PoliticselectionsPresidential Elections
Curfew lifted in Tanzania's capital after election unrest.
The palpable tension that had gripped Dar es Salaam for days began to dissipate with the official lifting of the curfew, a move announced by the new administration of President Samia Suluhu Hassan just hours after her swearing-in ceremony. Yet, for countless families across Tanzania's sprawling capital, the dawn brought no relief, only the grim and heartbreaking tasks that follow political violence: the desperate search for missing loved ones through overcrowded hospitals and makeshift morgues, or the solemn preparation for a burial that came far too soon.The scenes unfolding on the streets are a stark counterpoint to the political pageantry; while state television broadcast images of a peaceful transition of power, the air in neighborhoods like Kariakoo and Mbagala hung heavy with the scent of tear gas and the echoes of recent gunfire. This unrest, sparked by disputed parliamentary election results that opposition parties decry as fraudulent, represents the most significant challenge to President Hassan's nascent presidency.She inherits a nation deeply fractured, not just by this immediate electoral crisis but by the long shadow of her predecessor, the late John Magufuli, whose administration was often criticized for its authoritarian streak and suppression of political dissent. The decision to deploy the military and impose a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew was a textbook response to quell the riots, but it came at a human cost that is only now being fully tallied.Human rights organizations are already calling for independent investigations into alleged excessive force, citing eyewitness accounts of security personnel firing live ammunition into crowds of protestors. The international community, particularly regional bodies like the African Union and the Southern African Development Community, watches with bated breath, aware that Tanzania's stability is a linchpin for East Africa.The path forward for President Hassan is fraught with complexity; she must navigate the demands of a military apparatus that expects firm control, a political opposition demanding accountability and electoral justice, and a citizenry whose patience has been worn thin by economic hardship and political repression. Her every action in these coming days—whether she chooses a path of reconciliation and transparent inquiry or one of continued crackdown and political consolidation—will set the tone for her entire term.The lifted curfew is a first step, a gesture toward normalcy, but it is a fragile one. The real work begins now, in the quiet grief of a family burying a son, in the anxious wait of a mother for news of her daughter, and in the ability of a new leader to heal a wounded nation.
#Tanzania
#Dar es Salaam
#curfew
#election unrest
#Samia Suluhu Hassan
#inauguration
#protests
#featured
