Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian authorities Monday arrested a dozen officials and members of the opposition party CHADEMA in a crackdown to put down a peaceful protest the centre-right party organised to mourn the lives of people it alleges to have fallen victim to political kidnapping that continues to terrify many in the East African nation.
Among those arrested are the party’s national chairperson, Freeman Mbowe; CHADEMA’s deputy chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), Tundu Lissu; the party’s deputy secretary-general (Tanzania Mainland), Benson Kigaila; and CHADEMA Northern Zone chairperson, Godbless Lema, among many other party members and officials.
Police also arrested and briefly detained Mr Mbowe’s wife, Lilian Mtei, and his daughter, Nicole Mbowe, who had joined the opposition figure in the protest that police had previously termed “illegal” and warned CHADEMA against proceeding with their plans authorities claimed “sought to disturb law and order in the country.”
Law enforcement authorities also arrested and briefly detained at least six journalists from Mwananchi, EATV and Nipashe who were covering the protests. Police also arrested ordinary people who participated in the protest, including one unidentified woman who was praying for Mr Mbowe’s safety.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Jumanne Muliro told a press conference Monday afternoon that police are holding fourteen people—CHADEMA says the number is 45—in connection to the protests, including several they accused of mobilising people to participate in them. Mr Muliro added that all suspects will be interrogated before the law follows its current course.
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“Police are hereby officially informing the public that we are holding these people, and they’re currently undergoing police interrogations,” Mr Muliro told journalists. “Rumours that police kidnapped these people are untrue. Police arrested, and will interrogate, all of them according to the country’s laws and procedures.”
Accountability
Monday’s botched protests occurred against the backdrop of sustained calls from opposition parties, civil society, and religious organisations for public accountability and an end to the alleged political kidnapping that has been associated with the deaths and disappearances of several people recently, particularly members and officials of CHADEMA.
The shocking kidnapping and eventual murder of senior CHADEMA strategist Mohamed Ali Kibao, who was abducted while on an upcountry bus to his hometown of Tanga, amplified these calls and set the stage for Monday’s protests that CHADEMA decided to organise to mourn Mr Kibao’s lives and others faced with the similar fate.
Speaking with journalists at Magomeni, where one route of the demonstration was to begin, Mr Mbowe, sporting a CHADEMA shirt and a cap, criticised the heavy presence of police in the streets of Dar es Salaam, describing it as the misuse of public resources, as demonstrating is a constitutionally guaranteed right.
“Our demonstrations are mournful and peaceful,” Mr Mbowe told journalists. “We seek to hurt nobody, and we are therefore saddened with the use of excessive force to intimidate people [and] violate their freedoms. I’ve come here to join others in these demonstrations, and I’m ready to face anything because that’s my duty as a [party] leader.”
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While journalists were still asking him more questions, police officers interrupted and demanded Mr Mbowe call the press conference off before they arrested him. Amid the fracas that ensued, which included police’s attempts to use force in arresting Mr Mbowe, the leader of CHADEMA remarked: “This is the cost we are forced to pay to call for accountability. People are tortured and murdered.”
Samia Must Go
The developments on Monday occurred a few days after President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned against what she termed efforts to bring her government down, swearing to do everything possible to strengthen the protection of Tanzanians’ lives and well-being.
The Head of State was referring to the #SamiaMustGo campaign that has been ongoing on social media, bolstered by recent incidents of forced disappearances and murder of dissidents and government critics.
But officiating a meeting of senior police officers on September 7, 2024, Samia said she was going nowhere, adding that protecting the country’s peace was her top priority.
“We have been tolerant on many issues, but when it comes to protecting this nation’s peace, I will show no leniency to anyone involved in such matters, whether they are coordinating, participating in, or executing these evil plans,” President Samia said in her speech that also criticised the diplomatic corps for commenting on local issues, which she interpreted as interfering with Tanzania’s internal affairs.
Condemnations
Several people condemned the police’s behaviour in putting down the protests, including the use of excessive force in arresting peaceful protesters. The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), for example, condemned the arbitrary arrest of demonstrators, calling for the immediate release and accountability of responsible police officers.
“Intimidating people who just want to use their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression is unconstitutional and violates all international human rights standards that Tanzania must abide by,” LHRC Executive Director Anna Henga said in a statement. “We condemn these practices which violate our country’s laws and fill people with fear.”
Opposition ACT-Wazalendo party also called for an immediate release of all arrested CHADEMA officials and members without any condition, with its party leader Dorothy Semu insisting on dialogue to remove the country from the present stalemate.
