Tanzanian police have lifted a nighttime curfew imposed since Wednesday in the main city of Dar es Salaam following deadly election protests, and life across the country is slowly returning to normal.
After the unrest, internet was cut off across the country, and most stores in Dar es Salaam were closed due to shortages and soaring prices of daily necessities. Schools were closed and public transportation was suspended.
Some stores reopened and traffic resumed on Tuesday, but lines continued to form at some gas stations in Dar es Salaam.
Families continue to search for or bury relatives killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters who have denounced the poll as fake.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn into office on Monday after being declared the winner of last Wednesday’s election with 98% of the vote.
Observers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional bloc that includes Tanzania, said in a preliminary report that the election did not meet democratic standards.
The two main opposition leaders were unable to contest the polls. Tundu Lissu is detained on treason charges, which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina’s candidacy was rejected on technical grounds.
Lissu’s Chadema party told AFP there had been “more than 800” deaths by Saturday, while a Tanzanian diplomatic source told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had been killed.
The UN human rights office earlier said there were credible reports that at least 10 people had been killed in three cities.
The government did not disclose the number of casualties.
On Tuesday, a doctor at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam told the BBC that a vehicle marked “City Funeral Service” was collecting the bodies.
“(They) are entering the morgue at night to collect bodies believed to have died during the protests, and are leaving and taking them to unknown destinations,” said the doctor, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.
“Bodies are not being delivered to relatives and survivors are being taken by police from emergency rooms to unknown destinations, some even before they recover,” he added.
A Tanzanian woman, who previously asked to be named Mama Kassim, told the BBC she had not seen her two sons since polling day and was unable to contact either of them.
“I don’t know where he is, I don’t know if he was arrested, I don’t know if he’s injured, I don’t know if he’s hospitalized, I don’t know if he’s dead. Oh God, please protect my son. He’s only 21 years old,” she said.
A Kenyan family said they had asked the government to allow them to repatriate the body of their relative, 33-year-old teacher John Okoth Ogutu, who lived in Dar es Salaam.
The Sky School teacher was reportedly shot by police while on his way to buy food at the Gabba Center in the city.
His older sister, Celestine Ogutu, told the BBC he was a loving, hard-working man who disliked arguments and avoided any confrontation.
“He loved his family. The last time I spoke to him was on September 22, when he wished me a happy birthday and he was the only family member who remembered my birthday,” she said.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said authorities responded to widespread protests following the election with “deadly force and other abuses.”
The report called on the government to “respect rights and investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for the violence.”
Amnesty International said it was shocked by the excessive use of force to suppress the protests, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of protesters.
The government has tried to scale back the violence and has accused foreigners of inciting it.
At the inauguration ceremony, President Samia acknowledged the “loss of life and destruction of public property” but added that it was “not surprising” that some of those arrested were foreigners.
Samia took office for the first time in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.
Initially, it was evaluated that political repression had been eased under the previous administration, but political space has since narrowed.
