Dar es Salaam. Speaking to the Presidential Commission investigating the events of October 29 and the following days, Aurelia Joseph Kuwanga, 75, recounted how she was shot inside her home just hours after voting.
“On the day of voting, at around 8:30 in the morning, I prepared myself and went to my polling station to cast my vote. When I arrived, I found that there were not many people there, which surprised me a lot. I then voted as usual, completed all the required procedures, and afterward returned home,” Aurelia told the Commission on January 23, 2026.
“When I returned home after voting, I went inside, closed my door and windows, and drew the curtains before sitting in my bedroom,” she continued.
“While I was there, I looked outside toward the [Magomeni] Kota area and saw that everything was calm with no disturbances. However, across the road on Morogoro Road, the situation was different. There was violence, and some passersby were being attacked. I also saw about three or four bodies lying there,” she added.
Aurelia explained to the Commission that she had instructed her grandchildren to take their children away that day, fearing potential violence. Aurelia, who lives on the first floor of her building, described the moment she was shot.
“It was almost 1 p.m., and I felt hungry, so I decided to go to my living room. There was morning tea, which I had left in the cabinet, so I decided to take it,” she said. “Before I could reach the cabinet, I was suddenly struck and fell hard to the ground.”
Aurelia explained that she realized she had been shot between her left shoulder and neck. Fearing she might die, she mustered the strength to crawl outside, where neighbors took her to Mwananyamala Hospital. By then, she had lost consciousness.
While Aurelia couldn’t recall the exact area of the hospital where she was placed, she remembered regaining consciousness to find herself surrounded by dead bodies. She survived only because she began to cough.
“Until around 10:00 p.m., people thought I had died and had forgotten about me. Later, I began to cough. I regained consciousness and noticed that I was still in the hospital. When I looked to my right, there were about twenty bodies, and I was among them.”
Because of her coughing, hospital staff noticed her and began treatment. “Someone then said, ‘Is this woman still alive? Please check on her.’ When they came to check, they found me just awake,” she explained.
Although she began receiving treatment, Aurelia remained unresponsive for a while. Doctors explained that this is common for gunshot victims.
Interrogation and hospital release
Aurelia explained to the Commission that one of the main drivers that pushed her to talk to the Commission is that she can’t afford her treatment, so when she heard the Commission was around she though, it was ‘God answering her’. She explained to the Commission how she was interrogated at the hospital before her release.
“On the morning of the 31st, around 8:00 a.m., before we had received treatment, a security force arrived. A doctor then said, ‘There is tension here today. I will hide myself if you do not tell the truth.’ The doctor said they had been questioned in a meeting that day and were told that they were harboring people who caused havoc in the streets,” she said.
Aurelia said that, among other things, she was asked to show her fingers to prove if she had voting ink—an indication of having voted.
“They started with me first. They asked, ‘Grandma, where are you from?’ and I told them, they said, ‘This woman might be involved in the disturbance. She is the one who will explain everything clearly.’ They then told me to show them my hand, and I showed them my finger [showing her pinky]. They asked, ‘Tell us who you voted for. Say who you voted for, so that we stop bothering you and stop hurting you. Otherwise, you will suffer more than this,’” she explained.
“I told them, ‘I voted for the one who deserved to be voted for. You will know who that is.’ They said, ‘This woman is being defiant and answering back,’ but I replied, ‘No, because she had no opponent, so I voted for her.’ I said that I did not know any other reason beyond that. Then one of them said, ‘Ah, this woman did not take part in the demonstrations.’”
“They then told the doctor that everyone who had gunshot injuries, whether the bullet had been removed or not, in bad condition or not, should be discharged. All of us were discharged. Then my granddaughter came where we were hidden, and at around 6 pm, we were discharged,” she explained.
At home, Aurelia initially struggled to find medical care but eventually found a health worker who treated her at home for two weeks until the wound closed. She later returned to Mwananyamala Hospital for an X-ray, which showed some bullet fragments still lodged between her left shoulder and neck. The Commission subsequently linked her to a community development officer for free health services, which she was told was possible.
