from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania Bureau
DAR-ES-SALAAM, (CAJ News) – WITH no prominent opposition to contest in next Wednesday’s elections, it appears the toughest test to Samia Suluhu Hassan’s legitimacy will be from the Gen Z youth movement disgruntled by her autocracy and inspired by peers from the region and elsewhere.
That with less than a week before the elections the government is still abducting members of the banned opposition, illustrates how Hasssan has metamorphosed from a figure that pledged to pull Tanzania out of dictatorship, to one that would go down history as the most autocratic.
Polls are set for Wednesday in the East African nation and as the day draws closer, the more brazen the abuses get.
The main opposition (but banned from elections), Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema or The Party for Democracy and Progress), reported the disappearance of its Vice Chairman, John Heche, after his arrest by state authorities on Wednesday.
Party officials reported visiting multiple police stations and immigration offices seeking information, but all offices denied having any record or knowledge of Heche’s whereabouts.
Security forces arrested Heche from a courtroom in Dar es Salaam, where he had attended to support jailed party chairman, Tindu Lussu, who has been behind bars for months on treason charges the party says are trumped up.
He has reportedly been transferred to Tarime, the northwestern town situated more than 1 336 kilometres from Dar es Salaam.
Heche’s arrest is the second within as many weeks. He was earlier detained at the Kenyan border, which immigration officials alleged was an illegal crossing attempt. This denied him an opportunity to attend the funeral of the former Kenyan prime minister and longtime opposition leader, Raila Odinga.
This caused chaos at the border as youth protested for his release.
With the help of Kenya youth and bodaboda riders from local and Tanzania they occupied the Sirari–Isibania one-stop border post between the two countries and authorities succumbed to pressure and freed the activist.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of former Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba and government critic, Humphrey Polepole, remain unknown after he was abducted on October 6 from his home in Dar es Salaam.
He is reportedly dead.
Chadema had been tipped as favourites to end the decades-long rule of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or Party of the Revolution) until the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) barred it in April after it had failed to sign a code of conduct document, instead demanding calling for electoral reforms, leading to Lussu’s arrest and disqualification.
With the main opposition a victim of crackdowns, Chadema Diaspora spoke out.
“When the state begins to operate outside the law, no citizen is safe -not even those enforcing it. We demand answers. We demand justice.”
It is highly uncertain that this demand will be granted, in what has been the hallmark of the presidency of Samia Suluhu Hassan who came into power in March 2021 after the death of the autocratic John Magufuli, who had been re-elected five months earlier.
She was well-received, with her pledges of reform from Magufuli’s style leadership, with some critics now claiming Hassan is a worse autocrat.
Gavriel Toviel, human rights advocate, aptly said of Hassan, “The velvet-gloved dictator who slithered into power after her predecessor John ‘Bulldozer’Magufuli’s mysterious 2021 death is unleashing hell on the last scraps of opposition, turning East Africa’s once-bright democratic beacon into a full-blown authoritarian slaughterhouse.”
Reports that Ugandan soldiers are already in Tanzania to protect the government amid indications of the eruption of protests led by the youthful Generation Z (Gen Z) movement have added to the apprehension.
“Samia Suluhu is preparing to massacre peaceful Gen Z demonstrators demanding democracy, the rule of law and justice on October 29,” said the activist who said they had knowledge.
Recently, an army captain dissuaded fellow members of the armed forces from firing at protesters in the case of post-election demonstrations.
In the weeks preceding the election, youthful protesters had expressed with CHADEMA the “No Reforms, No Election” war cry.
“Whispers of Ugandan mercenaries slinking across the border to back her (Hassan’s) goons against the masses are chilling but unconfirmed,” Toviel said.
“Yet one thing is crystal: Gen-Z firebrands are gearing up for nationwide peaceful marches on voting day to torch this farce, demanding an end to the disappearances, the vote-rigging, the unaccountable killings.”
Toviel warned, “If Suluhu Samia’s trigger-happy regime responds with the bloodbath, experts fear the world better wake up, because this isn’t just Tanzania’s funeral, It’s Africa’s democracy gasping its last.”
Gen Z protesters are synonymous with protests in other African countries, most recently in Madagascar, where their protests against the government over poor water and electricity supplies resulted in the military deposing the government of President Andry Rajoelina.
In Kenya, Tanzania’s northern neighbour, Gen Z has kept the administration of President William Ruto on its toes over economic problems.
In 2024, protests forced the government to drop its intentions of enacting the Kenya Finance Bill, a piece of legislation that proposed tax increases, at a time of high unemployment.
In Tanzania, over 60 percent of the population is under 30.
Some youth see Hancy Machemba as “Tanzania’s Gen Z role model.
He has accused police of “creating unnecessary noise and arousing people’s anger for no reason” following the Heche debacle.
“These are the things that are causing the anger in these times of separation and loss,” Machemba said after police failed to produce Heche in court.
To illustrate the influence of Gen Z, commentator, Horri Hassan, referred to the protests that forced authorities to free Heche, at the border.
“East African Gen Z uprising is reshaping regional politics and challenging authoritarian control across Tanzania and Kenya,” Hassan said.
Youths elsewhere largely use social media to mobilise but in Tanzania, they have not been deterred by a ban on such.
In 2025, Tanzania implemented a widespread blockage of X, formerly Twitter, and suspended Jamii Forums, a popular online discussion platform.
Allegations against the platforms range from misinformation, spread of nudity content and defaming the president.
Yet, Suluhu and CCM are posting daily on X. This is to present to the entire world that can access the internet, that CHADEMA is a solid party.
Hassan concluded her campaign in the Dar es Salaam region on Thursday, addressing crowds in Temeke and Kigamboni.
“As was the case in all districts in the country, your large numbers demonstrate the power, size and strength of CCM in serving our country,” she told them.
“Let us all prepare to turn out in large numbers on October 29, vote peacefully and calmly and elect CCM candidates,” she added.
She and the party later posted her sentiments on X.
The violations blamed on her and CCM are thus hidden from the cyber world.
Ahead of the election, a delegation of the Southern African Development Community Election Observers Mission (SEOM) on Thursday met Judge Francis Mutungi, Tanzania Registrar General, and Police Inspector General Camillus Wambura, both presidential appointees.
SADC member states have a reputation of endorsing each other despite incumbents deploying underhand tactics. SADC is meanwhile grappling with the coup in Madagascar.
On Thursday, European Union (UN) member states ambassadors to Tanzania met Mahmoud Kombo, Tanzania Foreign Minister, for “an open and constructive dialogue” on current political developments in Tanzania, including the upcoming elections, democratic principles and good governance.
Toviel dismisses this as a “mere diplomatic theatre.”
“While the EU professes commitment to democratic principles and good governance, Tanzania’s democracy has all but collapsed under President Suluhu Samia.”
The EU is accused of prioritising strategic interests in the former British colony over the urgent need to defend Tanzanian citizens’ rights.
It faces a tough balancing act between its Global Gateway initiative and condemning the repression.
The initiative creates new markets for European companies and reinforces the EU’s geopolitical influence and in Tanzania, the flagship investment is the Port of Dar es Salaam.
Hassan (95) and her CCM are assured of victory, with the main opposition and candidates sidelined.
INEC reports that 37,7 million Tanzanians are registered to vote for President, National Assembly members and ward councilors.
The figure is up from 29,8 million that registered for the 2020 elections.
In September, last month, a staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), visited Tanzania to discuss economic and financial developments, the economic outlook, and program performance.
It concluded Tanzania’s economic activity had been robust, with the economy growing at 5,4 percent in the first quarter of 2025, while inflation remained low at 3,4 percent year-on-year in August.
Strong mining activity, healthy growth in agriculture and manufacturing are driving the expansion.
Despite a positive outlook, IMF reports that risks locally are tilted to the downside, with the upcoming national elections likely to increase risks of fiscal pressures and reform slowdown.
– CAJ News