The People’s Liberation Party leader, Martha Karua, and former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, address a media briefing on the Tanzania elections in Nairobi, on November 2, 2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]
Human rights defenders in East Africa are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a state-sanctioned massacre in Tanzania, accusing neighbouring governments of aiding or turning a blind eye to the violence during the country’s general election.
Former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, representing regional human rights organisations, said Tanzania is in a digital and humanitarian blackout with hundreds feared dead and the government working to erase evidence of its brutality.
“For five days now, Tanzania has been in total darkness,the internet shut, journalists silenced, and CCTV footage confiscated.This is not just repression; it’s the systematic destruction of truth,” Kibwana said.
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According to rights groups, at least 700 people are feared dead, thousands injured or missing, and hundreds more detained as authorities move to silence opposition voices.
But the Tanzanian government insists the election was peaceful and credible, a claim activists dismiss as fiction.
“What happened in Tanzania was not an election. It was a massacre dressed up as democracy,” Kibwana said.
Activists allege that the crackdown has been supported by operatives from neighbouring countries.
“We have credible information that agents from nearby states were involved in intelligence sharing and logistics.This points to a dangerous regional trend — governments collaborating to crush democracy,” he said.
Peoples Liberation party leader Martha Karua, who is a human rights advocate, condemned the silence of regional and continental institutions, saying the African Union and East African Community (EAC) had betrayed the principles they claim to uphold.
“When the AU and EAC congratulate Tanzania after such an election, they abandon the very foundations they stand on – the rule of law, human rights, and democracy,” Karua said.
Karua criticised the AU chairperson for issuing a congratulatory message to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“That single act,” she said, “tells us tyranny is now being rewarded as legitimacy.”
Her remarks came as disturbing images and videos — smuggled out despite the internet blackout — showed what appeared to be victims of police and military brutality.
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The People’s Liberation Party leader, Martha Karua, and former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, address a media briefing on the Tanzania elections in Nairobi, on November 2, 2025.
[Benard Orwongo, Standard]
Human rights defenders in East Africa are sounding the alarm over what they describe as a state-sanctioned massacre in Tanzania, accusing neighbouring governments of aiding or turning a blind eye to the violence during the country’s general election.
Former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, representing regional human rights organisations, said Tanzania is in a digital and humanitarian blackout with hundreds feared dead and the government working to erase evidence of its brutality.
“For five days now, Tanzania has been in total darkness,the internet shut, journalists silenced, and CCTV footage confiscated.This is not just repression; it’s the systematic destruction of truth,” Kibwana said.
Follow The Standard
channel
on WhatsApp
According to rights groups, at least 700 people are feared dead, thousands injured or missing, and hundreds more detained as authorities move to silence opposition voices.
But the Tanzanian government insists the election was peaceful and credible, a claim activists dismiss as fiction.
“What happened in Tanzania was not an election. It was a
massacre dressed up as democracy
,” Kibwana said.
Activists allege that the crackdown has been supported by operatives from neighbouring countries.
“We have credible information that agents from nearby states were involved in intelligence sharing and logistics.This points to a dangerous regional trend — governments collaborating to crush democracy,” he said.
Peoples Liberation party leader Martha Karua, who is a human rights advocate, condemned the silence of regional and continental institutions, saying the African Union and East African Community (EAC) had betrayed the principles they claim to uphold.
“When the AU and EAC congratulate Tanzania after such an election, they abandon the very foundations they stand on – the rule of law, human rights, and democracy,” Karua said.
Karua criticised the AU chairperson for issuing a congratulatory message to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“That single act,” she said, “tells us tyranny is now being rewarded as legitimacy.”
Her remarks came as disturbing images and videos — smuggled out despite the
internet blackout
— showed what appeared to be victims of police and military brutality.
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By Juliet Omelo