U.S. reconsiders Tanzania ties after deadly post-election crackdown

NAIROBI, KENYA —The U.S. is “comprehensively reviewing” its ties with Tanzania after the State Department condemned “repression” and “disturbing violence against civilians” during protests that followed the country’s disputed October presidential election, which returned President Samia Suluhu Hassan to power.

Officials said the government’s actions raise serious concerns about the bilateral relationship and the East African countries’ reliability as a partner.

According to the country’s main opposition party, the United Nations and several rights groups, hundreds of people may have been killed as a result of the government crackdown on protestors, though the government has not released an official death toll and independent verification remains limited.

This is Washington’s strongest rebuke against Tanzania which last month saw the European Union suspend tens of millions of dollars in aid, citing the crackdown and lack of transparency.

It comes just days after Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan angrily hit out Western nations, religious leaders and opposition figures, accusing them of interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

“Do they still think they’re still our masters, our colonizers? Why, because of the little money they give us?” she told a gathering of elders from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Hassan described the deadly violence as an attempted coup and defended security forces accused of killing hundreds of protesters.

“Were these really demonstrations or acts of violence? People were destroying government buildings, raiding police stations, and stealing weapons. Police are mandated to protect lives and property. When people say they used excessive force — what were they supposed to do, just sit and watch a coup happening?” She told the applauding crowd.

Hassan claimed she won 98% of the vote in the Oct. 29 election, even though the main opposition parties were blocked from participating and several of their leaders were arrested on treason charges.

Hassan became president in 2021 following the sudden death of President John Magufuli and initially positioned herself as a reformer. But critics say she has continued and intensified the previous regime’s crackdown on dissent.

Opposition leaders deny plotting against the state and say the government’s crackdown has killed more than 2,000 protesters. Dozens have been arrested, opposition offices raided, and prominent organizers forced into hiding. Hundreds of protesters remain missing and are feared dead.

Among those killed was John Oduor, a Kenyan teacher shot in Dar es Salaam on polling day. More than a month later, his body remains in a Tanzanian morgue, and his family has still been unable to repatriate him for a traditional burial.

“I appeal to the President of this great nation, my country, Kenya — please come out and assist us,” Oduor’s elder sister Celestine told NPR. “We need closure as a family. We are tortured, emotionally and psychologically.”

Ahead of planned demonstrations on Dec. 9, U.N. human rights experts condemned widespread violations in Tanzania, including alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and mass detentions of protesters, opposition figures, and civil society.

“The Government must provide information on the fate and whereabouts of all disappeared persons,” the experts said. “All restrictions on media coverage must be lifted, as they are incompatible with Tanzania’s international obligations.”

Amnesty International and other right groups says Tanzania’s post election crisis marks a deepening crisis in the region, with opposition and press freedom crackdowns in East Africa

For the Oduor family and hundreds of others searching for loved ones, the political rhetoric offers little comfort. “Each day without answers,” Celestine told NPR, “is harder than the last.”