Tanzania massacre: Dar hit by more riots and deaths

Riots, deaths and widespread destruction of property continued unabated in cities and towns across Tanzania on Sunday, as rumours circulated that President Samia Suluhu was to be sworn into office later in the day at Dodoma State House.

Journalists based in Dar es Salaam told The Standard that large, random groups of young protesters were launching surprise attacks on government installations and on property belonging to people perceived to be sympathisers of the President.

Clashes between the mainly youthful demonstrators and police were reported throughout the day, with credible sources indicating that morgues are filled with victims allegedly killed by security forces.

Offices belonging to musician Diamond Platnumz, whose full name is Naseeb Abdul Juma, located at Mbezi Beach in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam, were set ablaze yesterday morning. He was among the artistes who actively campaigned for President Samia through live performances at her rallies.

The marauding youth also targeted and torched Lake Oil petrol stations, a major company founded in 2006 and believed to be associated with former President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, a strong supporter of the President within the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) hierarchy.

As Mama Samia, as she is popularly known, prepares to take office, questions of her legitimacy still linger. She faces not only enraged and disenfranchised opposition leaders but also the grievances of Generation Z protesters occupying the streets.

CCM woes

Disquiet is also said to be growing within CCM, where some senior members are reportedly unhappy with the party’s direction.

Political analysts warn that the once-dominant independence party may disintegrate like others across the continent.

“These young people are moving in masses. They are running around day and night. Police officers are getting tired and overwhelmed because these people are all over the place causing havoc in the estates,” a journalist told The Standard yesterday.

Other worst hit towns include, Arusha, Mbeya, Kahama, Songwe near Malawi border, Tunduma on the Zambia border, Segera at the Arusha –Tanga road junction, Mwanza and Kigoma among others.

Transport across the country remained paralysed, with police roadblocks on major routes and hundreds of cargo trucks stranded at border posts.

Political analysts compare Tanzania’s situation to Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010 standoff, when rival militias loyal to Alassane Ouattara and police protecting then-President Laurent Gbagbo clashed.

Both Gbagbo and Ouattara assumed presidency in December 2010, triggering a short period of civil conflict in which about 3,000 people were killed.

Gbagbo was arrested in 2011 by pro-Ouattara forces supported by French troops andextradited to The Hague in November 2011. He was then charged with four counts of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the post-election violence.

Curfew ignored

In Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub, protests persisted despite a police-imposed curfew that has been widely ignored. Several embassies reportedly closed after the US mission advised citizens to stay indoors. Internet connectivity remains unstable, but protesters are using VPNs to upload videos on YouTube.

In Arusha, demonstrators set a police station ablaze. Activists returned to the streets to protest the election results, which declared the incumbent the winner on Saturday morning.

A journalist reported hearing sporadic gunfire in Dar es Salaam as protesters shared images of burning buses, cars, fuel stations, and homes of prominent figures.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has released a report documenting the widening repression, including against religious institutions and leaders critical of the regime.

The report notes that on June 2, 2025, the Suluhu administration deregistered the Ufufuo na Uzima (Glory of Christ) Church, led by outspoken Bishop Dr Josephat Gwajima, accusing it of violating the Societies Act days after he called for an end to abductions and enforced disappearances.

Bishop Dr Benson Bagonza of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) has also reported threats from “wasiojulikana”—a term meaning “unknown assailants”, often referring to unknown political abductors and enforcers, mainly working for, and at the behest of the regime.

On March 16, 2025,  televangelist Stephen Gumbo, was violently abducted from his home in Muriet, Arusha, by two gunmen who introduced themselves as police officers.

He was later picked up at the Kilimanjaro West forest, some 200 kilometers away, having been badly injured, tortured, and brutalized by the gunmen who accused him of “defaming” national leaders in his sermons.

Bishop Machumu Kadatu of Ufufuo na Uzima has since fled the country, while Bishop Dickson Kabigumila has reportedly gone into hiding after receiving death threats.

In September 2024, senior Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) official Ali Mohammed Kibao was abducted and later found dead, his face disfigured with acid.

The killing sparked a wave of abductions, arrests, and torture of opposition members and critics of the Suluhu government.

The report also documented how a journalist and author Mdude Nyangali was abducted in May 2025 by men believed to be security operatives. He remains missing, as does former ambassador and government critic Humphrey Polepole, who was reportedly taken in a similar manner.

The commission says these attacks are part of a broader trend of violence and intimidation against outspoken critics of the Tanzanian regime, including church leaders, and constitute violations of freedom of religion (protected in Article 18 of the ICCPR) and freedom of expression of religious leaders (protected in Article 19 of the ICCPR).