UN reacts as hundreds killed in Tanzania ongoing election protests

The United Nations through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the killing and injuries that have occurred in the ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania.

Credible reports we have received indicate that at least 10 people were killed in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga and Morogoro as the security forces used firearms and teargas to disperse protesters.

A nationwide curfew is in place, and access to the internet appears to have been widely restricted since the 29 October general election, without any official reasons being given.

The UN in a statement called on the security forces to refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal weapons, against protesters, and to make every effort to deescalate tensions.

It said protesters should demonstrate peacefully, adding that the violent post- election scenes come in the aftermath of electoral campaigns marred by allegations of arbitrary arrests.

“And also detentions of opposition figures, including the opposition Chadema party leader and his deputy, and reported enforced disappearances of people expressing dissenting views, including the country’s former ambassador to Cuba.
The UN also called for those in arbitrary detention must be immediately and unconditionally released and those held legally must be accorded full due process and fair trial rights.

“We urge the authorities to fully uphold Tanzania’s obligations under international human rights law.

“They must promptly reinstate access to the internet and facilitate citizens’ full enjoyment of their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Curtailment of communication will only further undermine public trust in the electoral process”.
The UN also urged the authorities to ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations into all cases of election- related violence, and to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people have been killed in Tanzania during the three days of protests following Wednesday’s general election, the country’s main opposition party has said.

The death toll varies, and a nationwide internet shutdown is making it difficult to verify the numbers.

While a spokesperson from the opposition Chadema party told AFP news agency that “around 700” people had been killed in clashes with security forces, a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.
The government has sought to play down the scale of the violence – and authorities have extended a curfew in a bid to quell the unrest.

The demonstrations have seen mostly young protesters take to the streets in cities across Tanzania to denounce the election as unfair.

They accuse the government of undermining democracy by suppressing the main opposition leaders – one is in jail and another was excluded on technical grounds – thus bolstering President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s chances of winning with her ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.

Protests continued on Friday, as demonstrators in the port city of Dar es Salaam defied warnings from the army chief to end the unrest.