AFRICA/TANZANIA – Calm returns, but there is a war of numbers over the victims of recent clashes

Dar es Salaam – “The situation is calming down, and internet connections have been restored since yesterday,” local sources in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, told Fides following the violent protests that erupted in response to the disputed parliamentary elections of October 29.
“Internet connections were interrupted around 12:30 p.m. on election day and were restored yesterday evening, November 3, around 5:00 p.m.,” Fides sources specify. However, the authorities have urged the public not to share photos and videos that could “cause panic.” There were numerous casualties in the clashes between police and demonstrators, but, as our sources confirm, “there is disagreement between the government and the opposition regarding the number of victims.” Depending on the source, the death toll varies between one hundred and one thousand.
“In fact,” our sources emphasize, “no precise figures on the number of victims can currently be given. The authorities are providing conservative figures, while the opposition and others tend to publish higher numbers.”
The protests were directed primarily against outgoing President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was re-elected with 97.66% of the vote, despite the exclusion of the main opposition candidates—one was arrested, the other disqualified by the electoral commission . “The most serious clashes occurred not only in Dar es Salaam, but also in Mwanza in the north and Mbeya in the south,” our sources report.
The elections in Tanzania were also contested by regional observers. “In many areas, voters were not able to exercise their right to vote freely and democratically,” Richard Msowoya, head of the Southern African Development Community Election Observation Mission, stated.
The heads of state of neighboring Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda were not present at the ceremony marking the beginning of Samia Suluhu Hassan’s second term, which took place yesterday, November 3, at a military base in the administrative capital, Dodoma. Only the presidents of Zambia, Mozambique, and Somalia attended.
“In her inaugural address, the president referred to the presence of foreigners who had instigated the unrest,” our sources confirmed, adding: “We have received at least one credible witness statement indicating that some of the perpetrators did not speak Swahili, the official language of Tanzania, which is spoken by everyone here. However, great caution is required in this matter as well, so as not to trigger prosecutions against foreigners.”
“Even if the situation returns to normal, a deep wound remains in the country, which is a shame, because Tanzania has made enormous economic and social progress in recent years,” the observers told Fides. “Tanzania may be suffering from the fact that politics and state structures have lagged behind economic and social progress, leading to dissatisfaction and frustration among the population, especially young people. This imbalance must be corrected.”

Read original article