Dar es Salaam – The Tanzanian Police Force has publicly disowned the controversial security advice issued by the Chunya District Police Chief (OCD), SSP Nestory John, who had urged local petrol stations to restrict fuel sales to motorcycle and rickshaw drivers as a pre-emptive measure against anticipated “D9” anti-government demonstrations.
The Chief Police Spokesman, David Misime, issued a statement on November 26, stating clearly that the OCD “does not have the authority to call journalists and issue statements” and that “appropriate action will be taken immediately” following an investigation into the matter.
SSP Nestory John’s controversial directive, which was widely disseminated on social media, advised petrol stations in his district not to sell more than two litres of petrol to drivers of bodaboda (motorcycle taxis) and bajaji (three-wheelers) “as we head towards their December 9th.”
The police chief emphatically justified this restrictive measure by arguing that allowing them to purchase large amounts of fuel “is enabling them to make movements from point A to point B and continue committing destruction.” He added that excessive fuel “is encouraging, it gives them the strength to be able to travel from one place to another, these destroyers.”
The OCD also stated that the police were actively educating petrol station owners, appealing to them to understand the measure because they are “important stakeholders in the security of our Chunya district.” Furthermore, John issued a stern warning to fuel transporters, cautioning them not to “randomly sell fuel on the road.”
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He warned that the police have stepped up patrols around petrol stations and are monitoring vehicles transporting fuel, and that they “will not hesitate to take action, according to the law” against anyone found selling fuel randomly on the road, including those selling in jerrycans or small containers.
John claimed that people who purchase fuel indiscriminately in small bottles and containers are the ones who “take the fuel, go and destroy infrastructure and burn people’s and Government buildings.”
Nationwide crackdown
The OCD’s now-disowned advice, however, aligns with other recent official security measures and occurs as the Tanzanian Police Force intensifies a nationwide crackdown targeting individuals accused of planning and inciting unrest ahead of the anticipated “D9” demonstrations scheduled for December 9, 2025, which also marks the country’s Independence Day.
The police action has led to the arrest of dozens of people, including members of the main opposition party CHADEMA, influential TikTok content creators, and WhatsApp group administrators, all accused of “spreading hatred among the community and inciting violence in the country.”
High-profile arrests include social media critic and teacher Clemence Mwandambo in Mbeya and Victoria Swebe, the CHADEMA chairperson for Kyela district. The crackdown also saw the detention of Dr Kibaba Furaha Michael, a hospital worker and WhatsApp group administrator in Geita, days after reports claimed he was taken by armed, plainclothes individuals.
This has fuelled controversy, particularly in Arusha, where videos showed two detainees—Edwin Richard Mboro and Victor Bonaventure Ndibalema—struggling against non-uniformed individuals before police later admitted to holding them on accusations of “leading a chat group to spread hatred.”
This intensified policing follows a similar fuel-related security measure announced by Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Albert Chalamila on November 4, 2025, who stated that special identification cards would be issued to motorcycle and rickshaw drivers, and that “no one will be allowed to sell fuel to a bodaboda or bajaji driver if he does not show the special identification card we will provide him with.”
“MO29” protests
The planned “D9” protests are seen as a continuation of the “MO29” protests that erupted on October 29, 2025, during the General Election, which became the largest demonstrations ever in Tanzania, affecting regions including Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Arusha, and Mbeya.
The government, however, has refused to call the events “demonstrations,” instead branding them “economic sabotage.”
The government attributed the destruction to “foreigners,” and detailed extensive damage primarily caused by arson, including the burning of 756 government service offices, 159 police stations, 976 government vehicles, 672 private fuel stations, and 2,268 private motorcycles.
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Despite reports of several deaths during security operations to disperse the crowds, the government has refused to provide a death toll, claiming that to do so would be to “celebrate the deaths.”
The protests are driven by youth denouncing opposition exclusion and economic issues. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched a domestic Commission of Inquiry on November 20, 2025, to investigate the root causes of the “calamity,” the opposition has demanded an international inquiry.
The police have consistently warned they will not hesitate to act against coordinators, aiming to “safeguard the country’s economic growth and the current efforts toward national reconciliation.”
