Dar es Salaam. Parents in Tanzania are increasingly becoming apprehensive about the safety of their children as reports of minors going missing continue to emerge from across the country in what the police have nevertheless described as “unnecessarily exaggerated to cause panic.”
The Chanzo has documented at least ten reported incidents of missing children across the country aged between two and fourteen between June and July, many of them concern primary school students who went missing in what their parents and guardians describe as mysterious ways.
Of the ten incidents, The Chanzo found that only in one case did the family locate its child, and the fate of the remaining children remained uncertain. The frequency of the reports on missing children, primarily online, has created such fear among parents and guardians that it has driven them to behave in very extraordinary ways.
On July 17, 2024, for example, parents and guardians in Mbande, Temeke, stormed the Mbande Primary School after reports emerged that blooded uniforms of six-year-old Malick Hashim, who had reportedly gone missing, were found at the school premises, a claim police later said was false.
Police have since launched a crackdown against people they accuse of spreading false information and causing unnecessary alarms. On July 24, 2024, for example, police in Pwani arrested four people who recorded a video of themselves claiming that a vehicle was going around in some villages of Chalinze district to abduct children.
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However, the police’s assurance has failed to ease parents’ fears and concerns. Some tell The Chanzo that they’re growing increasingly worried about their children’s safety, especially when they are on their way to and from school. This fear is experienced mainly by parents who work far from their homes.
“The situation is so bad that we are afraid of even letting our children go and get stuff from the shop,” Eliza Jiana, a parent from Mburahati and works in Msasani, Dar es Salaam, told The Chanzo. “I get home around seven in the evening, while my child gets home at five in the afternoon. When can I protect him?”
Another parent, Beatrice Mtasingwa, said the reports have forced her to spend more time with her children, thinking that doing so minimises the chances of them being at risk. She urges her fellow parents and guardians to do the same.
“We should also become concerned when our children stay out of sight for too long,” Beatrice urged. “We should also work closely with schools and teachers to ensure children remain safe at home and school.”
On July 21, 2024, organisations working around issues of human rights and the safety of children organised a special vigil in memory of children who have reportedly been missing, killed or abused. Meeting under the auspices of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), the organisations urged authorities to ensure the safety of children in Tanzania.
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“We’re not satisfied with the police’s follow-up on these reports,” Getrude Dyabene, LHRC’s senior programme officer for women, children, and people with disabilities, said while reading the organisations’ joint statement. “We urge the police to intensify efforts to establish the motivation behind these incidents and bring their perpetrators to justice.”
Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF), a non-governmental organisation that promotes children’s rights in Tanzania, echoed this dissatisfaction with authorities’ efforts to work on the reports, noting in its July 23, 2024, statement that concerted efforts are needed to stop the incidents.
“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure the safety of all children,” the organisation said in its statement on X. “We urge the relevant authorities to redouble efforts put in securing the safety of all children in the country.”
Kiiya JK, chief executive of C-Sema, a non-governmental organisation promoting and protecting children’s rights in Tanzania, told The Chanzo that the only way to stop the incidents is to end the impunity of their perpetrators.
“My take is that we live in an extremely corrupt social-political country where impunity is celebrated,” Kiiya said. “This has led to the political class in seeking re-election, employing witchcraft in the quest of running unopposed in the upcoming elections.”
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“I am sure the police would easily get the perpetrators of these vices,” he added. “I am afraid, this time, they cannot because big politicians are the perpetrators.”
However, police have insisted that the incidents are not as prevalent as the reports seek to imply, dismissing claims that there could be an ill motive that fuels their occurrence. Instead, Dodoma regional police commander Theopista Mallya blamed the incidents on irresponsible parents.
Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mgaza.
