All eyes are on Dodoma as President Samia Suluhu Hassan prepares to be inaugurated on Monday after a fiercely disputed election that opposition parties and rights groups say was marred by deadly crackdowns.
The electoral commission claims she won with an astonishing 98 percent of the vote, but the opposition party CHADEMA, which was barred from competing, has rejected the result and called for a rerun.
Unlike past celebrations at packed stadiums, the ceremony is expected to hold inside the State House, with no public attendance – a decision state TV says is for “security reasons.”
For nearly a week, Tanzania has been cut off from the world as authorities maintain a total internet shutdown following election-day protests. Independent verification has been nearly impossible, but diplomatic sources say hospitals across the country have recorded hundreds of deaths since unrest began.
CHADEMA officials told AFP they had documented “no less than 800” fatalities by Saturday, though the figures cannot be verified. The government has yet to comment on casualties, only denying that “excessive force” was used.
In cities like Dar es Salaam, police checkpoints and curfews have created a near-lockdown, with schools, colleges, and transport services suspended. Reports suggest security forces are using the blackout to track and detain activists with footage of the violence.
Rights groups accuse Suluhu’s government of overseeing a “wave of terror” ahead of the polls – including abductions of activists and intimidation of opposition figures. The UN and Pope Leo XIV have both called for restraint and dialogue to end the bloodshed.
Suluhu, who became president in 2021 after the death of John Magufuli, is seeking to consolidate her grip on power and silence critics within her ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. But with mounting reports of deaths and suppression, analysts warn that her legitimacy may remain in question long after the oath is taken.
