TANZANIA’S main opposition party has claimed that 700 people have been lost to the ongoing nationwide protests that erupted after the presidential poll conducted earlier this week in East Africa country.
The spokesperson for the opposition CHADEMA party, John Kitoka, stated this on Friday, noting that the party had documented about 700 deaths since Wednesday, citing reports from health workers.
CHADEMA party was barred from the election after refusing to sign a code of conduct, following the arrest of its leader on treason charges in April.
Kitoka said that demonstrations were still taking place in several cities on Friday, though their intensity had decreased in some areas because of the heavy security presence.
“We are calling for the protests to continue until our demands for electoral reforms are made,” he told Reuters.
Protests erupted after the exclusion of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s two main challengers from the ballot and allegations of widespread repression. Sources said police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse demonstrators.
An overnight curfew has been in place in Dar es Salaam for two consecutive nights after government offices and other buildings were set on fire. Internet connectivity has been severely disrupted since Wednesday.
On Friday, heavily armed police and military officers patrolled the streets of Dar es Salaam, restricting movement and allowing only those with valid reasons to pass. The government has also extended a work-from-home directive for civil servants.
The United Nations said it had received credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities, the first public casualty estimates from an international body since the Wednesday vote, but authorities have yet to release any official casualty figures.
The ongoing unrest poses a major test for Hassan, who was initially lauded after assuming office in 2021 for relaxing political restrictions but has recently come under fire from opposition groups and activists over a wave of arrests and alleged abductions of political opponents.
Hassan has rejected accusations of widespread human rights abuses, saying last year that she had ordered an investigation into reports of abductions, though no findings have been made public.
The electoral commission began releasing provisional results on Thursday, indicating that Hassan was securing majority of votes across several constituencies.
The government addressed the ongoing unrest for the first time on Friday through a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomatic missions, stating that, “Owing to isolated incidents of breaches of law and order, the government has heightened security and implemented several precautionary measures.”
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.