On November 15, 2025, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania took to the parliamentary floor with a message that many in the country—and indeed the world—had been waiting to hear. In the wake of a tumultuous election season marked by violence, accusations of government crackdowns, and a cloud of uncertainty over the fate of hundreds of Tanzanians, the president announced the launch of an official investigation into the unrest that erupted during and after the October 29 presidential election.
The move came just days after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, publicly urged Tanzanian authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation into reports of killings and other grave human rights violations. According to the BBC, President Samia’s announcement was not only a response to mounting international pressure but also an acknowledgment of the deep wounds left by the violence. In her address, she called for a moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives, extending condolences to bereaved families. “The government has taken the step of establishing an inquiry commission to investigate what happened, so that we may know the root cause of the problem,” she told lawmakers.
Yet, the air in parliament was thick with tension. The main opposition party, Chadema, which had been at the center of the storm, remained silent in the immediate aftermath of the president’s remarks. Chadema has claimed that over 1,000 people were killed by security forces during the protests—a figure the government has dismissed as exaggerated, while declining to provide its own estimate. The United Nations, meanwhile, has stated it believes hundreds died in the post-election violence, a tragedy that has plunged Tanzania into one of its deepest political crises in decades.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the violence did not erupt out of nowhere. Tensions had been simmering for months before the vote. In April, opposition leader Tundu Lissu was arrested on treason charges, and Chadema itself was sidelined from campaigning. Another prominent candidate, Luhaga Mpina, was barred from running altogether. Human rights organizations have accused the government of using legal and administrative maneuvers to stifle dissent, setting the stage for what would become a fraught and contested election.
On election day, the government imposed a nationwide internet shutdown—a move condemned by the African Commission as a violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The shutdown not only blocked access to information but also fueled public anger. Large-scale protests erupted in Dar es Salaam and other cities, with young people taking to the streets to protest the exclusion of candidates from the two main opposition parties. The government’s response was swift and, according to multiple witnesses cited by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, brutally repressive. Troops were deployed, curfews declared, and live ammunition used. Hospitals struggled with an influx of bodies and wounded civilians, and reports of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings began to circulate.
President Hassan’s victory, declared with an overwhelming 97 percent of the vote, did little to quell the unrest. Instead, the days following the election saw hundreds of people arrested—many of them young, and some charged with the serious crime of treason. State prosecutors have been criticized for what activists say is an indiscriminate crackdown, with hundreds facing charges that could carry severe penalties.
In her parliamentary address, President Samia sought to strike a conciliatory tone. She urged prosecutors to show leniency toward those arrested, especially the young people who, as she put it, “did not fully understand what they were getting involved in.” She added, “As a mother and guardian of this nation, I am directing law-enforcement agencies, especially the DPP’s office, to show leniency.” For those who joined the protests out of peer pressure, she called for counseling and release. “For those who were just following the wave, let them be counselled and released,” she said, as reported by the BBC and other outlets.
But for many activists and international observers, leniency is only part of the solution. Human Rights Watch has called for an independent investigation into alleged killings, disappearances, and repression carried out by security forces. The group warns that “serious violations” of rights may amount to international crimes, and argues that only full transparency and accountability can pave the way for meaningful reconciliation. “There is no peace without justice,” wrote Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai in a pointed response to the president’s speech.
Amnesty International has echoed these concerns, documenting a pattern of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary arrests under President Hassan’s administration. The organization, along with others, insists that the government’s refusal to release an official death toll or acknowledge the full scale of the violence only deepens mistrust and undermines any claim to legitimacy.
President Hassan, for her part, has promised that the newly established commission of inquiry will examine not only the violence itself but also the underlying issues that led to the unrest. She has called on political parties to meet and discuss how to conduct politics without harming the country, reaffirming her commitment to initiating a new constitution-making process. In a nod to opposition demands, she pledged that her administration would embark on constitutional reforms within its first 100 days.
Despite these promises, skepticism remains high. The government has rejected accusations of widespread rights abuses and defended the conduct of security forces, maintaining that the vote was fair. Last year, President Hassan ordered an investigation into reports that government critics had been abducted, but no findings have yet been released. The lack of transparency has led many to question whether this latest inquiry will bring about real change—or simply serve as a gesture to placate critics at home and abroad.
The stakes are high for Tanzania, a country that has long prided itself on stability but now finds itself at a crossroads. With economic growth projected at 6 percent this year, driven by infrastructure development and resource extraction, the government is eager to project an image of progress and unity. Yet the scars of the election violence run deep, and the calls for justice and accountability are unlikely to fade anytime soon.
As the commission of inquiry begins its work, the eyes of Tanzanians—and the world—will be watching closely. Whether President Hassan’s promises of reconciliation and reform will translate into lasting peace remains to be seen, but for now, the country stands at a moment of reckoning, caught between its troubled past and the uncertain hope of a more just future.
