Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (AFP) — The political landscape in Tanzania has been rocked by a grievous incident involving the abduction and subsequent death of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a prominent member of the opposition party Chadema. Party leader Freeman Mbowe detailed the harrowing event on Sunday, which has further ignited concerns regarding the state of democracy in the country.
Kibao, a 69-year-old retired military intelligence officer who had been with Chadema since 2008, was forcibly taken off a bus at gunpoint last Friday. The abduction took place as Kibao traveled from Dar es Salaam to Tanga, a northern port city. Eyewitnesses and party officials indicated that those responsible for the kidnapping were suspected security agents.
His body was tragically discovered late Saturday night in the Ununio waterfront district of Dar es Salaam. Mbowe confirmed that a postmortem examination, overseen by Chadema lawyers, revealed that Kibao had been severely beaten and had acid poured on his face.
Speaking to reporters, a visibly shaken Mbowe condemned the heinous act, stating, “We cannot allow our people to continue disappearing or being killed like this. The lives of Chadema leaders are currently at risk.” He further disclosed that several other party officials had gone missing, although he withheld specific details.
The brutal killing of Kibao follows a mass roundup last month, where Mbowe, his deputy Tundu Lissu, and other Chadema leaders were briefly detained. These actions have heightened alarms about the increasingly constrained democratic space in Tanzania.
Responding to the tragic news, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her deep sorrow. “I have directed the investigative authorities to provide me with a detailed report on this extremely grave incident and similar cases urgently,” she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Our country is democratic, and every citizen has the right to live. The government I lead will not tolerate such acts of cruelty.”
Police confirmed that investigations are ongoing and promised that those responsible for Kibao’s death would face justice. However, human rights groups and political opponents have voiced growing concerns that the country may be reverting to the oppressive tactics seen under Hassan’s predecessor, the late President John Magufuli.
While Hassan had pledged to revive “competitive politics”, ease restrictions on the opposition, and lift a six-year ban on opposition gatherings, recent events suggest a contradictory trajectory. Amnesty International described the mass arrests in August as a “deeply worrying sign” ahead of the local government elections slated for December 2024 and the general elections expected late next year.
The political tension is palpable, with Chadema leaders having faced significant peril in recent years. Mbowe himself was detained in 2021 before a scheduled party meeting advocating for constitutional reforms. He was eventually released in March 2022 after the charges were dropped. Similarly, Tundu Lissu, previously an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2020, has endured multiple arrests and survived an assassination attempt in 2017. Lissu returned to Tanzania in 2023 after President Hassan lifted the ban on opposition activities, having spent over five years in exile.
As the nation approaches critical elections, the international community will likely keep a close eye on developments in Tanzania, hoping for a peaceful and democratic resolution to the ongoing political crisis. The grisly murder of Ali Mohamed Kibao stands as a stark reminder of the volatility and risks faced by those challenging the political status quo in Tanzania.
