US reconsidering ties with Tanzania after deadly election violence
By Larry Madowo, Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN
(CNN) — The United States is reviewing its relationship with Tanzania following a brutal crackdown on protesters after contested presidential elections in October, the US State Department announced on Thursday.
United Nations human rights experts have estimated that hundreds of people were shot dead while hundreds more were detained in the aftermath of the vote.
“The Government of Tanzania’s ongoing repression of religious freedom and free speech, the presence of persistent obstacles to U.S. investment, and disturbing violence against civilians in the days leading up to and following Tanzania’s October 29 elections, required this reconsideration of our ties,” State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
“These actions have put American citizens, tourists, and U.S. interests in Tanzania at risk, and threatened to undermine the mutual prosperity and security that have defined our partnership for decades.”
CNN has reached out to the Tanzanian government for comment.
The US statement comes after an exclusive CNN investigation found that police and armed men on patrol fatally shot unarmed protesters. Geolocated videos, audio forensic analysis of the shots fired, and first-hand accounts from witnesses and victims, documented the brutality unleashed on young demonstrators following the re-election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan – who claimed she won with 98% of the vote after barring her chief rivals from the race.
Additionally, satellite imagery, videos and eyewitness accounts pointed to the presence of mass graves north of the East African country’s main city of Dar es Salaam.
Following the contested vote, protests led by young people erupted across the country against the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi party. Hassan accused the demonstrators of being paid to overthrow her government. She has acknowledged there had been some casualties but no official figures have been released.
The development also comes as Meta confirmed in a statement to CNN that it had disabled or restricted social media accounts of two Tanzanian activists who had been posting videos of post-election violence.
Meta said it locked Maria Sarungi-Tsehai’s Instagram account in Tanzania following a legal order from the government. It also confirmed that Mange Kimambi was banned from Instagram and WhatsApp for repeatedly violating its rules on recidivism.
Both activists pushed back against the decision on X. Kimambi said in a post that the move appeared “to be an attempt to justify actions taken after significant pressure from the Tanzanian government to silence voices speaking on behalf of the people.”
The-CNN-Wire
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