Activists demand President Samia Suluhu Hassan's resignation over rights abuses
The activists said President Samia Suluhu Hassan had lost legitimacy, forfeited the moral mandate to govern, and now presides over what they termed mass atrocities.
Human rights activists on Friday called for the immediate resignation of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, citing what they described as unacceptable violations of human rights.
Speaking in Nairobi during a joint press briefing by a consortium of human rights organisations and activists, the group, led by Kenya Human Rights Commission Political Justice Programme Manager Annette Nerima and Professor Kivutha Kibwana, said President Samia had lost legitimacy, forfeited the moral mandate to govern, and now presides over what they termed mass atrocities.
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“She must resign and be immediately prosecuted to the full extent of the law for her crimes against humanity,” said Nerima.
The activists are also demanding that the Samia administration facilitate an immediate transition to an interim government to oversee what they described as long-delayed political reforms and to prepare for credible elections under independent oversight.
“The Tanzanian authorities should accept an independent international fact-finding mission to ascertain the extent of the reported grave human and civil rights violations, thereby avoiding unnecessary confusion over what has transpired,” Nerima added.
Human rights activists address the human rights situation in Tanzania during the Friday briefing. (Photo: Barack Oduor)
Citing Tanzania’s recent elections, which they said lacked credibility according to regional and international observers, the lobby called on the African Union (AU) to urgently convene an emergency peace and security council meeting.
They urged the AU to invite representatives from civil society, the media, and other stakeholders, and to invoke its mandate accordingly.
Professor Kibwana called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and specifically President Peter Mutharika of Malawi, to intervene immediately.
He urged Mutharika, in his capacity as Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, to press the Tanzanian government to halt further human rights violations.
“Regional governments, particularly the Republic of South Africa, in the absence of Madagascar and as the incoming Chairperson of SADC, should immediately collaborate with the Organ Chairperson to convene an emergency meeting of the Troika to address the crisis in Tanzania,” said Kibwana.
The activists also expressed deep concern over reports alleging that police are coordinating the digging of mass graves across Tanzania, particularly in Mabwepande, in what they believe is an attempt to hurriedly conceal the bodies of victims.
“We have also received information that mass graves are being dug in all major towns across Tanzania, including Arusha, Mwanza, Dar es Salaam, Geita, Mbeya, Songwe, and others,” they said.
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