Tanzania remains gripped by the aftermath of its worst post-election violence in decades, a crisis that has shaken its long-standing reputation as a beacon of peace and stability in Africa. It has also earned the country rare rebukes from regional and continental organizations.
The death toll is not clear but families continue to search for or bury relatives killed following the recent disputed poll, that President Samia Suluhu Hassan won with 98% of the vote. Samia, the soft-spoken leader whose calm and gentle demeanor, initially inspired optimism when she assumed power in 2021 after the sudden death in office of her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli. But that has now changed.
Samia has pushed Tanzania to its thick winter of protests, instability, and uncertainty, Prof Peter Kagwanja, a Kenyan policy analyst, told BBC. The protests, organized by young people, drew clear parallels with global Gen Z-led mobilizations against entrenched leadership and unresponsive governments.
Analysts say while the unrest was unprecedented for Tanzania, it was preceded by a tense political climate - marked by stalled reforms, years of simmering youth anger, power tussles within the ruling party, and the sustained persecution of opposition leaders. The protests were just a culmination of years of anger and grievances that have been bottled in by Tanzanians, Godfrey Mwampembwa, a Tanzanian-born political cartoonist, popularly known as Gado, said.
Gado's satirical cartoons depicting President Samia as authoritarian and intolerant of political competition, have been circulated widely on social media.
Veteran Tanzanian journalist Jenerali Ulimwengu described in a column how the recent election was the boiling point reached by societal soups that have been cooking for decades in a slow cooker without being noticed by an absent-minded rulership, totally submerged in the middle of its gravy train.
CCM has over the years disenfranchised the masses and disregarded the very state institutions that keep it in power, said the satirist, who is based in neighboring Kenya but has been closely following events in his home country. Similar sentiments were shared by Gado, who accused the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party of burying its head in the sand and being tone-deaf to Tanzanians' growing calls for change.
Fondly known as Mama Samia, the 65-year-old president is now facing mounting accusations of heading a repressive government responsible for violently crushing historic protests. Her approach to leadership was initially admired both at home and abroad as she allowed opposition parties to organize rallies and criticize the government without the fear of grave repercussions. She had pledged to re-open Tanzania to the world through her 4R doctrine - reconciliation, resilience, rebuilding, and reform.
But it is the nature of this latest election that has exposed a shocking new side of Tanzania, a country long seen as protest-shy, especially when compared with neighboring Kenya. In the months preceding election day, CCM's government worked to systematically eliminate any credible competition, according to analysts. The two main opposition leaders were blocked from contesting the poll - Tundu Lissu is in detention on treason charges, which he denies, while Luhaga Mpina's candidacy was rejected on technical grounds.
The political space drastically shrunk in the run-up to the recent election, overshadowed by an internet blackout and a curfew. Hundreds may have died in post-election unrest according to the opposition, while authorities are yet to release an official death toll. Analysts say that as Samia set her eyes on a second term, she began seeing internal party pressure within the CCM and the resurgence of the opposition as threats to her ambition, leading to a strengthened repressive stance.
In her inauguration speech, Samia denied any wrongdoing and blamed external actors for the unrest, yet domestic and international observers are calling for accountability. As she begins to serve her second term in office, she faces mounting scrutiny and challenges to her legitimacy both at home and abroad.
The death toll is not clear but families continue to search for or bury relatives killed following the recent disputed poll, that President Samia Suluhu Hassan won with 98% of the vote. Samia, the soft-spoken leader whose calm and gentle demeanor, initially inspired optimism when she assumed power in 2021 after the sudden death in office of her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli. But that has now changed.
Samia has pushed Tanzania to its thick winter of protests, instability, and uncertainty, Prof Peter Kagwanja, a Kenyan policy analyst, told BBC. The protests, organized by young people, drew clear parallels with global Gen Z-led mobilizations against entrenched leadership and unresponsive governments.
Analysts say while the unrest was unprecedented for Tanzania, it was preceded by a tense political climate - marked by stalled reforms, years of simmering youth anger, power tussles within the ruling party, and the sustained persecution of opposition leaders. The protests were just a culmination of years of anger and grievances that have been bottled in by Tanzanians, Godfrey Mwampembwa, a Tanzanian-born political cartoonist, popularly known as Gado, said.
Gado's satirical cartoons depicting President Samia as authoritarian and intolerant of political competition, have been circulated widely on social media.
Veteran Tanzanian journalist Jenerali Ulimwengu described in a column how the recent election was the boiling point reached by societal soups that have been cooking for decades in a slow cooker without being noticed by an absent-minded rulership, totally submerged in the middle of its gravy train.
CCM has over the years disenfranchised the masses and disregarded the very state institutions that keep it in power, said the satirist, who is based in neighboring Kenya but has been closely following events in his home country. Similar sentiments were shared by Gado, who accused the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party of burying its head in the sand and being tone-deaf to Tanzanians' growing calls for change.
Fondly known as Mama Samia, the 65-year-old president is now facing mounting accusations of heading a repressive government responsible for violently crushing historic protests. Her approach to leadership was initially admired both at home and abroad as she allowed opposition parties to organize rallies and criticize the government without the fear of grave repercussions. She had pledged to re-open Tanzania to the world through her 4R doctrine - reconciliation, resilience, rebuilding, and reform.
But it is the nature of this latest election that has exposed a shocking new side of Tanzania, a country long seen as protest-shy, especially when compared with neighboring Kenya. In the months preceding election day, CCM's government worked to systematically eliminate any credible competition, according to analysts. The two main opposition leaders were blocked from contesting the poll - Tundu Lissu is in detention on treason charges, which he denies, while Luhaga Mpina's candidacy was rejected on technical grounds.
The political space drastically shrunk in the run-up to the recent election, overshadowed by an internet blackout and a curfew. Hundreds may have died in post-election unrest according to the opposition, while authorities are yet to release an official death toll. Analysts say that as Samia set her eyes on a second term, she began seeing internal party pressure within the CCM and the resurgence of the opposition as threats to her ambition, leading to a strengthened repressive stance.
In her inauguration speech, Samia denied any wrongdoing and blamed external actors for the unrest, yet domestic and international observers are calling for accountability. As she begins to serve her second term in office, she faces mounting scrutiny and challenges to her legitimacy both at home and abroad.
