US calls for investigation into murder of opposition in Tanzania

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The United States on Monday called for an investigation into the death of a Tanzanian opposition politician who was killed over the weekend after his party said he was beaten and doused with acid.

The killing of Ali Mohamed Kibao came a month after other leading members of his opposition party, Chadema, were briefly detained in a mass raid that raised fears of renewed political repression in Tanzania.

Kibao, a retired military intelligence officer, was dragged from a bus at gunpoint by suspected security forces on Friday as he travelled to the northern port city of Tanga, party officials said.

His body was found on Saturday in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

The US Embassy in Tanzania called on authorities to conduct an “independent, transparent and prompt investigation” into the death.

“Murder and disappearances, as well as the detentions, beatings and other attempts over the past month to disenfranchise citizens ahead of elections, should have no place in a democracy,” the US embassy said in a post on X.

Tanzania will hold local elections in November and general elections at the end of next year.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan appears to have reversed some of the authoritarian measures of her predecessor, John Magufuli, who died suddenly in March 2021, by easing restrictions on opposition rallies and media.

Human rights groups fear, however, that the recent moves suggest that she wants to roll back Magufuli-era repression in Tanzania.

Hassan called for a thorough investigation into Kibao's murder, describing it as an “extremely serious incident.” Police said they were investigating.

At Kibao's funeral in Tanga on Monday, Interior Minister Hamad Masauni expressed his condolences and said: “We cannot accept this with impunity.”

str-rbu/er/cw