Tanzania’s president announces probe into post-election protest deaths

Samia Suluhu Hassan, whose re-election prompted protests and a deadly constabulary crackdown, faces planetary calls for accountability.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan says her authorities volition motorboat an enquiry into the deadly unrest that erupted pursuing her arguable re-election past month, arsenic claims of an undemocratic ballot process prompted wide protests.

Speaking during the opening league of Tanzania’s caller parliament connected Friday, Hassan said she was “deeply saddened by the incident” and offered condolences to the families who mislaid loved ones successful the crackdown.

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“The authorities has taken the measurement of forming an enquiry committee to analyse what happened,” she added.

Her comments people the archetypal conciliatory connection since Tanzanian authorities violently cracked down connected wide demonstrations pursuing the country’s October 29 presidential election.

Hassan was declared the victor of the ballot with astir 98 percent support, aft her starring rivals were barred from participating, fuelling choler and vexation among galore Tanzanians who said the contention was unfair.

While the nonstop decease toll is unclear, Tanzania’s main absorption enactment has said hundreds of people were killed arsenic the authorities sent troops into the streets to disperse the protests. Authorities besides imposed an net blackout connected the East African nation.

‘Grave quality rights violations’

Rights groups person called for an autarkic and thorough probe into what happened, with Amnesty International saying the authorities committed “grave quality rights violations that see unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, unlawful detentions”.

“Authorities should promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and efficaciously analyse each killings by information agents and bring to justness successful just trials those suspected of being responsible,” the organisation said successful a connection successful aboriginal November.

The United Nations quality rights chief, Volker Turk, besides urged the Tanzanian authorities earlier this week to analyse the killings and different rights violations.

He called connected the authorities to supply accusation astir the whereabouts of radical who person gone missing and to manus implicit the bodies of those killed.

Reports of families desperately searching everyplace for their loved ones, visiting 1 constabulary presumption aft different and 1 infirmary aft different are harrowing,” Turk said, adding that his bureau has been incapable to verify casualty figures owed to the information concern and net shutdown.

Probe into younker ‘offences’

Meanwhile, dozens of people person been charged with treason and different offences successful narration to the protests.

On Friday, President Hassan, who archetypal took powerfulness successful 2021 aft the abrupt decease of her predecessor, John Magufuli, appeared to bespeak determination would beryllium leniency.

“I realise that galore youths who were arrested and charged with treason did not cognize what they were doing,” she said during her code successful parliament.

“As the parent of this nation, I nonstop the instrumentality enforcement agencies and particularly the bureau of the manager of constabulary to look astatine the level of offences committed by our youths.

“For those who look to person followed the assemblage and did not mean to perpetrate a crime, fto them erase their mistakes,” she added.

Hassan besides acknowledged the demands of the absorption Chadema party, which has said, for immoderate meaningful reconciliation to happen, law reforms are needed. She said her medication would embark connected a law betterment process wrong its archetypal 100 days.