Few expected Tanzania’s recent national elections to be free or fair, but even these low expectations did not prepare the world for the catastrophe that unfolded. 

The impossible 98 per cent “victory” for the incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan on October 29, 2025, was soon undermined by the findings of the African Union observers that the election fell far short of democratic standards. 

Their assessment detailed ballot stuffing, a government-imposed internet shutdown, the jailing and arbitrary disqualification of main opposition candidates, and politically motivated abductions before and during the vote.

In the days that followed, ordinary citizens protesting to protect democracy were met with unimaginable violence. According to a CNN investigation, security forces killed protesters, shot pregnant women, and dumped bodies in mass graves. The death toll likely runs in the thousands from security forces firing live ammunition into crowds. 

In the sweeping crackdown, over 2,000 people were arrested and hundreds charged with treason – a capital offence. The whereabouts of government critics abducted in early October remain unknown.

READ MORE: Tanzania’s October 29 Unrest: A Crisis of Youth or a Story of Sabotage?

While boasting of an overwhelming victory, Samia’s oath of office ceremony was behind closed doors at a heavily guarded military base on November 3, as the country was placed in lockdown under national curfew. 

After an initial promise to investigate the violence, President Samia has since audaciously defended the lethal force as “proportional to the event” and declared, “We will stand and defend this country with all our strength. What has passed is past; let us focus on the future.”  

Not isolated incidents

It would be a mistake to see the recent events as isolated incidents triggered by a single stolen election. The government’s descent into complete authoritarianism is the culmination of a years-long pattern of repression, shrinking civic space, unchecked abuses by security forces, and the persecution of critics. 

As extensively documented by the Oakland Institute, Indigenous communities have borne the brunt of these abuses through incessant violence and dispossession, as the government steals their land for safari and trophy hunting in pursuit of tourism dollars. 

To forcibly displace communities, villagers in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Loliondo, and Ruaha National Park have been disappeared or killed with impunity by park rangers. Basic social services, including medical and education, have been suspended while hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have been strangled.

READ MORE: An Island of Peace? Tanzania’s Unacknowledged Legacy of Violence

While the signs of this authoritarian slide were clear and the financiers repeatedly warned, international aid continued to flow into Tanzania by the billions. The World Bank, African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors, including the US, China, the EU, South Korea, France, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Japan, maintained their backing of the regime. 

The US military’s “strong partnership” with Tanzania persists despite likely violations of the Leahy Law, which bars American security assistance to forces credibly implicated in gross human rights abuses.

World Bank role

Among these actors, the World Bank stands out. As the largest donor to Tanzania with a portfolio of US$9.6 billion and a recent history of ignoring the government’s atrocities, its role deserves scrutiny. 

For years, the Bank financed the Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) project that enabled extrajudicial killings, human rights abuses, and forced evictions to expand Ruaha National Park. 

It took two years of sustained advocacy by courageous villagers and a damning Inspection Panel investigation for the Bank to finally cancel funding – after having already provided more than US$100 million to this disastrous project.

READ MORE: Gen Z vs Government: The Difficult Deal and the Potential Outcome

The Bank’s delayed and deficient action in response to the blatant violation of its safeguards has fueled the continued cycle of violence and suffering. Today, over 84,000 people in the Mbarali District face evictions while the Bank’s so-called remedy plan has failed to live up to its commitment to stop forced displacement and restore livelihoods. 

While the government has broken every promise and declared it will move forward with mass evictions, the Bank has callously ignored its own complicity in crimes against the communities.

Stepping up

Not all international actors are as blind to the reality on the ground. On November 27, the European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to suspend €156 million in planned funding to Tanzania following the violent post-election crackdown. 

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned: “Tanzania’s continued pivot from the rule of law, reform, and good governance demands a genuine assessment of the U.S. bilateral relationship with Tanzania.”

This is a defining moment. The international community cannot ignore the deepening of authoritarianism and the death of democracy in Tanzania. Concrete action is imperative. Donor governments and financial institutions must suspend all forms of military, security, and conservation aid that facilitate state violence and displace local communities. 

READ MORE: Mending the Fracture: Samia’s Prescription for a Nation Tested

The President’s jingoistic jargon is an attempt to deflect attention from her crimes. “Those foreigners keep saying Tanzania should do one, two, three, who are you? Do they still think they’re still our masters, our colonisers? Why, because of the little money they give us?”

President Samia does not represent the Tanzanians who are demanding justice, dignity, and a voice in shaping their future. They deserve accountability and the restoration of basic civil and political rights. 

This crisis is not a “domestic issue” that she would like the world to look away from. But the latest test of the international community to its commitment to human rights and law.

Andy Currier is a policy analyst at the Oakland Institute, a U.S.-based progressive think-tank. He is available at acurrier@oaklandinstitute.org or @ndycurrier on X. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chanzo. If you are interested in publishing in this space, please contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.