Exclusive: Tanzania accuses 145 individuals of treason in connection with election protests, according to documents
Tanzanian prosecutors charged at least 145 individuals with treason on Friday for allegedly taking part in violent protests during the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections last week, according to court documents obtained by Reuters.
Human rights activists and CHADEMA, the main opposition party, claim that security forces have killed over 1,000 people. The administration has referred to those figures as inflated without providing a death toll of its own.
Those who are accused of taking part in the protests are facing their first charges. A church leader claimed that the action would simply exacerbate the animosity that the election had caused. Religious leaders and others have called on the administration to make an effort to make amends with demonstrators and political opponents.
A phone and text message seeking comment from the government’s spokeswoman were not answered.
Files claim that the accused attempted to obstruct the election.
According to the documents at the Dar es Salaam resident magistrate court, the defendants “formed an intention to obstruct the 2025 general election for the purpose of intimidating the Executive of the Republic of Tanzania” and damaged government property.
They did not go into detail about the specific charges against them, with the exception of one defendant, a businesswoman who was also arrested in the lead-up to the elections for allegedly encouraging protests. The filing accused her of encouraging people to buy tear gas masks from her company during the protests.
Boniface Mwabukusi, president of the largest attorneys’ association in mainland Tanzania, stated that he did not believe they were represented by counsel and that none of the others seemed to be well-known.
Bishop Benson Bagonza of Tanzania’s Evangelical Lutheran Church said the accusations will only make things worse.
“The only option for the government to keep at least the relative peace now is … to grieve with the people instead of arresting and taking people to court,” he added.
Anger over the two front-runners of the opposition being left out of the presidential contest was a major factor in the protests. The leader of CHADEMA, Tundu Lissu, was accused of treason in April.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the incumbent president, was sworn in on Monday after the election commission proclaimed her the victor with about 98% of the vote.
The poll, according to African Union observers, was not credible, and they had proof of ballot box stuffing. The government has denied that the election was unfair and dismissed criticism of the procedure.
