DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Tanzania is bracing for major nationwide demonstrations scheduled for December 9, 2025, as public anger continues to escalate over the disputed presidential poll and reported post-election violence.
The latest wave of calls for street action is being spearheaded by Tanzanian youth, or Gen Z, who are mobilizing to demand justice and accountability following an election that handed President Samia Suluhu Hassan an overwhelming victory.
In a poster widely shared on Monday, November 24, 2025, the group vowed to take to the streets, calling for justice, accountability, and an end to what they labeled state brutality.
The poster explicitly outlined the goals and conduct of the planned march:
“PROTESTS TO DEMAND JUSTICE. We will carry placards with our demands and requests,” the poster said.
Commitment to peaceful dissent
The organizing groups emphasized that the December 9 protests would be meticulously orderly, designed to focus solely on highlighting democratic concerns and human rights violations.
Participants are urged to march peacefully while carrying signs and photos of individuals killed during the post-election unrest.
The poster strongly stressed adherence to non-violence:
“We will carry photos of our relatives who were killed. The protests will be peaceful and calm. We will not burn anything, and there will be no destruction. We will be calm, but we will not be WEAK. READ NUMBER 5 AGAIN,” the poster added.
Crisis deepens after election results
The renewed call for nationwide demonstrations comes in the wake of escalating tension that followed the October 29 polls.
On November 1, 2025, Tanzania’s electoral commission declared President Hassan the victor with nearly 98% of the vote.
The result immediately triggered political crisis, with opposition leaders rejecting the figures. They accused authorities of rigging the vote, excluding the president’s two main challengers, and presiding over a heavily repressed electoral environment.
Protests quickly erupted across major cities, including Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, and Shinyanga.
Witnesses reported chaotic scenes characterized by the burning of political banners, bonfires lit outside public offices, and intense clashes with security forces. Security personnel reportedly responded with teargas, rubber bullets, and occasional live fire.
International scrutiny over fatalities
Opposition groups have claimed that hundreds of civilians were killed during the confrontations, an allegation the government has firmly dismissed as exaggerated.
However, the situation drew sharp international condemnation on October 31, 2025, when the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement expressing alarm.
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The UN body confirmed it had received credible reports detailing fatalities in multiple locations.
“We are alarmed by the deaths and injuries that have occurred in the ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania. Credible reports we have received indicate that at least 10 people were killed in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga and Morogoro as the security forces used firearms and teargas to disperse protesters,” OHCHR noted.
As the country awaits the planned December 9 action, the government faces increasing pressure to address concerns over democratic integrity and the heavy-handed response to dissent.
