Internet access disrupted as hundreds die in Tanzania’s election violence
For the third consecutive day, internet access has been disrupted in Tanzania as electoral violence has claimed hundreds of lives.
Netblocks, a platform tracking cybersecurity and digital governance, confirmed internet connectivity disruption in Tanzania since Wednesday.
“Metrics show internet connectivity in #Tanzania remains disrupted for a third day, limiting visibility into events on the ground amid protests over the conduct of Wednesday’s election,” Netblocks said in a post on Friday.
John Kitoka, a spokesperson for the Chadema opposition party, on Friday told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that hundreds had been killed.
“As we speak the figure for deaths in Dar (es Salaam) is around 350 and for Mwanza it is 200-plus. Added to figures from other places around the country, the overall figure is around 700,” Mr Kitoka said. “The death toll could be much higher.”
Over 30 million Tanzanians on Wednesday cast their votes in an election major opposition candidates were barred from participating in. However, violence broke out as protesters clashed with security operatives.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amnesty International said “authorities must investigate police use of force against election day protesters.”
Before the election, the human rights organisation condemned widespread arrests, torture, killings, and the disqualification of opposition candidates in the run-up to the general elections.
Amnesty International said “unopposed, unchecked, unjust ‘wave of terror’ sweeps” through the country ahead of the elections, lamenting the “deepening human rights crisis ahead of its October 2025 general elections.”
It said, “Authorities have intensified the use of repressive laws to silence dissent, targeting journalists, civil society, human rights defenders, and opposition voices.”
Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had first confirmed 17 presidential candidates, including President Samia Suluhu Hassan, before disqualifying other strong opposition candidates.
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