Tanzania’s Independence Day was Tuesday, barely a month since the shocking and brutal crackdown on thousands of protesters decrying the country’s sham election. Activists had planned for another round of demonstrations this week, but President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s regime outlawed them, ramping up military and police presence on the streets to scare people into staying home. The suppression largely succeeded. But that does not mean that Hassan and her government should rest easy.
Read Dan Paget’s latest on the regime’s postelection violence and the people-power movement it resurrected, plus the Journal of Democracy’s series of essays on the country and how it reached this point. Free for a limited time.
Tanzania Will Never Be the Same
As Tanzania’s October 2025 sham election got underway, protests broke out across the country, sparking a brutal regime crackdown. That brief reign of terror marks a turning point for both the ruling party and the Tanzanian people. There is no going back.
Dan PagetTanzania’s Autocratic Reform-Washing
President Samia Suluhu Hassan came into office promising democratic reforms. Four years later, it is clear she is more of a performer than a reformer. Far from delivering on her promises to unwind Tanzania’s authoritarian machinery, she is relying on the repressive tools we know so well.
Dan Paget and Aikande Clement KwayuTanzania: Shrinking Space and Opposition Protest
Since Tanzania’s 2015 elections, rising repression and opposition protest have displaced an older dynamic of comparatively restrained and unchallenged dominance by the ruling party.
Dan PagetTanzania: The Authoritarian Landslide
With brutal resolve, the ruling party sought not merely to win an election, but to annihilate the opposition. Now, with President John Magufuli gone, that strategic rationale will likely only grow stronger.
Dan PagetTanzania: The Roots of Repression
While many blamed President John Magufuli for throwing the country off its democratizing track, the truth is that the party that has ruled Tanzania for six decades has always been authoritarian.
Nic Cheeseman, Hilary Matfess, and Alitalali Amani
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