LONDON, England
Tanzanian security forces used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, to suppress election protests between 29 October and 3 November 2025, showing a shocking disregard for the right to life and for freedom of peaceful assembly as hundreds of people were reported killed or injured across the country, Amnesty International said today.
In a report released today, the new research details how security forces fired live ammunition and teargas directly at protesters and other individuals who posed no imminent threat of death or serious injury.
The organization found that security forces used firearms recklessly, injuring and killing bystanders, and abusively deployed tear gas in residential areas and into people’s homes.
Amid a nationwide internet shutdown, security officials subjected individuals to beatings and other forms of ill-treatment, denied the wounded access to healthcare, arrested some still in need of care, and collected bodies of victims of their brutality from mortuaries, taking them to unknown places.
“The violence that security forces inflicted on protesters and other people who were just going about their daily lives was shocking and unacceptable, and yet another sign of growing intolerance in Tanzania,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
On 14 November, Tanzania’s president announced a commission of inquiry into the killings of protesters. However, civil society members have expressed concerns about its independence.
“The formation of the commission is the first of many steps that must be followed to deliver accountability. The authorities must now ensure that all investigations are independent, thorough and impartial. No one should be shielded from justice: those who ordered, enabled and used unlawful force must be held accountable regardless of their position. Every grieving family deserves answers, justice and the chance to seek reparations. Anything less would be an exercise in whitewashing abuses,” said Agnès Callamard.
According to the report, between 3 and 28 November, Amnesty International interviewed 35 people, including survivors of gunshot and teargas canister injuries, eyewitnesses, lawyers assisting arrested protesters and healthcare professionals who treated injured victims, as well as relatives of those killed.
Amnesty International’s digital investigations team, the Evidence Lab, verified 26 videos and six photos posted on social media between 2 and 18 November or shared directly with Amnesty International staff by trusted sources.
Three healthcare professionals in public hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza told Amnesty International that hundreds of people with gunshot wounds were admitted for treatment between 29 and 31 October.
Most were young men, but the injured also included children and women. They had suffered injuries to the head, groin, legs, neck, stomach, buttocks, back and chest.
Healthcare workers from Arusha and Dar es Salam said hundreds of dead bodies were brought to their hospitals, with some left outside due to lack of space in the morgues.
The Evidence Lab verified one video showing at least 70 bodies piled up on the floors and on stretchers in the morgue at Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
It also verified two videos and one photo showing at least 10 bodies piled over three stretchers outside Sekou Toure Region Referral Hospital in Mwanza.
Frames of a video verified by Amnesty International showed at least 70 bodies piled up at Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital, in Dar es Salaam. Amnesty International
“Since I started working over 15 years ago, I had never seen something like this. I had never seen so many people shot like this, and so many dead bodies piled up and crows eating their flesh,” a Dar es Salaam-based healthcare professional told Amnesty.
Amnesty’s Evidence Lab also verified footage indicating the apparent misuse of lethal force. In one video, a woman is among a group of people seen running down a street in Arusha as sounds consistent with gunshots are heard. At one point, the woman who is holding a wooden stick falls, briefly gets up with the help of another person before collapsing again. A small red mark appears on her back, while a larger red stain appears on her chest.
“Using live ammunition against unarmed protesters and bystanders posing no imminent threat to the lives of others is a blatant violation of the right to life. The evidence is clear: state security officials showed total disregard for people’s lives,” said Agnès Callamard.
Amnesty International alleges that the security officers also repeatedly deployed tear gas in an unlawful manner to quash peaceful demonstrations. In other instances, they launched teargas cannisters directly at bystanders or residents in areas affected by protests and the ensuing crackdown.
“Even in death, these victims of police brutality cannot rest in peace. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to hand over the remains of all those killed in the protests and their aftermath to their relatives for a decent burial and the necessary rites,” said Agnès Callamard.
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