By Spy Uganda
Prosecutors in Tanzania on Friday charged dozens of individuals with treason over their alleged involvement in violence surrounding the country’s disputed election.
According to the charge sheet, 76 suspects are accused of attempting to obstruct the Oct. 29 election “for the purpose of intimidating” authorities in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s commercial capital. In addition to treason, the suspects also face criminal conspiracy charges.
Tanzania has been shaken by unrest following the election, which international observers said fell short of being free and fair. Questions persist over the death toll after security forces attempted to suppress riots and opposition protests.
The main opposition party, Chadema, has claimed that more than 1,000 people were killed. On Tuesday, the party accused security forces of secretly disposing of bodies to conceal the scale of the deaths.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, officially received “more than 97%” of the vote. Her main rivals, Tundu Lissu of Chadema and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, were barred from running in what rights groups have described as a climate of repression. Amnesty International has documented enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings, though Tanzania’s government denies these claims.
The African Union (AU) said this week that its observers found the election “did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections.” The AU cited incidents of ballot stuffing at several polling stations and cases of voters being issued multiple ballots, noting that the environment surrounding the election was “not conducive to peaceful conduct and acceptance of electoral outcomes.”
