Frontier Eye Desk
Dodoma, Tanzania.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has established a domestic commission of inquiry to investigate last month’s deadly post-election unrest, with particular focus on allegations that young protesters were financially incentivized to take to the streets.
Speaking at Chamwino State House on Thursday, the recently reelected president claimed emerging reports suggest that many youths who joined the demonstrations had been paid beforehand.
“We are told that those young people who went to the streets to demand rights were first given money, and many of them responded because of the payments,” Samia said.
She questioned the origin of the alleged funds and challenged both local and international NGOs to clarify their role, if any, in the turmoil.
The three-member commission will be chaired by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, joined by a retired senior military officer and a retired police commander.
Formed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act of 2023, the panel has three months to probe the causes of the violence, the motivations of protesters, public statements by opposition leaders, the conduct of security forces, and the involvement of non-governmental organizations.
Samia described the inquiry as a critical first step toward establishing a broader national Reconciliation Commission.
Tensions have remained high since the October 29 election, in which Hassan was declared winner with more than 98% of the vote—a result vigorously rejected by the opposition as fraudulent.
Key opposition figures, including Chadema chairman Tundu Lissu, were barred from contesting or arrested on treason charges before the polls.
Youth-led protests erupted across major cities the day after voting, prompting a severe security crackdown. Casualty figures remain contested: opposition sources claim hundreds were killed, while the government has yet to release an official toll.
Chadema immediately dismissed the newly announced commission as a government ploy to “hide the truth and erase evidence.” Party Vice Chairman John Heche argued that an inquiry initiated by President Hassan—whose legitimacy the opposition disputes—cannot credibly investigate events in which her administration stands accused. The party reiterated its demand for an independent international investigation involving the United Nations, African Union, European Union, and the International Criminal Court.
Samia defended the domestic approach, insisting that Tanzania must first conduct its own inquiry before considering any external mechanisms.
As the inquiry begins its work, Tanzania remains deeply divided following what many observers have described as the most violent election period in the country’s modern history.