One resident counted 46 police killings among friends and neighbors since the election on Oct. 29, raising the alarm about the need to defend human rights.

Tanzania’s general election on October 29 plunged the East African nation into its biggest political crisis in decades.

With the two main opposition candidates disqualified from the ballot, incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan (known by supporters as “Mama Samia”) secured a rare and hard-to-believe 97% of the vote, according to official results.

The election was met by protests across the major cities, mostly led by youth who expressed fury over the exclusion of opposition leaders and accused the government of a lack of transparency and fairness.

The subsequent security crackdown by the military and police led to a high number of casualties over a period of four days. So far, no one knows for sure how many have died.

“Our country has been fractured. We have lost our sense of dignity. What we witnessed during the election week has wounded the soul of Tanzania. This nation has not only lost its respect, but it has lost her people, her very sons and daughters.”
— Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Dar es Salaam, Nov. 10, 2025

Word on the Street

We asked a resident of one of Tanzania’s major cities to ask neighbors and friends if they know of anyone killed on election day and since. The person asked to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety.

“I have personally heard from people who know or know of people who were killed,” our anonymous reporter said.

“As I started to venture out of my neighborhood, and caught up with friends and family, everyone had stories about people they knew, and knew of, who were shot and killed on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (October 29 to Nov 2). While many people repeated the same stories about some of the worst acts of violence, each person I spoke with shared another incident that I had not yet heard of.”

One Person, 46 Deaths

In total, our anonymous reporter heard stories of 46 unarmed civilians shot and killed in 12 incidents on election day:

• A lady walking home after selling peanuts in Mwanza.
• A young man trying to buy gas for his car in Arusha.
• A young woman walking to a shop in Bukoba.
• Fourteen young men watching soccer in a video hall in Mwanza.
• Sixteen young men watching TV in a small video hall in Mwanza.
• Two protesters on the main road in Kiloleli.
• One bystander and four men carrying rocks while walking after dark in Mwaloni.
• A young man walking with protesters in Singida.
• Four young men pulled out of their house, told to lie down and shot in Kisesa.
• A man closing his barbershop at Bwiru corner in Mwanza.
• A student home from Nyamanoro Secondary School hit by a stray bullet that entered the house. When his father tried to claim his body, the police wanted him to sign a paper saying his son was shot while protesting.
• A father closing the gate to his property when arriving home at dusk.
• A furniture maker at his workshop securing tools before protesters passed by.
• A shop-owner adding locks on the door of his shop.

Call To Action

Ask friends in Tanzania to add to the Tanzania Election Massacre Map. Add a pin at the location of each person you know killed or disappeared. The goal is to map the locations and details of each victim. Click on a pin to read about a victim. We hope this grassroots effort succeeds in documenting what has happened throughout the country.

Sign the Petition to Demand Accountability in Tanzania. Amnesty International is calling for the African Union to launch independent investigations into the human rights violations committed before, during and after the Oct. 29 elections in Tanzania, with a view to ensuring full accountability.

Together, we can help bring justice and restore hope for the people of Tanzania.