Dar es Salaam – The reported confrontation between a traffic police officer and Dr Conrad Agonza Kahyoza, an internal-medicine specialist at Muhimbili National Hospital, Mloganzila, has drawn calls for clarity over the doctor’s condition, detention and the use of force during the incident.
A September 8 statement from the Tanzania Police Force said the confrontation occurred at about 1:30 a.m. in Lugalo, Kinondoni, when a traffic officer stopped a Toyota Runx, registration T 455 EER, that was using a service road outside the approved arrangement.
“The suspect got out of his car and began assaulting the officer,” Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Jumanne Muliro said in a statement. “The suspect was subsequently also attacked by members of the public who were angered by his actions.”
The Police Force said the driver, identified as Kahyoza, injured traffic officer F.8886 SGT Andrew Kikos after being questioned about the vehicle’s movement. It said Kahyoza was arrested, sustained injuries during the confrontation and was taken to hospital, where his condition was stable, before being held at Oysterbay Police Station as legal procedures continued.
The Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) confirmed that it had received reports of an incident involving Kahyoza and the traffic officer. The association said it had spoken with police leaders, who told it that the doctor was injured, taken promptly to hospital and stable, and that he was being held at Oysterbay.
MAT said it was monitoring his medical needs and legal support through its lawyers, in coordination with his employer and family. Its statement did not say who began the confrontation or assign responsibility for Kahyoza’s injuries.
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The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) said it had received information that left the family seriously concerned about Kahyoza’s location and condition. In a September 8 statement, the coalition said it had spoken with the family and police and confirmed that a confrontation had occurred, but said it did not have a final position on criminal responsibility.
THRDC stressed that no member of the public has a right to assault an officer lawfully carrying out duties. At the same time, it said arrest cannot justify torture, beatings, humiliation or conduct that endangers a suspect’s life, health or safety, and called for the family to receive timely information, access and legal assistance.
The three statements establish that Kahyoza was injured and taken to hospital after an early-morning encounter, and that he was later held by police. The Police Force alleges that its officer was injured, but the statements do not resolve how force was used, the nature or seriousness of either person’s injuries, or the specific suspected offence under investigation.
Trust and concern
The case has emerged against a mixed but consequential picture of how citizens view the Police Force. Several government surveys indicate that the police have long struggled with public confidence. For instance, the 2022 Integrity Survey on Public Service highlighted police crime reporting and traffic services as the country’s most corrupt areas of public service.
Similarly, the National Governance and Corruption Survey (2020), which involved 3,163 respondents, found that the police were perceived as the most corrupt institution in Tanzania (45.6% of respondents), followed by the health sector (17.9%).
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Complaints about police conduct have also been documented by rights bodies. In 2024, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) reported that some police stations were being used to torture suspects during interrogation before they were transferred elsewhere.
CHRAGG recommended disciplinary action where officers had been identified, installation of CCTV cameras in police stations, and regular training on human rights and good governance.
International organisations have separately reported allegations of arbitrary detention, beatings and unlawful killings involving security forces.
Reforms
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has herself publicly acknowledged the depth of public dissatisfaction with criminal-justice institutions.
When inaugurating the Chande-led Criminal Justice Commission in January 2023, she said the system was “in total chaos” and that if 100 people were asked which institution caused the greatest access-to-justice problems, 70 would name the Police Force.
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The commission, chaired by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, reviewed the Police Force and other criminal-justice bodies. Among other things, the commission recommended an independent National Bureau of Investigation and a special division within CHRAGG to receive public complaints that police officers had acted outside the law, rules or procedures.
That proposed complaint mechanism would be distinct from the existing practice of taking complaints through police command structures. Some actors welcomed the recommendation, saying it recognised the concern that an institution should not be the sole judge of complaints against its own personnel.
A separate Chande Commission, appointed to investigate the October 2025 election violence, returned to the same issue in its April 2026 presentation.
It recommended that the Police Force devise and implement a strategy to restore and strengthen its relationship with society, while the government should give priority to recommendations made by the earlier Criminal Justice Commission.
The commission’s presentation linked public grievances, including allegations of abductions and disappearances, to wider social tensions.
