Suluhu: Poll Unrest Has ‘Stained’ Tanzania’s Global Image

Tanzania’s image for stability has been “stained” by the unrest that hit the East African nation during last month’s heavily disputed elections, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has acknowledged.

Speaking as she swore in her new cabinet, Samia warned that the violence could “set the country back”.

“We mostly depend on loans from international creditors, but what happened eroded our global credibility,” the 65-year-old president said.

She was declared the winner of October’s presidential poll with 98% of the vote, but the opposition – which was barred from contesting – denounced the election as a “mockery of democracy”.

Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi’s former president and the Commonwealth envoy, is due to arrive in Tanzania to lead reconciliation efforts between the two sides.

Hundreds may have died as security forces crushed the protests under cover of a five-day internet blackout after the 29 October elections, according to the opposition. The authorities are yet to release an official death toll.

Gruesome images and videos of dead Tanzanians have circulated online following the disputed elections, in which key opposition leaders were jailed or disqualified.

The violence was shocking for a nation that had cultivated an image of calm and order for nearly six decades.

At least 240 people were charged with treason after the protests.

Last week, President Samia announced an official investigation into the unrest and urged prosecutors to consider reducing or dropping charges for detained individuals who were not directly involved in the protests.

Samia came into office in 2021 following the death of President John Magufuli – and was initially praised for easing political repression, but the political space has since narrowed.

On Tuesday, she cautioned that her next term could bring economic challenges, noting that securing financial support from international banks may not be easy.

“In the first term, we used to get loans from outside due to our stability and the progress we made. But the stain we brought upon ourselves could now hinder that,” she said.

“For this reason, we must focus on mobilising domestic resources and harnessing our God-given resources,” Samia told her ministers.

One new appointment to the 27-member cabinet is her daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, who was named deputy education minister.

Wanu’s husband, Mohamed Mchengerwa, remains in cabinet taking up the post of health minister. Seven members of the previous cabinet have lost their positions.

On Monday, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey said Chakwera was to lead “constructive dialogue” during his four-day mission to Tanzania.

He is set to hold consultations with government officials, political party leaders, civil society groups, religious and traditional leaders and diplomatic representatives.

(BBC)