NAIROBI, KENYA — The U.S. is “comprehensively reviewing” its relationship with Tanzania after the State Department condemned what it called repression and “disturbing violence against civilians” during protests that followed the disputed October presidential election that returned President Samia Suluhu Hassan to power.
U.S. officials said the government’s response to the unrest raises serious questions about the bilateral relationship and Tanzania’s reliability as a partner. Opposition parties, U.N. experts and rights groups say hundreds may have been killed in the post-election crackdown, though the government has not released an official death toll and independent verification is limited.
This review is Washington’s strongest rebuke so far. Last month the European Union suspended tens of millions of dollars in aid, citing the crackdown and a lack of transparency.
President Hassan, who took office in 2021 after the sudden death of John Magufuli and was initially seen as a reformer, angrily rebuked Western governments, religious leaders and opposition figures, accusing them of meddling in Tanzania’s affairs. “Do they still think they’re still our masters, our colonizers? Why, because of the little money they give us?” she said to elders in Dar es Salaam.
Hassan defended security forces accused of killing protesters, framing the clashes as an attempted coup. “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 said.
Hassan has claimed she won 98% of the vote in the Oct. 29 election, despite opposition parties being barred from participating and several opposition leaders arrested on treason charges.
Opposition figures reject accusations they plotted against the state and allege that the crackdown has killed more than 2,000 people. Dozens have been detained, opposition offices raided, organizers forced into hiding, and hundreds of protesters remain missing and feared dead.
Among the dead is 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 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, including alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and mass detentions of protesters, opposition figures and civil society actors. The experts called on the government to provide information on the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons and to lift restrictions on media coverage, saying such limits are incompatible with Tanzania’s international obligations.
Amnesty International and other rights groups say the post-election crisis marks a deepening regional decline in opposition and press freedoms across parts of East Africa.
For families like the Oduors and hundreds of others searching for missing relatives, official rhetoric and international pressure offer little solace. “Each day without answers,” Celestine said, “is harder than the last.”