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Tag: President Samia Suluhu Hassan

  • Tanzanian deputy opposition leader facing terrorism charges – lawyer

    The deputy leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, is facing terrorism charges, two weeks after his arrest in the capital Dodoma, his lawyer has said.

    John Heche is now being held in the main city Dar es Salaam, where he was informed of the charges, his lawyer Hekima Mwasipu told BBC Swahili. It is unclear when he will appear in court.

    The government did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

    He was arrested ahead of last week’s elections, denounced by the opposition as a “sham”. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Monday after being declared the winner with 98% of the vote.

    Chadema’s chairman, Tundu Lissu, remains in detention on treason charges, which he denies.

    The elections were marred by widespread protests and deadly violence, with observers saying they fell short of democratic standards.

    On Wednesday, African Union (AU) observers described the election as “compromised”, saying they witnessed ballot stuffing and multiple ballots being issued to voters.

    “The 2025 Tanzania General Elections did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections,” the initial report from the AU mission said, in a rare rebuke over the conduct of an election.

    The mission said Tanzania should “prioritise electoral and political reforms to address the root causes of its democratic and electoral challenges”.

    Earlier, observers from the regional Southern African community (Sadc), which includes Tanzania, said the vote did not meet the requirements of a free and fair elections.

    The Tanzanian government has insisted that the election was fair and transparent.

    In the aftermath, families have been searching for, or burying, relatives killed in the clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters during the elections.

    Chadema previously told the AFP news agency that there were “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

    The government has sought to downplay the scale of the violence and has dismissed the number of deaths given by the opposition as greatly exaggerated.

    During her inauguration ceremony, President Samia acknowledged the “loss of lives and destruction of public property”, but added that it was “not surprising” that some of those arrested were foreign nationals.

    Ahead of the election, rights groups had condemned government repression, with Amnesty International citing a “wave of terror” involving enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures. The government rejected the claims.

    Because of his detention, Lissu was unable to contest the presidential election and his party boycotted the vote. Another key opposition figure, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was disqualified on legal technicalities.

    Heche was arrested on 22 October, a week before the election.

    On Wednesday, his lawyer told the BBC that he had visited Heche at the police station in Dar es Salaam and said he was not in good health. He added that they had filed a petition seeking his release on bail.

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    [Getty Images/BBC]

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  • Samia wins Tanzania election with 98% of votes, as hundreds feared dead in unrest

    President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania’s presidential election, securing another term in office amid days of unrest across the country.

    According to the electoral commission, Samia won 98% of the votes, nearly sweeping the 32 million ballots cast in Wednesday’s election.

    International observers have expressed concern over the lack of transparency and widespread turmoil that has reportedly left hundreds people dead and hundreds injured.

    The nationwide internet shutdown is making it difficult to verify the death toll. The government has sought to play down the scale of the violence – and authorities have extended a curfew in a bid to quell the unrest.

    “I hereby announce Samia Suluhu Hassan as the winner of the presidential election under the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party,” Jacobs Mwambegele, the electoral chief, said while announcing the results on Saturday morning.

    Samia secured about 31.9 million votes, or 97.66% of the total, with turnout nearing 87% of the country’s 37.6 million registered voters, the electoral chief said.

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

    The opposition in Zanzibar said there had been “massive fraud”, the AP news agency reported.

    Mwinyi’s swearing-in ceremony is under way at Amaan Complex stadium in Zanzibar.

    Protests continued on Friday, as demonstrators in the port city of Dar es Salaam and other cities took to the streets, tearing down Samia’s posters and attacking police and polling stations despite warnings from the army chief to end the unrest.

    No protests were reported on Saturday morning, but tension remained high in Dar es Salaam streets, where security forces manned roadblocks across the city.

    The demonstrations are mostly led by young protesters, who have denounced the election as unfair.

    They accuse the government of undermining democracy by suppressing the main opposition leaders – one is in jail and another was excluded on technical grounds.

    A spokesperson from the opposition Chadema party on Friday told AFP news agency that “around 700” people had been killed in clashes with security forces, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

    Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit has described the violence as a “few isolated pockets of incidents here and there” and said “security forces acted very swiftly and decisively to address the situation”.

    There were two main opposition contenders – Tundu Lissu, who is being held on treason charges, which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina of the ACT-Wazalendo party – but he was excluded on legal technicalities.

    Sixteen fringe parties, none of whom have historically had significant public support, were allowed to run.

    Samia’s ruling party, CCM, has dominated the country’s politics and has never lost an election since independence.

    Ahead of the election, rights groups condemned government repression, with Amnesty International citing a “wave of terror” involving enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures.

    The government rejected the claims, and officials said the election would be free and fair.

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

    [Getty Images/BBC]

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