NAIROBI, Kenya, November 11, 2025 — The United Nations Human Rights Office has called for an urgent and independent investigation into alleged killings and serious human rights violations committed during and after Tanzania’s October 29 General Election, as reports emerge of mass arrests, treason charges, and widespread intimidation.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his office had received credible reports from multiple sources indicating that hundreds of civilians and protesters were killed, with many more injured or detained during a nationwide crackdown and internet blackout following the disputed polls.
“Reports of families desperately searching everywhere for their loved ones, visiting one police station after another and one hospital after another, are harrowing,” Türk said in a statement issued in Geneva on Tuesday.
“I strongly urge the Tanzanian authorities to provide information about the fate and whereabouts of all those missing, and to hand over the bodies of those killed to their loved ones so they can be given dignified burials.”
Türk also expressed grave concern over disturbing accounts that security forces were seen removing bodies from hospitals and city streets to undisclosed locations, allegedly to conceal evidence of mass killings.
“There are also disturbing reports that security forces have been seen removing bodies from streets and hospitals and taking them to undisclosed locations in an apparent attempt to conceal evidence,” he added.
Over 300 face treason charges
Local reports indicate that at least 340 people have been arrested in different parts of the country—mostly in Iringa and Dar es Salaam—including politicians, journalists, and social media personalities such as Jennifer Jovin and Mike Chavala.
Out of those detained, 302 are reportedly facing treason charges, with some of the arrested as young as 13 years old.
The Tanganyika Law Society has since stepped in to offer pro bono legal assistance to victims and their families.
Meanwhile, the opposition party CHADEMA has rejected claims that it is in talks with the government. Deputy party leader John Heche said the party will continue to fight what he termed state-sponsored violence and political persecution.
“These are innocent people who have done nothing wrong. The government must release them unconditionally,” Heche said, dismissing allegations against the opposition as “mere propaganda.”
International Outcry
The UN rights office has urged Tanzanian authorities to “fully and transparently” investigate all allegations of killings, torture, and arbitrary detention, and to hold perpetrators accountable.
Türk also demanded the immediate release of opposition leaders, including CHADEMA Chairperson Tundu Lissu, who remains in custody on treason charges.
“It is essential that all those arrested or detained on criminal charges are promptly presented before a judicial officer and can effectively contest the lawfulness of their detention,” Türk emphasized.
Tanzania was placed under a nationwide curfew and internet shutdown following the October 29 vote, which declared President Samia Suluhu Hassan the winner with 98 per cent of the vote — a result widely denounced by opposition parties and international observers as deeply flawed.
The CHADEMA party claims that over 700 people were killed in post-election violence, while diplomatic sources in Dar es Salaam told the BBC that at least 500 deaths are credibly documented.
The UN said it had verified at least 10 deaths in three cities, warning that the true toll “may be far higher.” Witnesses in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza reported ongoing night raids in opposition strongholds, with bodies allegedly being collected and hospitals overwhelmed.
Families searching for missing relatives say authorities have refused to release information about those detained or killed.
Government dismisses reports
Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit dismissed the allegations as “gross exaggerations,” insisting the unrest involved only “a few isolated incidents.” He defended the internet shutdown as necessary “to prevent false information,” and accused foreign critics of interfering in domestic affairs.
However, diplomatic missions from the European Union, United States, and other international partners have voiced alarm over the violence, urging Tanzanian authorities to restore communications, allow independent investigations, and uphold basic human rights.
The African Union Election Observation Mission, led by former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, concluded that Tanzania’s elections failed to meet regional and international democratic standards, citing “excessive use of force,” opposition arrests, and a “restricted political environment.”
Similar concerns were echoed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Commonwealth, which criticized systemic repression and legal barriers preventing judicial review of presidential results.
Despite mounting global condemnation, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has maintained that the election was peaceful and legitimate. During her closed-door inauguration at a military base in Dodoma on November 3, barred to both the public and foreign media, she dismissed the criticism as “unwarranted interference.”
A deepening crisis
The unfolding situation has plunged Tanzania into one of its worst human rights crises in recent memory. As mass detentions continue and international pressure mounts, questions linger over whether justice will be served for the hundreds missing and the families mourning in silence.
