Murder, kidnap, censorship: the ‘new normal’ of Tanzania politics

A PRIEST attacked after a meeting about democracy with faith leaders, an opposition official’s corpse found doused in acid, an ex-ambassador missing from his bloodstained home - this is the “new normal” in Tanzania, say critics.

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TANZANIA'S President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

(AFP)

The grim assessment comes as the country readies to hold presidential and parliamentary elections tomorrow, amid what Amnesty International has called a “wave of terror”.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, 65, is said to want nothing less than total victory, similar to the 99% her party Chama Cha Mapinduzi won in local polls last year.

Her main opponent, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty. His party, Chadema, is barred from running.

The only other serious candidate, Luhaga Mpina of ACT Wazalendo, was disqualified on technicalities.

“We see abductions, disappearances, killing of politicians but there is no condemnation from the government,” said Father Charles Kitima, the priest attacked in April, who suffered severe head injuries.