Tanzanian police disposed of bodies after election violence, opposition alleges

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

(CNN) — Tanzania’s main opposition party on Wednesday accused police of disposing of the bodies of hundreds of demonstrators killed in a crackdown following a disputed election that incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan won by a landslide.

Protests broke out in the East African nation during and after the vote last Wednesday as demonstrators voiced outrage over the exclusion of Hassan’s main rivals.

Authorities imposed a curfew and an internet blackout while security forces clashed with protesters.

The opposition Chadema party was barred from running in last week’s parliamentary and presidential elections. Its leader Tundu Lissu has been detained on charges of treason after Hassan’s government accused him of planning to disrupt the October 29 election.

On Wednesday, Chadema told CNN it had documented 2,000 deaths and accused police of disposing of hundreds of unknown bodies at an undisclosed location.

“As days keep going, we’re establishing and finding out that more people have died in different regions,” Chadema’s director of communications Brenda Rupia told CNN.

So far, “we have 2,000 (dead) people documented,” including more than 100 from Chadema, she said.

CNN has not been able to verify the death toll and a government spokesperson did not respond when asked about the response to the protests. The government previously dismissed the opposition toll as “hugely exaggerated.” But the African Union and the foreign ministries of Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom have expressed concern about reports of high numbers of fatalities.

Hassan, the country’s first female president, was sworn in on Monday for a second term after an election in which she ran virtually unopposed, and which regional observers said “fell short” of democratic requirements.

In her inauguration speech, she acknowledged people had died during the protests but did not provide a death toll.

“Most bodies are still at the hospitals (and) the police are stopping people from taking dead bodies away,” said Rupia, adding, “the police have thrown away over 400 bodies. We don’t even know where they’ve taken them.”

A spokesperson for the Tanzania Police Force did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

This week, the police barred people from sharing photos and videos “that cause panic” after images and footage of dead bodies began circulating on social media while internet connectivity was being restored.

Human Rights Watch, accused the Tanzanian government of responding to the protests “with lethal force and other abuses.”

The African Union Commission said it was “extremely concerned” about election-related violence in Tanzania following reports “that the unrest has left hundreds of people dead, and hundreds injured, following clashes with security forces.”

The commission added that “the nationwide internet shutdown has made it difficult to confirm the actual death toll.”

A joint statement by the foreign ministers of Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom cited “credible reports of a large number of fatalities and significant injuries.”

“We remain concerned that the run-up to the elections was marked by harassment, abductions and intimidation of opposition figures, journalists and civil society actors,” it said.

Rupia said she fears for her safety.

“A lot has happened in the past three or four days ever since the election, and I know that the worst is yet to happen,” she told CNN by phone from an undisclosed location in Tanzania.

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