Newscenter Media News 
United Nations human rights experts, on Thursday, in Geneva denounced the widespread and systematic infringement of rights in Tanzania after the controversial October 29 general elections.
The Special Rapporteurs and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances decried the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and mass detentions targeting protesters, opposition figures, and civil society.
They asked the government to lift media restrictions, provide information on the fate and whereabouts of all disappeared persons, and ensure the identification and dignified return of the remains to their families.
The experts stated that opposition figures’ suppression and legislative changes undermined the fairness of the electoral framework. Top members of the two main opposition parties were barred from contesting, and in some cases detained.
Tundu Lissu, CHADEMA party leader, is in Ukonga Prison in Dar es Salaam, where he is being held on a treason charge, which carries the death penalty. “Samia Suluhu Hassan is not a legitimate President,” he declared recently.
The UN experts noted that at least 700 Tanzanians are deceased, with other estimates pointing to thousands of victims, amid reports of bodies missing from morgues, and remains being incinerated or buried in unidentified mass graves.
“Family members who identified remains were reportedly forced to sign false statements about the cause of death to receive the bodies”, they said. “Detained opposition leaders and protesters, over 1,700 individuals, face serious offenses like treason, conspiracy, and armed robbery.”
The UN specialists urged the government to launch a prompt, impartial, independent, thorough, and effective investigation into all reported killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations.
Ahead of planned demonstrations on December 9, the Special Rapporteurs advised the Tanzanian authorities and security forces to prevent further infractions and protect people’s right to peaceful assembly.
In an address this week, President Hassan justified the security forces’ use of lethal force against civilians, claiming their goal was to overthrow her and that the demonstrators were paid to participate in “violence with malicious intentions”.
“What happened was a manufactured event, and those who planned it intended to bring down our government.
“The government has a responsibility to protect citizens and their property. In that case, the force used is proportional to the event,” she said.
65-year-old-Hassan is facing mounting global pressure, including from her home continent. Days after the election, reports by the African Union and the Southern African Development Community observers deplored the entire process.
In a resolution unanimously adopted last week, the European Parliament called for an African-led inquiry on Tanzania and urged the EU to stop all support for the East African nation and impose sanctions against the instigators of violations.
On Thursday, the United States announced a review of its partnership with Tanzania, citing the onslaught against civilians over the election, “ongoing repression of religious freedom and free speech, and the presence of persistent obstacles to U.S. investment”.
Hassan may be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office at the International Criminal Court, given a petition by the Human Rights Institute, Madrid Bar Association, and World Jurist Association, which accused the President of crimes against humanity.
UN experts demand Tanzania killings probe as EU, US press Hassan