Tanzanian authorities have moved to block a series of rallies planned for next week, just days after security forces brutally suppressed protests triggered by disputed elections.
The October 29 polls sparked widespread unrest amid allegations that President Samia Suluhu Hassan manipulated the vote and orchestrated killings and abductions targeting her opponents.
Official results handed her a landslide, 98 percent, but opposition figures and human rights organisations claim more than 1,000 protesters were fatally shot during several days of chaos.
The government has yet to provide an official death count.
Despite efforts to restrict information flow, public outrage has been growing across the East African nation, with activists pushing for fresh demonstrations on December 9.
Responding to the rising calls, police spokesperson David Misime issued a late Friday statement in Swahili, acknowledging that security agencies had monitored the social media mobilisation but stressing, “No identifiable person has so far submitted formal notification for the planned demonstrations.”
He argued that the plans now violate police rules, pointing to tactics employed in the previous protests.
According to the statement, “given the unlawful tactics that have surfaced”, the rally “no longer meets the legal requirements to be authorised”.
The police therefore announced: “Therefore, the Police Force, as of today, bans the planned demonstrations described as peaceful and indefinite.”
Officials claimed that the coordination of the proposed protests involved phone numbers and anonymous online accounts operated within and outside the country.
The crackdown comes after Meta suspended the Instagram pages of two Tanzanian activists who shared photos exposing the violent handling of demonstrators.
International pressure has mounted, with the United States warning it would be “comprehensively reviewing” its ties with Tanzania following the post-election bloodshed.
