Curfew lifted in Dar es Salaam after unrest

Tanzanian police lifted a curfew imposed last Wednesday in the capital Dar es Salaam following deadly election protests as life slowly returned to normal across the country.

Following the unrest, the internet was cut across the country and most shops in Dar es Salaam closed amid acute shortages of essential goods and soaring prices. Schools closed and public transport stopped.

On Tuesday, some shops reopened and traffic resumed, but with queues at some gas stations in Dar es Salaam.

Families continue to search for or bury relatives killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters, who denounced the election as a fraud.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Monday after being declared the winner of last Wednesday’s election with 98% of the vote.

Observers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) – a regional bloc that includes Tanzania – said in a preliminary report that the election did not meet democratic standards.

The two main opposition leaders failed to challenge the vote – Tundu Lisu is in custody on treason charges he denies, while Luhaga Mpina’s candidacy was rejected on a technicality.

Lisu’s Chadema party told AFP it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

The UN human rights office earlier said there were credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities.

The government has not released any casualty figures.

On Tuesday, a doctor at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam told the BBC that vehicles marked “Municipal Funeral Services” were collecting the bodies.

“(They) enter the mortuary at night to take the bodies of those believed to have died during protests, they leave and take them to an unknown destination,” said the doctor, who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

“Relatives are not given the bodies and survivors are taken from the emergency room to an unknown destination by the police…some even before they recover,” he added.

Earlier, a Tanzanian woman, who asked to be identified as Mama Kassim, told the BBC she had not seen her two sons since election day – and had been unable to contact either of them.

“I don’t know where he is, I don’t know if he’s arrested, I don’t know if he’s injured, I don’t know if he’s hospitalized, I don’t know if he’s dead. Oh God, save my son. He’s only 21 years old,” she said.

A Kenyan family said they had asked the government to help repatriate the body of a relative, 33-year-old teacher John Okot Ogutu, who lives in Dar es Salaam.

A teacher at Sky School, he was shot dead by the police while on his way to buy food at Gaba Center in the city.

His older sister, Celestine Ogutu, told the BBC that he was a loving, hard-working man who hated arguments and would run away from any confrontation.

“He loved family. The last time I spoke to him was on September 22 when he wished me a happy birthday, the only family member who remembered my birthday,” she said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said authorities responded to widespread post-election protests “with lethal force and other abuses”.

It called on the government to “respect the rights and ensure that all those responsible for the violence are investigated and prosecuted appropriately”.

Amnesty International said it was alarmed by the use of excessive force to quell protests, resulting in the deaths and injuries of protesters.

The government tried to play down the scale of the violence and blamed foreign nationals for inciting it.

During the inauguration ceremony, President Samia acknowledged the “loss of lives and the destruction of public property” but added that it was “not surprising” that some of those arrested were foreign nationals.

Samia first took office in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.

She was initially praised for easing political repression under her predecessor, but the political space has since narrowed.