Tanzania partially lifts curfew and internet restrictions following election violence that opposition claims killed hundreds, with slow normalcy returning.
NAIROBI: Some Tanzanians ventured out on Tuesday as authorities partially lifted restrictions including a curfew and internet blackout following election violence that the opposition claims has left hundreds dead.
The country’s electoral commission said President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 29 poll with 98% of the vote, which the opposition has declared a “sham”.
A total internet blackout imposed when protests broke out on election day has been partially eased, though verifiable information from the East African country remains difficult to obtain.
An AFP journalist observed a slow return to normalcy in the economic capital Dar es Salaam, though residents remained fearful.
“I hope violence will not come again,” 32-year-old food vendor Rehema Shehoza told AFP.
“Some of us would die from hunger because I need to get out for work to get my daily bread,” she said.
Police announced Monday the lifting of a curfew imposed on election day, and after a near-total transport shutdown, some public buses resumed operation.
Long lines formed outside reopening gas stations as prices soared, with private tuk-tuks and motorbikes filling transportation gaps.
AFP witnessed a continued security presence in the country’s largest city, though notably reduced from recent days.
The internet appeared to be returning intermittently, with graphic images reportedly from the protests being shared across social media that couldn’t be independently verified.
Police circulated a text message Monday threatening punishment for anyone spreading footage that could create panic or humiliate people online.
A diplomatic source said there were credible reports of hundreds—possibly thousands—of deaths registered at hospitals and health clinics around Tanzania.
Opposition party Chadema told AFP it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday, though none of the figures could be independently confirmed.
During her acceptance speech, Hassan expressed sadness over “incidents of violence that have led to loss of lives” without providing further details.
She promised security and defence forces would investigate the incidents.
The diplomatic source said there were “concerning reports” that police used the internet blackout to buy time as they “hunt down opposition members and protesters who might have videos” of last week’s atrocities.
A Dar es Salaam resident told Human Rights Watch her neighbour was shot dead by a man wearing civilian clothing outside his home on October 30.
Communicating by telephone, the woman said her neighbour had not participated in the protests. – AFP
