Dodoma – President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday urged the new leadership of the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance to respond promptly to allegations against Tanzania from abroad, while examining conditions at home and continuing to address citizens’ complaints.
Speaking after swearing in appointed leaders at Chamwino State House on November 2, 2026, she said the commission should not confine itself to waiting for people to report violations. Her remarks combined a call for more active monitoring with an argument that international assessments of human rights could be selective.
Addressing the commission’s chairperson and vice-chairperson, President Samia urged them to follow information online, examine accusations against the country and respond quickly.
“To have good governance, you must see what we are being accused of outside, what the situation is inside, and respond promptly,” she said. “But also receive people’s complaints and act on them.”
She said complaints should be taken to sectors violating principles of good governance, and expressed confidence in the new leaders’ ability to carry out their responsibilities.
In her remarks on international criticism, the president argued that judgements about countries’ human-rights records did not always reflect their conduct.
“Countries that are doing well, because others do not look favourably upon them, will be told they violate human rights,” she said. “And those that violate them, as long as they are liked, are said not to violate human rights.”
She did not identify particular countries or reports in making that argument.
However, among the recent criticisms, Amnesty International alleged on October 28, 2026, that authorities had used counterterrorism laws to silence critics, alongside arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture or other ill-treatment.
Human Rights Watch said police and plainclothes personnel killed hundreds of protesters and bystanders during the election crackdown, while independent UN human rights experts warned on October 29 that victims still lacked justice and that withholding the full inquiry report was undermining their right to truth.
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The European Parliament’s November 27, 2025 resolution condemned post-election violence and described opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s detention as arbitrary and politically motivated.
In a December 5, 2025 joint statement, the British and Canadian high commissions, 14 European embassies and the EU Delegation cited what they called credible evidence of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and concealment of bodies, and called for bodies to be returned to families and detainees given legal and medical support.
The commission’s governing law gives it responsibilities to receive complaints, inquire into human-rights violations and investigate abuses of power and unfair treatment. It also provides that commissioners are not subject to another person’s or authority’s direction or control when performing their functions.
President Samia’s remarks came days after seven civil-society organisations renewed demands for truth, accountability and support for victims on the first anniversary of the October 29, 2025 election violence.
The groups raised concerns about unresolved disappearances, restrictions on civic freedoms and the absence of sufficient public information on assistance to affected families.
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A separate criminal inquiry chaired by retired Justice Shaban Ally Lila is examining the violence following the completed Chande fact-finding inquiry. President Samia did not specifically address the anniversary statement or either inquiry during her swearing-in remarks.
Turning to the newly sworn-in leadership and commissioners of the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration, President Samia urged impartial decisions that protected both employers and employees.
She said dissatisfaction with decisions and subsequent appeals demonstrated the need for care in handling disputes. Commissioners should apply labour law to the conduct in question without allowing personal relationships to influence their judgement.
“You have sworn to act without favouritism, deceit or anything else,” she said.
President Samia linked the volume of labour disputes to the country’s opening to more private-sector activity, describing the commission’s workload as substantial. She said: “Uphold our laws, uphold the rights of employers, but also the rights of employees.”
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She also instructed Tabora Regional Commissioner Angelina Mabula to ensure public funds addressed residents’ needs. Citing Mabula’s experience in district administration, Parliament and ministerial office, she urged her to work with officials in the region and supervise the use of government allocations.
“Oversee the funds we send so that they remove people’s difficulties,” President Samia said.
Her overarching instruction to the appointees was to justify the trust placed in them through public service.
“You have been entrusted with serving this nation in the responsibilities assigned to you,” she said. “Go and demonstrate that trust by serving the people.”
