US Using Tanzania Relations Review as ‘Propaganda Weapon’ to Destabilise the Country, Moroccan Politician Claims

DAR ES SALAAM — As Tanzania braces for what could be another explosive confrontation between protesters and security forces on Tuesday’s Independence Day, a Moroccan politician has ignited a diplomatic firestorm by accusing Washington of wielding its review of bilateral relations with Tanzania as a propaganda weapon designed to destabilize the East African nation.

Said Bakkali, Head of International Relations for Morocco’s Party of Progress and Socialism, told Sputnik Africa that the United States announcement of a comprehensive review of its relations with Tanzania represents a clear intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

His stark warning comes as the US State Department issued an extraordinary statement this week citing Tanzania’s repression of religious freedom, obstacles to American investment, and disturbing violence against civilians during the October 29 elections as grounds for reconsidering six decades of partnership.

“The United States does not have the right to intervene and to impact the result of elections and the orientation of the voters in African country,” Bakkali stated, linking the timing of Washington’s announcement, just days before planned demonstrations on December 9, as an attempt to encourage disturbance and chaos.

The allegations strike at the heart of a deepening crisis that has transformed Tanzania from one of East Africa’s most stable democracies into the epicenter of the region’s most serious political upheaval in decades.

What began as protests against an election that saw President Samia Suluhu Hassan declared winner with 98 percent of the vote after opposition leaders were barred from running has morphed into an international diplomatic standoff with potentially seismic implications for US influence across Africa.

The violence surrounding the October 29 election was unprecedented in Tanzanian history.

Opposition party Chadema has documented between 1,000 and 2,000 deaths, while United Nations human rights experts report at least 700 people were killed.

The government has refused to release official casualty figures, stating that doing so would be to “celebrate the deaths,” even as security forces allegedly transported bodies to undisclosed locations, leaving families desperately searching hospitals and police stations for missing loved ones.

The government imposed a communications blackout, deployed military forces alongside police, and instituted a nationwide curfew that shut down transport, markets, the internet, and newspapers for the first time since independence.

Gas stations closed, grocery shops remained shuttered, and streets in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma emptied as Tanzanians hunkered down amid reports of security forces firing live ammunition at demonstrators.

Against this backdrop, the US State Department’s announcement carries extraordinary weight.

Washington is Tanzania’s largest bilateral donor, having delivered an estimated $2.8 billion per year in tangible benefits to the Tanzanian economy between 2012 and 2022, according to research by AidData.

The partnership encompasses health sector investments worth nearly $7 billion through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief since 2003, credited with saving an estimated 750,000 lives, as well as substantial support for democracy, governance, and private sector development.

The statement from Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott pulled no punches.

“These actions have put American citizens, tourists, and U.S. interests in Tanzania at risk, and threatened to undermine the mutual prosperity and security that have defined our partnership for decades,” the State Department declared, warning that “the future of our bilateral relationship with the Government of Tanzania will be based on its actions.”

The European Parliament has also condemned post-election killings and called for new elections and investigations, while Ghana became the first African state to publicly demand a credible investigation into the violence.

The Southern African Development Community and African Union election observers both declared the polls failed to meet electoral standards, citing intimidation, irregularities, and limited transparency.

Yet Bakkali’s characterization of Washington’s pressure as a diplomatic weapon aimed at destabilization resonates with a broader narrative gaining traction across the continent.

He argued that such actions exploit divisions among African nations, weaken mutual trust, and ultimately seek to control resources and decision-making processes.

“Pressure with the US’ ‘diplomatic weapon’ aims to discredit the Tanzanian government and jeopardizes African sovereignty and stability,” he warned.

The Moroccan politician pointed to what he described as a pattern of African governments diversifying their international partnerships, increasingly turning to Russia and China, which he attributed to growing skepticism about US neutrality.

This shift reflects a broader realignment in African geopolitics, as nations across the continent recalibrate relationships amid competing great power interests.

The crisis has also drawn sharp criticism from US senators.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch and Senator Jeanne Shaheen issued a blistering joint statement condemning elections they described as “marred by state-sponsored political repression, targeted abductions and manipulation,” warning that Tanzania’s pivot from democratic norms “demands a genuine assessment of the U.S. bilateral relationship.”

President Hassan has attempted to contain the political fallout, announcing an inquiry commission to investigate the killings and calling for leniency for some protesters facing treason charges.

“I am deeply saddened by the incident. I offer my condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones,” she told parliament, while earlier blaming foreigners for inciting the deadly protests.

But with activists calling for nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday to mark Independence Day, and police declaring any such protests illegal, Tanzania stands on the precipice of potentially more bloodshed.

The International Crisis Group has warned authorities must “desist from yet more wanton violence,” while UN human rights experts have urged Tanzania to protect the right to peaceful assembly.

Tanzania’s trajectory represents a stunning reversal from the optimism that greeted Hassan when she assumed the presidency in 2021 following John Magufuli’s death.

Initially, she restored licenses to banned newspapers, dropped terrorism charges against opposition leader Freeman Mbowe, and lifted restrictions on political rallies.

The Council on Foreign Relations praised her opening moves, with diplomatic observers noting improved business climate and dialogue with opposition politicians.

Yet that brief democratic thaw proved illusory. By mid-2024, Hassan’s government was systematically intensifying repression, with dozens of opposition officials disappearing, apparently at the hands of intelligence and security services.

The barring of main opposition candidates from the October election slammed shut what little space remained for competitive politics, transforming Tanzania’s quasi-authoritarian system into what many now view as outright dictatorship.

Trade statistics reveal the depth of economic entanglement at stake in the US review.

Total goods and services trade between the two nations reached $1.4 billion in 2024, with US investments in Tanzania totaling over $1 billion. American companies operating across renewable energy, infrastructure, aviation, and environmental technology sectors now face uncertainty about their future.

As Dar es Salaam residents flooded supermarkets over the weekend, stocking up on food and water ahead of Tuesday’s planned demonstrations, one thing became clear: whether viewed as legitimate concern or propaganda weapon, Washington’s review has dramatically raised the stakes in a crisis that has already shattered Tanzania’s longstanding reputation as an island of stability in a turbulent region.

The question now is whether international pressure, American or otherwise, will compel Hassan’s government toward meaningful democratic reforms, or whether it will harden positions and deepen Tanzania’s authoritarian turn, potentially pushing the nation further into the embrace of alternative great power partners.

With hundreds already dead and the prospect of more violence looming, the cost of getting that answer wrong could be measured in lives.

Tuesday will tell whether Tanzania can navigate its gravest crisis since independence without yet more bloodshed, or whether the country’s democratic experiment has truly come to a violent end.

Either way, the reverberations will be felt far beyond East Africa’s shores, shaping how the continent’s relationship with Washington, and the broader international community, evolves in an increasingly multipolar world.