By Peter Marango Mwibanda | The Intellectuals Post
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Tanzania is reeling from deadly unrest following a disputed election that has plunged the nation into silence, fear and confusion.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, declared winner with 98% of the total vote, has yet to address the nation as protests spread from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza and Arusha, leaving hundreds feared dead and communication lines cut.
Opposition leaders and human rights groups report that up to 700 people may have been killed since protests erupted over alleged vote rigging and suppression of opposition candidates.
Hospitals are reportedly overwhelmed, and eyewitnesses describe scenes of chaos as police and soldiers use live bullets and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
Official government channels have dismissed reports of mass casualties as “exaggerated,” insisting security forces acted to “maintain law and order.”
Independent journalists and international monitors paint a darker picture of state-sanctioned violence and systematic censorship.
Internet blackouts and curfews have crippled communication, isolating the nation from the outside world.
Social media videos posted before the blackout showed violent clashes, injured civilians and burning barricades — visuals that quickly disappeared as authorities tightened control.
What has stunned many Tanzanians is President Suluhu’s silence. Known as a measured, diplomatic leader, her decision to remain quiet amid the bloodshed has fueled anger and uncertainty.
Calls for her to address the crisis and appeal for calm have so far gone unanswered.
The main opposition party, CHADEMA, has rejected the election results, calling them “a national tragedy” and demanding an interim government to oversee fresh polls.
Its leader, Tundu Lissu, speaking from prison through his lawyers, accused Suluhu’s administration of “turning Tanzania into a graveyard of democracy.”
Meanwhile, regional leaders have remained conspicuously silent.
Neither the African Union nor the East African Community has issued a firm statement condemning the violence.
The muted response has drawn criticism from human rights defenders who say Africa’s silence in moments of injustice only emboldens autocracy.
Analysts warn that Tanzania — once celebrated as an island of peace in East Africa — is teetering on the edge of authoritarian collapse.
The current unrest has reignited fears that the democratic legacy of Julius Nyerere, the nation’s founding father, is being dismantled by force.
As darkness falls each night over cities under curfew, Tanzanians wait — for safety, for truth, for leadership.
That silence, the question lingers: how many more must die before the president speaks?
