Amnesty International has sounded the alarm over what it calls an escalating wave of repression in Tanzania. According to Roland Ebole, the Tanzania and Uganda regional researcher at Amnesty International, the government’s crackdown on dissenting voices has reached unprecedented levels.
Speaking at a local TV station on Thursday, October 30, 2025, he described the situation as “repression on steroids”.
“Tanzanians are facing repression on steroids, where we are seeing the government has even jailed the opposition leader and disqualified the other one who was coming to defend,” Ebole said in a statement on Tuesday. “This is the time the state has kidnapped or abducted its own, or is accused of not doing anything with regard to the abductions.”
Ebole cited several disturbing cases of disappearances and attacks targeting political figures, religious leaders, and critics of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
Among the missing is Humphrey Polepole, a former ambassador and outspoken government critic who was abducted several weeks ago and remains unaccounted for.
In addition, Bishop Josephat Gwajima, a member of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and an outspoken critic of the government, has faced harassment and attacks.
His Ufufuo na Uzima Church, which operates over 2,000 branches across Tanzania, was recently banned from conducting services after he condemned human rights violations and called for accountability.
Ebole said these developments have created an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness, leaving Tanzanians with little choice but to protest in the streets.
“The tense moment has bottled up; CHADEMA cannot participate in elections at any level. So, going to the streets was something we anticipated that Tanzanians were going to do at this level. I think even Kenyans are shocked by the bravery of Tanzanians.”
Amnesty International has been documenting widespread abuses in Tanzania, including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and suppression of media freedom.
His remarks come a day after Tanzania’s authorities imposed a curfew in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s biggest city, following violent clashes between the police and protesters on election day. By Nancy Marende, K24
