A friend of ours in Tanzania counted 46 killed by security forces among friends and neighbors since the election on Oct. 29, raising the alarm about the extent of the terror and violence and the need to defend human rights country-wide.

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 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 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. With repeat internet outages and police reportedly taking bodies to undisclosed locations, 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

Our friend in Mwanza, Tanzania’s second-largest city, asked neighbors and friends if they knew of anyone killed since election day. The incidents have not been independently verified. Our friend asked to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety.

“Everyone I spoke with 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 of the worst acts of violence, each person I spoke with shared another incident that I had not heard before.”

One Person, 46 Deaths

In total, our friend heard stories of 46 unarmed civilians shot and killed in 14 incidents since election day:

• A lady walking home after selling peanuts in Nyamanoro area.
• A young businessman living in Bugando area trying to buy gas for his vehicle.
• A young woman walking to a shop in Bugando area.
• Fourteen young men watching soccer in a video hall in Mji Mwema area.
• Sixteen young men watching TV in a small video hall in Nyamanoro area.
• Two protesters on the main road in Kiloleli area.
• One bystander and four men carrying rocks while walking after dark in Mwaloni area.
• Four young men pulled out of their house, told to lie down and shot in Kisesa, Mwanza.
• A man closing his barbershop at Bwiru Corner.
• 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.
• A man carrying a bucket of water to try to help put out a fire.

Our friend spoke of the strain from being a secondhand witness to so many killings of unarmed civilians. “I have been on the verge of tears many times over the past two weeks.” Though life has ostensibly returned to normal (schools are in session, shops are open, roads are busy), he wondered how people are processing such a great loss of life. “This is a loss of the peaceful Tanzania as we knew it, and a loss of personal freedom for each of us.”

Call To Action

Ask friends in Tanzania to add to the Tanzania Election Massacre Map. Tanzanians who lost loved ones are invited to add a pin at the location of each person killed or disappeared. Click on a pin to read about a victim. We hope this grassroots effort succeeds at finding people lost and documenting the scale of 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.

Thank you.