Dar es Salaam – Deogratius Mahinyila knows the names by heart. Deusdedit Soka, Dionis Kipanya, Mdude Nyagali—friends and colleagues from Tanzania’s main opposition party who have vanished without trace over the past year. 

As national chairperson of CHADEMA’s youth wing, the 30-year-old lawyer has compiled a registry of more than 10 party leaders who have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

“This issue is deeply personal,” Mahinyila said in an interview with The Chanzo, his voice steady despite the fear that shadows his daily life. His own arrest at Dar es Salaam’s High Court, where plainclothes officers manhandled him despite his presence as a legal representative, serves as a stark reminder of the risks facing government critics in the East African nation.

The disappearances have created a climate of fear that extends far beyond CHADEMA’s ranks. United Nations experts report that over 200 cases of enforced disappearance have been recorded in Tanzania since 2019, with the pace accelerating as the country approaches general elections scheduled for October 29, 2025.

The brutality of these incidents is exemplified by the case of Edgar Mwakabela, a social media activist known as Sativa. In June 2024, he was abducted from a Dar es Salaam highway, driven more than 1,000 kilometres to Katavi National Park, and shot in the head before being left for dead. His survival provides rare testimony to the systematic nature of the attacks.

READ MORE: It’s About Time Authorities Come Out Clean on Enforced Disappearances in Tanzania 

“A trigger was pulled. A bullet went through my skull. His jaw was shattered,” Mwakabela told the BBC in a recent interview, describing how his captors interrogated him about his criticism of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party before attempting to execute him.

The Tanganyika Law Society documented 83 confirmed cases of disappearances by August 2024, a figure that has undoubtedly risen since. Common features reported across cases include perpetrators identifying themselves as police officers, the use of white Land Cruisers, sophisticated surveillance techniques, and victims being taken after receiving calls from unknown numbers.

State interventions

Under mounting pressure, President Samia Suluhu Hassan directed the Tanzania Police Force on June 27, 2025, to “intensify efforts to curb incidents of disappearances” during her address to dissolve Parliament. The directive came just days after UN human rights experts issued a scathing statement expressing alarm over the “pattern of enforced disappearance and torture to silence opposition and critics.”

However, the police response has drawn widespread criticism. In a June 18, 2025 statement, the Tanzania Police Force attributed many disappearances to “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 explanation sparked public outrage, with many questioning how such factors could account for the systematic targeting of opposition figures. The police highlighted the case of Sheikh Zeberi Said Nkokoo, a Muslim scholar who allegedly staged his own abduction due to debt, but failed to address high-profile cases where officers themselves were accused of involvement.

READ MORE: President Samia Orders Police to Intensify Efforts to Curb Disappearances in Tanzania 

For Mahinyila, the crisis stems from fundamental flaws in Tanzania’s constitutional framework. “The police act as a force to protect the ruling regime rather than serve citizens,” he explained in the Thursday interview, attributing the problem to a system where law enforcement lacks independence from political interference.

Demand for changes

This analysis has driven CHADEMA’s No Reforms, No Election campaign, launched at a massive rally in Mbeya on March 24, 2025. The movement demands constitutional changes to create an independent electoral commission, free from presidential appointments, and comprehensive police reforms before participating in the upcoming elections.

“We will fight until the last drop of blood,” declared Amani Golugwa, CHADEMA’s Acting Deputy Secretary-General during an interview with this publication, clarifying that the campaign represents active resistance rather than passive boycott. The party refuses to recognise any election held without fundamental reforms, describing such an exercise as an “abomination.”

The campaign has gained significant traction on social media, with Tanzanians flooding government pages with demands for reform. However, CHADEMA faces severe constraints, with party chairperson Tundu Lissu detained on treason charges and the organisation barred from holding public rallies.

Observers have expressed growing concern about Tanzania’s democratic trajectory. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has called for immediate action, whilst regional bodies have condemned the deteriorating human rights situation.

Remains determined

Despite the risks, Mahinyila remains determined to continue his activism. His family worries for his safety, but he draws strength from his conviction that he is fighting for a just cause. “I am motivated by witnessing the oppression of people,” he said during the interview, reflecting on his decision to become both a lawyer and politician after seeing local leaders abuse power in his home village.

READ MORE: Tanzania’s Authorities Under Scrutiny as LHRC Questions Silence on Disappearances

The young activist’s story embodies the broader struggle facing Tanzania’s opposition movement. As the October elections approach, the tension between demands for reform and government repression continues to escalate, with observers watching closely to see whether democratic space can be preserved in one of East Africa’s most populous nations.

The crisis has created what Mahinyila describes as a “ticking bomb,” with massive youth unemployment and government use of force against dissent creating volatile conditions. Whether President Samia’s recent directive to police will translate into meaningful change remains to be seen, but for families of the disappeared, time is running out.