Keypoints:
- HRW cites assaults, abductions, media bans
- Opposition parties barred from October vote
- Electoral commission’s independence in doubt
TANZANIA’S October 29, 2025, general election is in serious jeopardy of being neither free nor fair, Human Rights Watch has warned.
In a wide-ranging report released this week, the organisation accused President Samia Suluhu’s government of tightening its grip on politics through arrests, disappearances and sweeping media restrictions.
‘Tanzania’s authorities should take immediate measures to protect the integrity of the October elections, which are currently at great risk,’ said Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, HRW’s Africa researcher. ‘The authorities need to stop muzzling dissenting voices and the media, and instead engage in meaningful reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.’
HRW said it interviewed 24 civil society activists, journalists, lawyers, academics, religious leaders and opposition politicians between July and September, including eight victims of abuses.
Letters seeking comment were sent to the Tanzanian Police Force, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Communications Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 19. None had replied by the time of publication.
Pattern of violence and fear
The rights group documented 10 cases of politically motivated assault, abduction and torture.
Among the most disturbing is the May 2 disappearance of Mpaluka ‘Mdude’ Nyagali, a well-known opposition organiser abducted from his Mbeya home. A court petition filed by his wife was dismissed on July 9, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Police have denied any involvement.
On June 16, government critic Japhet Matarra was beaten unconscious with a metal bar in Dar es Salaam. While recovering in hospital, attackers disguised as doctors allegedly tried to assault him again. HRW viewed photographs of his injuries and reported that weeks later he still struggled to speak.
These incidents fit a longer pattern. Tanzania’s Legal and Human Rights Centre has recorded about 100 abductions and enforced disappearances since 2015. The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition counted 48 attacks on activists and defenders in 2024 alone.
Police suggested some missing people staged their own kidnappings, but opposition members say key political cases were pointedly omitted from official statements.
Opposition under siege
Authorities have intensified their crackdown on opposition parties. In April, police arrested Tundu Lissu, leader of the main opposition party CHADEMA, on treason charges that carry the death penalty and cannot be granted bail.
Party officials report routine harassment when attending his court hearings.
The electoral commission—whose members are appointed by the president and whose decisions cannot be challenged in court—barred CHADEMA from fielding candidates after it refused to sign a contentious electoral code of conduct.
In June, the High Court suspended all CHADEMA activities. The commission also blocked the nomination of Luhaga Mpina, presidential candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo).
‘The electoral commission’s disqualification of presidential candidates and political parties raises questions as to whether any elections in Tanzania will reflect the will of voters,’ said Masiko-Mpaka.
Religious voices silenced
Faith leaders critical of the government have not been spared. On April 30, unidentified assailants struck Catholic priest Father Charles Kitima on the head shortly after a video circulated of him calling for electoral reforms. No arrests have followed.
In June, the Ministry of Home Affairs deregistered a large Pentecostal church founded by Bishop Josephat Gwajima, a CCM parliamentarian who publicly condemned rising abductions. A human rights activist said: ‘All churches linked to him have been closed down.’
Media freedoms eroded
The media environment has shrunk dramatically under restrictive laws, including the Cybercrimes Act of 2015 and the Electronic and Postal Communications regulations of 2020 and 2022.
In October 2024, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) suspended the online licences of three leading newspapers—The Citizen, Mwananchi and Mwanaspoti—for 30 days after they published an animation about abductions.
In May 2025, the TCRA shut down more than 80,000 websites, blogs and social media accounts for what it called ‘unethical content’. It has since blocked X (formerly Twitter), Clubhouse and Telegram.
JamiiForums, a whistle-blowing and public-interest platform, was suspended for 90 days in September for allegedly insulting the government and ‘disrespecting the President’.
Journalists describe receiving informal calls from regulators demanding takedowns of articles on abductions, including reports of a news conference by Bishop Gwajima.
‘If the regulator asks you to take down certain content, you comply or risk having your licence revoked,’ one journalist said.
Another media owner said he fled Tanzania after repeated death threats linked to his online platform, with officials allegedly calling his family to ask for his whereabouts.
Voter suppression in Zanzibar
On Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago, opposition activists allege that thousands of voters are unable to secure identity cards needed for registration.
Residents require local government approval to obtain the cards, giving officials wide discretion.
‘If the system perceives you as someone voting for the opposition, you do not get a Zanzibari ID,’ said one human rights defender.
Questionable electoral commission independence
Critics say the structure of the Independent National Electoral Commission undermines confidence in the vote.
Under article 74 of Tanzania’s constitution, the president appoints and can dismiss commission members, and courts cannot review commission decisions.
Reforms passed in early 2024 did not alter these provisions.
The commission’s decisions to disqualify both Chadema and ACT-Wazalendo candidates have deepened concerns that the October election will be a one-party affair.
International concern
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, United Nations human rights experts and the European Parliament have all voiced alarm.
They cite repression of rallies and peaceful assemblies, enforced disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests, as well as restrictions on access to information and the media.
Despite pledges at the UN Human Rights Council in June to uphold democratic principles, President Samia Suluhu’s government has taken no significant reform steps.
HRW says that unless the government halts harassment of the opposition, investigates attacks and guarantees the electoral commission’s independence, the October vote risks becoming a façade rather than a reflection of the popular will.
