Tanzania is reeling after a violent crackdown on youth protesters following the October 29, 2025, elections, insiders have told AFP, with government officials too afraid to speak out amid the rise of a small circle of hardliners around President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Gruesome images of casualties have circulated widely online, depicting the aftermath of protests triggered by allegations of government repression. President Hassan officially secured a 98 percent victory, but opposition leaders were either jailed or barred from contesting the polls. The opposition claims that over 1,000 people were killed as security forces suppressed demonstrations during a five-day internet blackout, though the government has yet to release official casualty figures.
“There are disturbing reports of bodies being removed from streets and hospitals to undisclosed locations in apparent attempts to conceal evidence,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday.
Whispers of Mass Graves and Fear Among Officials
A senior Tanzanian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that many inside the administration were horrified by the violence but too fearful to speak publicly. The official provided AFP with coordinates for two suspected mass grave sites near Dar es Salaam Kondo and Mabwepande though these have not been independently verified.
Both the official and a former presidential advisor described the tiny inner circle around President Hassan as exercising complete control over the levers of power and repression.
“People in the government are in shock… nobody has the guts to talk, but people do whisper,” the official said.
Multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing civilians shot at close range by police and unidentified armed men. One witness recounted a bystander being shot in the head in Dar es Salaam on election day, followed the next day by three individuals being shot multiple times in the legs.
The Inner Circle: A ‘Cabal’ of Power
Sources identified the group around the president as including her son Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, private secretary Waziri Salum, intelligence chief Suleiman Abubakar Mombo, and Angela Kizigha, a relatively unknown member of the East African Parliament.
“There’s a very, very tiny cabal influencing the president and running the country. Everyone else has been completely frozen out,” said the former advisor.
Repression predates the elections, with critics reportedly attacked, abducted, or killed over the past year. Abdul Ameir is alleged to command a private militia implicated in many abductions. The Tanganyika Law Society reported 83 abductions under Hassan’s rule, with numbers surging in the final days of the campaign. Some victims were high-profile figures, such as former government spokesman Humphrey Polepole, while others were ordinary citizens targeted for minor online activity.
“Why are you abducting a 20-year-old for criticizing you? You’re the president, for crying out loud!” said the government official.
Deep-Seated Paranoia and the Return of Repression
President Hassan assumed office in 2021 after the sudden death of authoritarian leader John Magufuli, initially easing restrictions on opposition and media. However, 2024 saw a return to brutal repression, described by sources as driven by paranoia and unchecked authoritarianism.
“Those with power know one tool… a very brutal, crude, authoritarian tool,” said the ex-advisor.
Members of parliament reportedly discuss the killings privately but are immobilized by fear of the security services and potential consequences with their constituents.
“What’s clear is that Tanzania will never be the same again,” the official concluded.
