The secretary-general of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has condemned the statement of a youth leader who proposes for the party to make critics disappear.
The Chairperson of the CCM’s youth wing in Kagera, Faris Buruhan made the statement on April 16, 2024, in the regional internal meeting where he said: “If there is someone who thinks they have the freedom to go online and spend the whole day insulting leaders, if we make them disappear, Police don’t look for them.”
The statement sparked debates in various spaces online with some contributors reminded of situations where critics disappeared between 2016 and 2017, people like Ben Saanane, Simon Kanguye, or journalist Azory Gwanda who remain missing to date.
READ MORE: People Go Missing in Tanzania. Authorities Seem Not To Care Much About It
While speaking in a public rally at Rwandanzovwe in Mbeya on April 17, 2024, the CCM’s secretary general, Emmanuel Nchimbi trashed the statement.
“And today, when a young member of the CCM rises, for example, saying if our opponents do this and that, we must make them disappear. This is our young one, but he has said something foolish,” said Nchimbi.
“We will oppose it and we must see it as foolish utterance because, at the end of the day, this country belongs to all of us. This country is not owned by any political party, not by religion, not by tribe; it is our country, all of us.”
Buruhan statement of making people disappear emanates from the discussion that started in their meeting about the US-based activist Mange Kimambi.
Several youth leaders in the Kagera meeting condemned Mange Kimambi for harassing leaders online, a trend that has been ongoing since last week with members of parliament, ministers, and artists, Instagram influencers condemning the activist and leveling their support for the President.
There has also been a petition online directed at the US government to ‘stop Mange Kimambi homophobic activism on US soil’, the petitioner says Kimambi has been making baseless accusations regarding the sexual orientation of female leaders violating their right to privacy.
Mange, whose Instagram account where she had been sharing her messages, was deactivated by Meta. Revealed yesterday on X that some individuals with ties to the ruling party attempted to influence one of the Tanzanians living in the US into disclosing her address.
She underscored that In fear of the complexity of the issue and its legality, the Tanzanian reported the incident to the US Police and shared the recording with Mange, who then shared it online.
Mange said that she had reported the issue to the Los Angeles Police Department, who informed her that they don’t have jurisdiction over the matter and forwarded it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In 2018, when Mange attempted to organize a nationwide protest, she claimed she was informed by the FBI that her life was in danger.
