Dar es Salaam – A special edition of the Government Gazette published on April 4, 2026, confirmed that the appointing authority has approved an additional 21-day extension for the Commission of Inquiry into Incidents of Breach of Peace.
The commission, which was originally expected to conclude its work within 90 days of its November 20, 2025, establishment, had previously seen its deadline extended from February 20 to April 3, 2026.
The official gazette notice outlined four primary reasons for this latest delay. Most notably, it highlighted that citizens continued to turn up in large numbers contrary to the commission’s expectations, necessitating more time to analyse the influx of evidence, statements, and opinions.
The extension also provides crucial time for experts in scientific investigation to process new exhibits that have recently been submitted, and allows the commission to finalise the comprehensive report and prepare its official translations.
The commission, chaired by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, was established by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to investigate the violence that erupted during and after the October 29, 2025, general election.
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The unrest coincided with an election cycle marked by the exclusion of main opposition parties, after which President Samia was declared the winner with 97.7 per cent of the vote.
The immediate aftermath saw widespread protests, largely led by disenfranchised youth, which were met with severe force by security personnel. Reports from the United Nations and international human rights organisations documented extensive extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and missing persons, with opposition leaders claiming the death toll reached into the hundreds.
The commission’s mandate, as reaffirmed in the gazette notice, includes investigating the root causes of the incidents, examining the intentions and circumstances that led to the unrest, assessing the impact on people and property, and investigating the government’s response.
The prolonged wait for the commission’s findings has sparked rigorous debate across digital and civic spaces. For a nation still healing from unprecedented post-election violence, the extension is viewed through a dual lens: as a sign of a thorough investigation, or as a deferral of much-needed accountability.
On platforms like JamiiForums, the extensions have been met with a complex mixture of scepticism, exhaustion, and cautious optimism. While some citizens have voiced concerns that the delay is a bureaucratic manoeuvre designed to let public anger cool, others acknowledge the sheer scale of the trauma and the necessity of a comprehensive review.
READ MORE: Probe into Tanzania’s Post-Election Unrest Extended
The commission’s work has also been overshadowed by concerns regarding transparency and press freedom. In late January 2026, the commission banned the media from attending witness testimonies, citing privacy concerns for witnesses.
More recently, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) suspended local broadcaster Jambo TV just days before the previous April 3 deadline, a move condemned by the opposition ACT Wazalendo party as a continuation of the ruling party’s suppression of press freedom.
In the gazette notice, the commission publicly thanked the citizens, stakeholders, and victims who came forward to testify, whether in person, by phone, through written submissions, or on social media.
The government’s admission that citizens turned out in massive, unexpected numbers validates what grassroots activists have long claimed regarding the widespread nature of the violence.
As the new April 24 deadline approaches, attention is shifting from the timeline to the ultimate outcomes and the potential publication of the report.
Under Section 21(3) of Tanzania’s Commissions of Inquiry Act, the President holds the unilateral power to direct that any report of a commissioner be withheld from publication, or be withheld for such time as the President may specify.
Whether the extended deadline will prove sufficient, and whether the commission’s eventual report will be made fully public to satisfy demands for accountability and justice, remains to be seen.
