of dialogue,” the pope said.

– ‘Wave of terror’ –

Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.

She wanted an emphatic election victory to cement her place and silence critics within the ruling party, analysts say.

Rights groups say she oversaw a “wave of terror” ahead of the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.

Despite a heavy security presence, election day descended into chaos as crowds took to the streets across the country, tearing down her posters and attacking police and polling stations, leading to an internet shutdown and curfew.

Polling stations had been largely empty before the violence broke out, AFP journalists and observers saw, though the electoral commission later said turnout was 87 percent.

UN chief Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned” about the situation in Tanzania, “including reports of deaths and injuries during the demonstrations”, his spokesman said last week.

The international reaction has been muted. However, Kenyan President William Ruto congratulated her and called for people to “uphold peace and the rule of law”. The Democratic Republic of Congo leader, Felix Tshisekedi, also congratulated Hassan on her “brilliant re-election”.

AFP