Amnesty denounces 'systematic' rights violations in Tanzania

Amnesty International on Monday denounced "systematic human rights violations" in Tanzania by authorities, which are said to be intensifying ahead of presidential polls that exclude opposition candidates.

Current President Samia Suluhu Hassan was initially praised for easing restrictions imposed by her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli, but as she seeks re-election in October 29 polls, she faces sharp criticism from the opposition and NGOs.

Between January 2024 and October 2025, Amnesty documented widespread abuses such as "enforced disappearance and torture... and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists".

Amnesty's report reviewed by AFP was based on interviews with 43 people, including witnesses, victims, relatives of victims, NGO members and lawyers, along with analysis of images and publications.

In September 2024, a senior official with the main opposition party Chadema, Ali Mohamed Kibao, 69, was abducted and found dead.

An investigation was launched into his violent murder, but no progress has been reported, Amnesty denounced.

The country's former ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Hesron Polepole, who was also a government critic, disappeared this month.

Authorities "have ramped up their clampdown on the civic space and the right to participate freely in elections through the passing of deeply flawed legislation", Amnesty's regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said in a statement.

The Chadema party has been excluded from the elections for refusing to sign the Electoral Code of Conduct.

Chadema leader Tundu Lissu, arrested in April, has been on trial for treason, a charge punishable by the death penalty.

Luhaga Mpina, candidate for the third-largest party, the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo) was barred from standing.