#Tanzania: An opposition politician who was abducted last weekend was later found dead. Ali Mohamed #Kibao’s #abduction and #murder has vindicated opposition politicians in Tanzania who say the country is sliding back into authoritarianism.@thecontinent_ https://t.co/u5FR6ojIW1 pic.twitter.com/CygoIhihHU
— Danny Wijnhoud, PhD (@DannyWijnhoud) September 14, 2024
Association
On 7th September 2024, unknown assailants abducted Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior member of CHADEMA (Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo), a prominent opposition party in Tanzania, from a bus traveling from Dar-es-Salaam to Tanga. Authorities found Kibao's body the following day, with evidence of severe beating and acid burns. The Tanzanian police have launched an inquiry into the case. This incident highlights ongoing abductions and violence against opposition members and follows the August 2024 mass arrests of CHADEMA supporters. Amnesty International had described the arrests as a “deeply worrying sign” in the run-up to local government elections in November 2024 and general elections due in 2025.
Expression
On 30th August 2024, Tanzania's Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including Airtel, Vodacom, Halotel, Tigo and TTCL, blocked access to X (formerly Twitter), preventing users nationwide from accessing the platform. These ISPs also restrict the Image Content Delivery Network (CDN), Mobile API, and Photo/Video Upload. The government ordered this action “to curb communications about a prison break, following police alerts about opposition parties planning to raid stations holding political prisoners, and to address concerns over homosexuality and exposure to pornographic content.”
On 23rd September 2024, police assaulted MCL journalists Lawrence Mnubi, Michael Matemanga and Baraka Loshilaa as they covered a banned CHADEMA protest in Dar es Salaam over the alleged killings and abductions of government critics. The journalists were detained for hours before being released. In a similar incident, police briefly detained journalist Mariam Shaban from East Africa TV, as well as Jenifer Gilla and Jumanne Juma from Nipashe newspaper, for unknown reasons. The legal basis for these arrests of journalists and media workers remains unclear, pointing to their arbitrary character.
On 2nd October 2024, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) issued a 30-day suspension order for Mwananchi Communications Limited’s (MCL) online publications, affecting the websites and social media pages of its newspapers, the English-language daily The Citizen, the Swahili-language Mwananchi, and the sports-focused Mwanaspoti. Prior to this, The Citizen had published an animated video on social media featuring a character resembling President Samia Suluhu Hassan watching television coverage of reported killings and abductions of government critics. This action is part of a broader trend of restricting press freedom and narrowed civic space ahead of the 27th November 2024 local elections and 2025 presidential and parliamentary elections.
On 9th October 2024, the TCRA targeted YouTube-based Jambo TV for airing claims by opposition figure Tundu Lissu and journalist Erick Kabendera that telecom companies Tigo and Vodacom Tanzania shared their data with the government. These claims included Tigo sharing Lissu's location data before a 2017 assassination attempt and Vodacom's involvement in Kabendera’s 2019 arrest. The TCRA ordered Jambo TV to submit a written defence and appear before its Content Committee on 17th October 2024.