Several hundred feared dead as protests continue

Hundreds of people have been killed in three days of protests in Tanzania following Wednesday’s general elections, the country’s main opposition party said.

A spokesman for the Chadema party told the AFP news agency that “about 700” people were killed in clashes with security forces. Nationwide internet shutdowns make it difficult to verify death reports.

The BBC spoke to a diplomatic source in Tanzania who said there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

But a government minister defended the government’s handling of the unrest, saying “no one can say how many people were injured”.

Demonstrations are taking place in major cities, with young protesters claiming the vote was unfair because key opposition figures were banned from running against President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

In a statement to BBC Focus Afrika TV, Foreign Minister Mahmud Kombo Sabit described what happened as “a few isolated incidents here and there… our security forces moved very quickly and decisively to respond to this situation.”

“We [also] “We continue to receive reports of vandalized properties,” he said, adding that the internet shutdown was necessary to stop such vandalism and save lives.

Protests continued in the main city of Dar es Salaam (Salasala, Yombo and Tegeta neighbourhoods) on Friday as demonstrators defied warnings from the country’s army chief to end the unrest.

“Some people took to the streets on October 29 and committed criminal acts. These are crimes and the criminal acts must be stopped immediately,” General Jacob John Mkunda said on state television on Thursday. he said, adding that the military was “controlling the situation.”

The government tried to downplay the extent of the violence, and authorities extended the curfew in an attempt to quell the unrest.

Due to the internet shutdown, journalists and human rights groups had difficulty checking news of the deaths.

Hospitals in the country refuse to provide information when asked about the deaths.

A source at a referral hospital in Dar es Salaam told the BBC it had been full of injured people since Thursday.

The source added that they heard that the situation is the same in other public hospitals in the city, where morgues are reported to be full.

A politician from Chadema told the BBC he feared for his life because “the massacres were carried out at night when no one witnessed it.”

John Kitoka, Chadema’s director of foreign and diaspora affairs, told the BBC’s Newshour programme: “They are tracking all our leaders and some have had to leave the country. These people are killing with impunity.”

The UN called on the East African country’s security forces to refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force.

“We are alarmed by the deaths and injuries occurring in ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania. Reports we have received indicate that at least 10 people have been killed,” UN human rights spokesman Seif Magango was quoted as saying by Reuters earlier on Friday.

According to information obtained by the BBC, ambassadors from various foreign embassies also contacted the Tanzanian government and requested that security forces exercise restraint in monitoring the protests.

The election commission announced results for about 80 of the country’s 272 regions on Friday afternoon, according to state broadcaster TBC.

The BBC understands that international observers reported incredibly low turnout in Wednesday’s election.

President Samia is expected to win the vote under the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has governed the country since independence in 1961.

Official results are expected to be announced on Saturday.

In Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, which elects its own government and leader, the incumbent president, CCM’s Hussein Mwinyi, received nearly 80% of the vote.

According to the AP news agency, the opposition in Zanzibar said there was a “huge fraud”.

It is stated that tourists on the island were also stranded at the airport due to flight delays due to protests on the mainland and internet cuts.

A Kenyan music publisher says he was stranded in Tanzania for three days due to communication problems.

“Internet, stores, gas stations, email, social media, everything was down. Completely disconnected. No international or regional calls. No incoming or outgoing calls. No incoming or outgoing text messages. No Ubers or Bolts because there was no network.” Anyiko Owoko shared a post on Instagram After returning home on a Kenya Airways flight on Friday.

“Many flights were cancelled, grounding Tanzania’s national airline. A large number of people were stranded at the airport, unable to book tickets or reschedule flights due to connectivity disruption,” he said.

Protesters accuse the government of undermining democracy, with main opposition leader Tundu Lissu imprisoned and another opposition figure disqualified from the elections; This increases Samia’s chances of winning.

Lissu is being held on charges of treason, which he denies, and his party boycotted the vote.

The only other serious challenger, Luhaga Mpina of the ACT-Wazalendo party, was excluded due to legal technicalities.

Sixteen fringe parties, none of which had historically significant popular support, were allowed to participate in the elections.

Samia came to power as Tanzania’s first female president in 2021 following the death of President John Magufuli.

He was initially praised for easing political pressure, but political space has since narrowed, with his government accused of targeting critics through arrests and a wave of kidnappings.

Additional reporting by Stewart Maclean and Basillioh Rukanga