A Year After Tanzania's Election Violence, Grieving Families Still Wait for Answers

One year after Tanzania's disputed October 2025 general election, families of those killed in the unrest that followed say they are still waiting for answers, and for some, even a basic acknowledgment of their loss.

In Mwanza, the country's second-largest city, a woman who goes by Raha, a name changed for her safety, said her nephew, whom she raised, died during the protests. She said justice could start with an apology. "The government should have asked for forgiveness for what happened. Even just offering condolences," she said.

The violence followed a campaign in which the main opposition candidate was shut out. Tundu Lissu, leader of the Tanzanian Party for Democracy and Progress, known as Chadema, was arrested and charged with treason in April 2025, and his party was barred from the vote. On election day and afterward, protesters demanded political reforms and the resignation of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

A government-appointed panel known as the Chande Commission, led by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, found that at least 518 people died from "unnatural causes," many of them from gunshot wounds, and that more than 2,000 were injured. Othman said the toll could be higher because some families buried relatives without taking them to morgues or informing the commission. Human Rights Watch agrees. "It's very clear that it's far more than the 518 people that were presented by the commission," said Oryem Nyeko, the group's senior Africa researcher.

Deutsche Welle analyzed dozens of videos, interviewed sources, reviewed police guidelines and advocacy research, and obtained a leaked police report. The outlet could not confirm the exact location or date of every clip, since some were released late because of internet blackouts or shared anonymously out of fear of reprisals. Still, the footage, sources, public reports and the internal police report strongly suggest the videos show events from the days after the vote.

According to DW, the evidence indicates police likely acted beyond their guidelines and training. It includes cases of people killed who were not protesting, protesters killed by head wounds, and protesters beaten or degraded by people in uniform. The police Field Force Unit, recognizable by red berets and riot gear, appeared repeatedly. The Centre for Information Resilience also documented uniformed people beating civilians with sticks in Dar es Salaam, and others standing near where protesters were shot dead. In Mwanza, videos showed the bodies of young men reportedly killed by people in police uniforms while watching television in a video hall, a case also cited by Human Rights Watch and flagged by the commission for further investigation.

Police guidelines limit firearm use to situations where it is absolutely necessary. Yet DW and rights groups documented protesters with apparent gunshot wounds to the head and upper body, and non-protesters shot while fleeing or while outside during a government-imposed curfew. DW noted that a police unit's presence at an incident does not establish who ordered an operation or whether senior officials authorized unlawful force. Security analyst Nicodemus Minde said the commission left key questions open: "The Commission did not really tell us who was responsible and why."

The president has described the unrest as an attempt to overthrow the government. The Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment on the allegations, saying it would interfere with the legal process, and police had not responded by publication. The Chande Commission recommended further investigation but named no security bodies, officers or commanders. A second inquiry, chaired by retired Justice Shaban Ally Lila, began gathering evidence in August 2026, and its findings are pending.

For bereaved relatives, the inquiries have not restored trust. Zuri, whose name was also changed for safety, said her brother and her son were killed. "We lost our children; we lost our brothers. Why hasn't the government taken any initiative to at least visit us?" she asked. "They behave as if nothing happened. Is this justice? There is no justice in Tanzania."