In Tanzania, authorities have formally charged more than 100 individuals with treason following violent protests that broke out after the October 29 election, which officially returned President Samia Suluhu Hassan to power with 98 percent of the vote.
Opposition parties, barred from participating, dismissed the election as fraudulent, while rights organisations reported widespread civilian casualties during the unrest.
On Friday, large numbers of suspects appeared in a court in Dar es Salaam, the country’s economic hub. One judicial source confirmed that 138 people were facing charges, while another said the number exceeded 100.
According to a charge sheet obtained by AFP, the accused were alleged to have attempted to disrupt the electoral process and intimidate government officials by damaging public property.
“Some of them they have been beaten, they are sick, they have not received any medical treatment,” said Paul Kisabo, a lawyer with the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, after observing the defendants. He added that, because treason is considered a non-bailable offence, the suspects would remain in custody until their next court date.
The opposition Chadema party claims that at least 800 people lost their lives in election-related violence, a figure supported by diplomatic and security sources, though some estimates suggest the toll could be higher. The government has not released any official statistics regarding deaths or injuries.
In a statement issued alongside six other civil society organisations, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) denounced the “excessive use of force against unarmed demonstrators, including reprisal killings of civilians, some in their own homes.”
The statement highlighted the trauma suffered by families, noting that children were often witnesses to violence against their parents.
Young people were particularly affected, often caught unaware, and hundreds of suspects remain detained without bail, the statement added. LHRC also criticised the six-day internet blackout and restrictions on the media, warning that the full scale of human rights violations may never be fully documented.
Amos Ntobi, a Chadema official from Mwanza, described the violence he witnessed:
“We saw people being shot in broad daylight. There were bodies all over the streets — some people were killed instantly, others left badly wounded,” he said. “There are so many bodies in the hospitals.”
Ntobi said he attended at least nine funerals, including two children aged nine and eleven, who were killed near their homes or while running errands. Most adults were either shot or beaten to death, and several local party leaders remain unaccounted for.
Authorities had previously barred opposition candidates from running and detained key figures, leaving little room for democratic participation. African election observers warned that voters were unable to freely express their choices and labelled the poll as compromised due to censorship, intimidation, and signs of manipulation on election day.
