Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: November 8, 2025
Tanzania has witnessed its largest protests in 64 years.
The protestors were mainly young people from Gen Z, boldly taking a stand against the government’s severe repression and fraud during the election process.
On Saturday it was announced that the president (Samia Suluhu Hassan) had won an improbable 98% of the vote.
This ‘landslide’ was assisted by the fact that her two main opponents were not allowed to run. One is in prison and on trial for high treason, which carries the death sentence. In reality he is being punished for demanding free and fair elections.
Others who spoke out ahead of the elections were also targeted as part of a violent campaign to intimidate the opposition, close civic space and silence critics before election week.
Among them were religious leaders, journalists, supporters of the opposition, and human rights activists. Some were arrested, assaulted, tortured and even killed. Some were forcibly disappeared, with over 52 abductions in October alone. Many are still missing, with some presumed dead.
It is also still unknown how many died during the crackdown on last week’s protests.
It was initially feared that hundreds of protesters had been killed by police and masked agents firing live ammunition, but an internet blackout made it hard to verify the exact number. Now the internet has been partially restored, videos and photos are emerging that reveal the true horror. Unconfirmed reports now suggest the death toll may be upwards of 1,000.
The situation remains tense, amid reports of families anxiously seeking missing loved ones.
President Hassan may have secured a ‘victory’, but she has lost any remaining legitimacy.
Please pray:
- For freedom, justice and comfort for the people of Tanzania. They have been denied free and fair elections, and many are mourning loved ones.
- For an international investigation into the killing of protestors and allegations of secret mass graves. Pray that all who ordered or participated in their murders, as well as in the high number of abductions, will be brought to justice.
- For freedom for all who have been unjustly detained or disappeared.
- For the protection of activists, journalists, opposition members and all who speak out.
Religious leaders appear to be particular targets of the Hassan regime. Here are four you can pray for by name:
- Pastor Eleth Mtaita was arrested on 24 October, allegedly for telling church members not to take part in the elections, which was deemed ‘incitement’. Eyewitnesses said that armed men stormed his house and took him away in a vehicle without licence plates. As far as we know, he is still detained.
- Father Charles Kitima was brutally attacked on 30 April and hospitalised with serious head injuries. The authorities falsely stated he had been drunk. Nevertheless, he continues to be a vocal critic of Tanzania’s deteriorating human rights climate.
- Pastor Elias Samweli Domisiani was reportedly abducted on 4 October after being lured to a meeting by someone posing as a solar panel supplier.
- Father Camillus Aroni Nikata went missing during a retreat on 7 October. Ten days later, police announced that he had been found alive but extremely weak. Fr Nikata had described the electoral process as being unfair and had also condemned the abductions and enforced disappearances. However, the police claimed his disappearance was due to financial strain and a relationship breakdown – a narrative which remains disputed.
We pray that the Lord would bring healing and continued protection to those who have been released, and bring freedom to those who are still disappeared or detained. May he draw near to their loved ones as they wait in uncertainty.
Amen.