From right: Ben Saanane, a picture of Daniel John and Mdude Nyagali. FILE PHOTOS
Some turn up dead or injured. Others are never
heard of again: A wave of kidnappings in Tanzania that appears to
target critics of the government has set the nation on edge.
In
May, high-profile dissident Mdude Nyagali was snatched by four gunmen
after leaving work, and was dumped, seriously beaten, in a village two
days later, according to the main opposition Chadema party.
DEMOCRACY
The
incident came just hours after he had branded President John Magufuli a
"hypocrite" in a Twitter post. He later blamed security forces for his
kidnapping.
Nyagali was one of the lucky ones.
In
February 2018 Chadema member Daniel John was kidnapped in the middle of
a political campaign, only to turn up dead with machete wounds to the
head.
Two years earlier, Ben Saanane, an assistant to Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe, disappeared and his fate is still unknown.
"I
cannot recall a wave of kidnappings of this magnitude before 2016,"
said Aidan Eyakuze, a civil society activist who has written op-eds
criticising a clampdown on Tanzanian media and Magufuli's approach to
democracy.
The Tanzania Human Rights
Defenders Coalition (THRDC) counts 17 kidnappings since 2016 of "human
rights defenders, journalists, businessmen, politicians and artists".
"People
say they are afraid because no one seems to be safe. In public
transport and bars, people no longer talk politics. They are scared of
the people seated next to them," an Arusha bus driver said on condition
of anonymity.
Magufuli, whose nickname "tingatinga"
means "bulldozer" in Swahili, swept to power in 2015, presenting himself
as a no-nonsense, corruption-busting, man-of-the-people.
However rights watchdogs say a climate of fear has set in since his election.
"Kidnappings
have increased, mainly targeting people who openly criticise the
regime, in particular political opponents," said Fatma Karume, former
president of the Tanganyika Law Society.
"Even
amongst us, in the CCM (ruling party), people are afraid. No lawmaker
dares to say anything out of fear of being targeted or struck off the
list of candidates in the next election," an MP from the party said on
condition of anonymity.
Opposition
parties place the blame on the government, recalling that since
Magufuli's election, their meetings have been banned, top officials
arrested while newspapers have been shut and their journalists arrested
or threatened for criticising authorities.
Opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu has blamed authorities for an attack in 2017 which saw him shot multiple times at his home.
"The
regime is behind all this. These are the tactics of a regime which does
not accept any criticism," said lawmaker Halima Mdee, leader of
Chadema's women's branch.
A Tanzanian
journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said those who survive
their kidnappings often remain mum on the details out of "fear of
retaliation".
Opposition members and rights activists say that investigations into the kidnappings go nowhere.
As for the government, it says many of the disappearances are faked.
"On
social media there are people fabricating kidnappings and
disappearances. This can divide the nation and sow panic among the
population," Interior Minister Kangi Lugola said earlier this month at a
public gathering.
He ordered police to "find and arrest those spreading these lies in order to turn the population against the government".
In
March last year, student activist Abdul Nondo was kidnapped and found
injured. But when he reported the incident to police he was arrested for
making it up.
A court acquitted him in November 2018.
The THRDC this month called for a "national conference" to discuss the issue of kidnappings.
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