Tanzania President Hassan was sworn in after a disputed vote marred by deadly protests. Photo / Ericky Boniphace, AFP
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan played down days of bloody protest as she was inaugurated on Monday, despite the opposition warning that hundreds were killed.
The electoral commission said Hassan won 98% of the vote.
The main opposition party, Chadema, which was barred from running, has rejected the results. It has called for fresh elections, saying last Wednesday’s vote was a “sham”.
In her speech, Hassan called for “unity and solidarity” but also alleged that some of the young protesters came from “outside Tanzania”.
“Our defence and security agencies continue to investigate and examine in detail what happened,” she said, promising a return to normality as she addressed officials and foreign dignitaries in the capital Dodoma.
The ceremony was held in State House without the public, rather than a stadium as usual.
A total internet blackout was in place since protests broke out on election day until late on Monday, meaning only a trickle of verifiable information had been getting out of the east African country.
A diplomatic source said there were credible reports of hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of deaths registered at hospitals and health clinics around Tanzania.
Chadema told AFP it had recorded “no less than 800” deaths by Saturday (local time), but none of the figures could be independently verified.
The Government has not commented on any deaths, except to reject accusations that “excessive force” was used.
Schools and colleges remained closed on Monday (local time), with public transport halted and reports of some church services not taking place on Sunday.
The diplomatic source said there were “concerning reports” that the police were using the internet blackout to buy time as they “hunt down opposition members and protesters who might have videos” of atrocities committed last week.
Cyber security watchdog Netblocks on X, formerly Twitter, said that internet had returned to the country in part on Monday, though significant restrictions on social media remained in place.
An AFP journalist confirmed the return of an intermittent internet connection.
Dar es Salaam and other cities were much calmer over the weekend as a near-total lockdown was in place, but prices were soaring for basic goods.
An AFP reporter said police were stopping almost everyone who moved around the city, checking IDs and bags, and allowing shops to open only in the afternoon.
AFP journalists on the island of Zanzibar, which has greater political freedom and had few protests, saw masked armed men patrolling without visible insignia or identification in the days after the election.
A rights group in neighbouring Kenya presented footage on Sunday (local time) that it said was gathered from inside Tanzania, including images of dead bodies piled up in the street.
The images could not be independently verified. The police have circulated a text message threatening to punish anyone spreading footage that could create panic or humiliate people online.
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday (local time) called for prayers for Tanzania where he said post-election violence had erupted “with numerous victims”.
“I urge everyone to avoid all forms of violence and to pursue the path of dialogue,” the pope said.
Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021 and wanted an emphatic victory to cement her place and silence critics within the ruling party, analysts say.
Rights group Amnesty International described a “wave of terror” before the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions.
Despite a heavy security presence, election day descended into chaos as large crowds tore down Hassan’s posters and attacked police and polling stations.
Polling stations had been largely empty before the violence broke out, AFP journalists and observers saw, though the electoral commission later claimed turnout was 87%.
“In some polling stations, they [police] were more than the number of voters,” an initial report by Southern African Development Community observers said on Monday.
They reported censorship and exclusion of the opposition before the vote and said their “tentative conclusion” was that Tanzanians “could not express their democratic will”.
– Agence France-Presse