TANZANIAN President Samia Suluhu Hassan says her government will launch an inquiry into the deadly unrest that erupted following her controversial re-election last month, as claims of an undemocratic vote process prompted mass protests.
Speaking during the opening session of Tanzania’s new parliament on Friday, Hassan said she was “deeply saddened by the incident” and offered condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the crackdown.
“The government has taken the step of forming an inquiry commission to investigate what happened,” she added.
Her comments mark the first conciliatory message since Tanzanian authorities violently cracked down on widespread demonstrations following the country’s October 29 presidential election.
Hassan was declared the winner of the vote with nearly 98 percent support, after her leading rivals were barred from participating, fuelling anger and frustration among many Tanzanians who said the contest was unfair.
While the exact death toll is unclear, Tanzania’s main opposition party has said hundreds of people were killed as the government sent troops into the streets to disperse the protests. Authorities also imposed an internet blackout on the East African nation.
Rights groups have called for an independent and thorough investigation into what happened, with Amnesty International saying the authorities committed “grave human rights violations that include unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, unlawful detentions”.
“Authorities should promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and effectively investigate all killings by security agents and bring to justice in fair trials those suspected of being responsible,” the organisation said in a statement in early November.
The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, also urged the Tanzanian government earlier this week to investigate the killings and other rights violations.
He called on the authorities to provide information about the whereabouts of people who have gone missing and to hand over the bodies of those killed.
Reports of families desperately searching everywhere for their loved ones, visiting one police station after another and one hospital after another are harrowing,” Turk said, adding that his office has been unable to verify casualty figures due to the security situation and internet shutdown.
Meanwhile, dozens of people have been charged with treason and other offences in relation to the protests.
On Friday, President Hassan, who first took power in 2021 after the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, appeared to indicate there would be leniency.
“I realise that many youths who were arrested and charged with treason did not know what they were doing,” she said during her address in parliament.
“As the mother of this nation, I direct the law enforcement agencies and especially the office of the director of police to look at the level of offences committed by our youths.
“For those who seem to have followed the crowd and did not intend to commit a crime, let them erase their mistakes,” she added.
Hassan also acknowledged the demands of the opposition Chadema party, which has said, for any meaningful reconciliation to happen, constitutional reforms are needed. She said her administration would embark on a constitutional reform process within its first 100 days.