Tanzania Inquiry Finds Over 500 Killed in Election Violence

A Tanzanian government commission reports that 518 people died from unnatural causes following the October 2024 general election, including 197 shot dead, though it does not identify who was responsible for the killings. The election saw President Samia Suluhu Hassan win with 98% of the vote after main opposition challengers were excluded, prompting the African Union and SADC to declare it fell short of democratic standards. Opposition parties and human rights groups claim the actual death toll was in the thousands and accuse security forces of a brutal crackdown, while the BBC verified videos of police shooting at protesters. Chadema, the main opposition party, dismisses the commission report as a cover-up, while President Hassan defends security forces as having prevented anarchy and announces a criminal investigation body to examine offences from the unrest.

Death toll and findings from the government inquiry

• ▪197 of the 518 people who died in the protests following Tanzania's October 2025 general election were shot dead, according to the commission of inquiry
• ▪A total of 518 people died in Tanzania from unnatural causes in the widespread protests following the October 2025 general election, of whom 490 were male, 21 were children and 16 were security officers
• ▪More than 2,000 people were injured in Tanzania's post-election violence, including 120 security officers
• ▪Commission chairman Mohamed Chande Othman did not say who was responsible for the deaths in Tanzania's post-election violence
• ▪Among the 518 dead in Tanzania's post-election violence, 490 were male, 21 were children, and 16 were security officers
• ▪The Tanzania commission of inquiry said claims of mass graves could not be substantiated, alleging AI was used to manipulate some images

Disputed election and allegations of government crackdown

• ▪Opposition parties described Tanzania's October 2024 election as a mockery of democracy after the main challengers were excluded
• ▪The African Union and the southern Africa bloc Sadc said Tanzania's October 2024 election had fallen short of democratic standards
• ▪President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of Tanzania's October 29, 2024 election with 98% of the vote
• ▪Tundu Lissu is in detention on treason charges, which Tundu Lissu denies
• ▪Luhaga Mpina's candidacy for Tanzania's October 2024 election was rejected on technical grounds

Government response and opposition rejection of the report

• ▪Opposition parties raised concerns that the Tanzania commission of inquiry cannot be independent or impartial when the government is the primary suspect in the crimes being investigated
• ▪President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the violence in Tanzania's post-election period shook the nation and the government would take lessons from it
• ▪President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the establishment of a criminal investigation body to examine offences linked to Tanzania's post-election unrest
• ▪The Tanzania commission of inquiry recommended that a new constitution should be in place by 2028, before the next general election
• ▪President Samia Suluhu Hassan defended the actions of Tanzania's security agencies, saying the agencies had prevented the state from sliding into anarchy

Perspective of Tanzanian opposition parties and Chadema

• ▪Opposition parties in Tanzania believe the actual death toll from post-election violence was in the thousands, not the 518 reported by the commission

Perspective of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the Tanzanian government

• ▪President Samia Suluhu Hassan views Tanzania's security agencies as having saved the country from descending into chaos during post-election unrest

Perspective of International observers including the African Union and SADC

• ▪The African Union and SADC view Tanzania's October 2024 election as failing to meet basic requirements for credible democratic processes