Arusha – Two rights organisations have reported the detention in Arusha of people associated with the Pastoral Women’s Council and Maasai advocacy, alleging a link to planned demonstrations aimed at parliamentarians attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly.
The claims have not been independently verified, and the Tanzania Police Force had issued no public statement on the reported detentions, the alleged planned demonstrations or the status of those named by the time of publication.
In a statement dated October 7, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) said it had received information that police arrested three PWC staff members, Thadeus Clamian, Nangei Meitaya and Ezekiel Kishau, on October 6. It said Salangat Makko, who it described as accompanying them but not employed by PWC, was also detained.
THRDC said the people were suspected of planning demonstrations directed at IPU parliamentarians. It also alleged searches for other PWC staff and a home search without an explanation.
The coalition said it had instructed lawyers to follow up at Arusha Central Police Station and called for access to lawyers and families. Its account does not state any charge, and no charging document had been made public.
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A separate October 7 statement by the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA) said five people had been held at Arusha Central Police Station since the evening of October 6. It named Meitaya, Makko, Kishau, Dickson and Clamian, adding a fifth name not listed in THRDC’s release.
MISA described the reported arrests as part of a wider crackdown and said more than 30 people had been detained in Ngorongoro Division since August. Those allegations, including the number of people held and the claimed link to the current detentions, could not be independently verified by publication.
The reports emerged as Arusha hosts the 153rd IPU Assembly from October 5 to 9. The gathering’s stated theme is ‘Enhancing good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity, trust and opportunities for all.’
PWC is an Arusha-based organisation that works with pastoralist women and girls. The organisation, alongside others, has been fighting against alleged evictions and social-service funds affecting Maasai pastoralists in Ngorongoro.
The reported detentions come amid a long-running conflict over conservation, grazing, public services and the government’s voluntary relocation programme. The state says reducing human pressure is necessary to protect a globally important ecosystem, while residents and rights groups contest the process and its impacts.
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Two presidential commissions, formed after the 2024 Maasai demonstrations, were intended to address land-use conflict and review relocation. The relocation commission found poor community engagement and recommended a participation plan and continued services for people who remain inside the conservation area.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan accepted that the exercise had been carried out with good intentions but that “mistakes” had been made, and said the government should “sit down, reflect, and make corrections.”
But disagreement over the commissions’ findings remains acute. MISA and other civil-society groups reject their conclusions, while UN independent experts have urged meaningful dialogue, transparency and genuine consultation in any relocation process.
Trust was further tested last month when a reported temporary grazing restriction around Ndutu, during an inquiry into 10 lion deaths, prompted fears of wider limits on access. Authorities said the inquiry was precautionary; no public evidence linked it to relocation.
