The brutal killing of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior member of Tanzania's main opposition party Chadema, has made headlines in the nation and across Africa, raising concerns about a growing crackdown on political dissent.
Kibao was a retired military intelligence officer who had worked with both opposition and ruling party factions before joining Chadema. He was found dead in Dar es Salaam on Saturday night, less than a week after being abducted and subjected to horrific violence.
The circumstances surrounding Kibao's death are deeply disturbing. He was forcibly removed from a bus at gunpoint by suspected security agents on Friday while travelling from Dar es Salaam to his hometown of Tanga. His body was discovered in the Ununio waterfront district of Dar es Salaam, bearing the gruesome marks of his ordeal.
"The postmortem has been conducted (witnessed by) Chadema lawyers and it is clear that Kibao was severely beaten and had acid poured on his face," Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe told reporters. "We cannot allow our people to continue disappearing or being killed like this. The lives of Chadema leaders are currently at risk."
The incident has sparked widespread condemnation, with many calling for a thorough investigation and accountability for those responsible. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, while condemning the "brutal acts" and ordering an investigation, has faced criticism for her government's perceived inaction in addressing the growing trend of political violence and intimidation.
"I have ordered the investigation agencies to bring me detailed information about this terrible incident and others like this as soon as possible," she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Our country is a democracy, and every citizen has the right to live."
The United States Embassy in Tanzania echoed calls for a "prompt, transparent, and independent" investigation into Kibao's death. "Murder and disappearances, as well as last month’s detentions, beatings, efforts to disenfranchise citizens ahead of elections, should have no place in a democracy," the embassy stated.
The killing of Kibao comes amid a growing sense of unease about the state of political freedom in Tanzania. In recent months, there have been numerous reports of opposition activists being arrested, detained, and subjected to violence. Last month, Mbowe and his deputy, Tundu Lissu, were arrested after attempting to hold a youth rally, which police banned citing concerns about potential violence.
The arrest of these prominent opposition figures, coupled with the recent sentencing of an artist to two years in prison for allegedly burning an image of President Samia, has fuelled fears that Tanzania is sliding back towards the repressive rule of the late President John Magufuli, despite his successor's pledges to restore democratic freedoms.
"We cannot allow our people to continue disappearing or being killed like this. The lives of Chadema leaders are currently at risk," Mbowe told AFP, urging President Samia to establish a judicial commission to investigate abductions and the killing of Kibao. He also pointed a finger at the police as potential suspects in the case.
The murder of Kibao has cast a dark shadow over Tanzania's political landscape, raising serious questions about the safety of opposition members and the future of democratic freedoms in the country.
It is particularly concerning that Tanzania, having just assumed the chairmanship of the SADC troika organ on politics and security, is facing such serious allegations of human rights abuses.
The international community is looking to Tanzania to uphold its commitments to democracy and human rights, and the events surrounding Kibao's death will be closely scrutinized as a measure of the country's progress on this front.
