Tanzanian authorities have detained a senior official from the main opposition party, Chadema, as part of a wider roundup linked to violent post-election unrest. The party says deputy secretary general Amani Golugwa was arrested on Saturday; police are seeking nine more people, including other Chadema figures.
Chadema and several rights groups have accused security forces of killing more than 1,000 people during demonstrations after last week’s vote. The government rejected those figures as exaggerated and has not published its own tallies. More than 200 people have been charged with treason over the unrest, an offence that can carry the death penalty, though Tanzania has not carried out executions since 1995.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the election winner with 98% of the vote. International observers and opposition figures criticised the process: main rivals were barred from standing, and monitors reported irregularities including ballot-stuffing. The government has maintained the poll was free and fair.
Authorities say they are pursuing those responsible for organising the protests and described an ongoing operation to find people involved in planning and executing the violence. Among those reportedly wanted are Chadema’s secretary general, John Mnyika, and the party’s head of communications, Brenda Rupia.
The exclusion from the ballot of prominent opposition leader Tundu Lissu — who was charged with treason in April and barred from running — helped spark the demonstrations, Chadema says. On 29 October, protests across cities in Tanzania turned violent and clashed with police, according to official statements and rights organisations.
Amnesty International and other groups allege that, ahead of and during the vote, authorities carried out enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings. They also say internet access was shut down and excessive force was used to suppress protests. Rights groups report a broader crackdown on people perceived to be linked to the unrest, including business figures accused of supporting demonstrators.
President Samia acknowledged that deaths occurred but blamed foreign actors for stoking the unrest and suggested some arrested were non-citizens. Despite the turmoil, she was sworn in at a televised inauguration held at a military parade ground and closed to the public.
Samia first became president in 2021 after the death in office of John Magufuli, when she was his vice-president. Her early tenure attracted praise from some activists for easing repression, but critics say her administration has since tightened control over political space.
