On June 18, 2025, the Tanzania Police Force issued a public statement addressing the growing number of abduction and disappearance cases in the country. The statement attributed many of these incidents to staged abductions, jealousy, witchcraft, and other contributing factors.
“In the cases reported at police stations and thoroughly investigated—where the missing individuals were later found either alive or deceased—evidence in some instances has revealed causes such as self-staged abductions, jealousy in romantic relationships, superstitious beliefs, property disputes, acts of revenge, travel to foreign countries to learn extremist ideologies, and fleeing from justice after committing crimes,” the statement reads.
The police report has sparked widespread public debate, with many questioning the handling of unresolved cases, including recent high-profile disappearances such as those of Mdude Nyagali and Edgar Mwakabela, popularly known as Sativa—cases in which police officers themselves were accused of involvement.
Among the highlighted cases by the police, the most recent involves Sheikh Zeberi Said Nkokoo, a Muslim scholar and leader of the Islamic Foundation based in Singida. According to police, Sheikh Nkokoo allegedly staged his own abduction on June 6, 2025, due to a debt of approximately Tsh 512 million.
In the statement, the police urged greater cooperation from the public and from relatives of the missing in order to help uncover the truth behind various disappearances.
“The government, through the Police Force, has the responsibility to protect people’s lives and property and not otherwise. Furthermore, all reported incidents involving the disappearance of various individuals are still under investigation until the truth is established about what happened to our fellow Tanzanians,” Police said in their statement.
“Regarding incidents that have occurred and have been linked to acts of abduction and the victims are yet to be found, the Police Force urges the relatives, family members, and friends of those individuals to remain calm while security agencies continue investigating these cases to uncover the reality behind the incidents.”
Tanzania police report comes a few days after the UN experts released a press ‘alarmed by the pattern of enforced disappearance and torture to silence opposition and critics’.
“We urge Tanzanian authorities to immediately stop concealing information about those arrested, as this amounts to enforced disappearance. They must also investigate and hold perpetrators to account for all violations,” the experts said in the press.”
