More Than 500 People Killed In 2025 Tanzania Election Violence

A total of 518 people died in Tanzania from “unnatural causes” in the wake of widespread protests that followed last year’s general election, the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violence has announced.

However, commission chairman Mohamed Chande Othman did not say who was responsible for the deaths and recommended further investigations.

Opposition parties and human rights groups had previously accused the security forces of unleashing a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the 29 October poll with 98% of the vote – which the opposition described as a “mockery” of democracy.

At the time, the president said the election was fair and transparent and blamed foreigners for the violence saying it was part of a plot to overthrow her.

International observers, however, last year raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the vote, with the African Union and the southern Africa bloc Sadc saying the election had fallen short of democratic standards.

Last year, footage posted online showed that demonstrators were confronted by heavily armed police units blocking their progress and firing tear gas to disperse crowds. In many of the videos, gunfire can clearly be heard as people scatter in the ensuing chaos.

The scale of Tanzania’s election violence was shocking for a nation that had cultivated an image of calm, consensus and order for nearly six decades.

ESTHER NDU

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