Tanzania Boils After Disputed Election: Curfew, Chaos, and Cross-Border Clashes

By: Lawrence Mubiru 
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – October 31, 2025
Tanzania is on edge following the October 29 general election that has thrown the country into turmoil. What was meant to be a moment of democracy has turned into a week of chaos, anger, and deadly protests across major cities.
Authorities have responded with a night-time curfew in Dar es Salaam, internet blackouts, and heavy deployment of security forces. Protesters, however, remain defiant, accusing the government of “stealing” the election and silencing opposition voices.
A Contested Vote and a Country on Fire

The trouble began soon after results trickled in from the Tanzanian Electoral Commission, showing President Samia Suluhu Hassan with nearly 95% of the vote in Mbeya Province and strong leads elsewhere. For the opposition, already weakened by arrests and disqualifications of key candidates, this was the final straw.
Crowds poured into the streets of Mwanza, Dodoma, Zanzibar, and Dar es Salaam, chanting pro-democracy slogans and burning ruling party banners. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds in some areas.

An eyewitness in Mwanza told Voice of Bugerere that hundreds of protesters flooded the streets before chaos erupted.
 “After barely 10 minutes, we started hearing gunfire and tear gas explosions. We saw injured people being evacuated,” he said.

Protests Spill Into Kenya
In an unprecedented twist, hundreds of Tanzanian demonstrators crossed into Kenyan territory through the Namanga border, where they barricaded roads, lit bonfires, and tore down posters of President Samia.

Kenyan police reported two deaths as people fled violent confrontations with Tanzanian forces. Kenya’s government has since urged its citizens to stay away from the border as tension spills over.
A Nation Under Lockdown
The U.S. Embassy in Tanzania has warned travelers after several key routes, including the road to Julius Nyerere International Airport, were blocked by security forces. Businesses in Dar es Salaam remain closed, and government officials have been told to work from home until Friday.
In a televised address, Tanzanian military chief Gen. Jacob Mkunda blamed “bad characters who wish ill for this country” for the violence, saying the army would restore order “at all costs.”
Global Outrage and Local Defiance
The European Union has dismissed the vote as a “fraud that has been unfolding for months,” while Amnesty International condemned reports of killings, calling them “deeply disturbing and unacceptable.”
But on the streets of Tanzania, the message is clear — the people are tired. “We voted for change, not fear,” one young protester shouted before police dispersed the crowd in Dar es Salaam.
As night falls, the curfew begins, and the internet stays dark, many Tanzanians are left wondering if the country’s democracy has reached a breaking point.