By Linda Tsungirirai Masarira
I am a woman leader. I believe, with every fibre of my being, in the power of women to heal our nations, to lead with compassion, and to build a more inclusive and just Africa. It is precisely because of this belief that I can not remain silent as a sister leader, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, you have dragged Tanzania down a path of tyranny and fear.
What we have witnessed in Tanzania is not leadership; it is a betrayal. It is a betrayal of the women of Tanzania who looked to one of their own and hoped for a new dawn. It is a betrayal of the democratic principles that countless Pan-Africanists fought and died for. The recent sham election, where you were declared the victor with a Soviet-style 97% of the vote, is not a victory. It is a funeral for democracy in Tanzania, and you are the chief mourner.
True women’s empowerment is not about putting a woman in a presidential chair. It is about what she does with that power. Does she lift others up, or does she crush dissent? Does she foster a culture of competition and debate, or does she silence every opposing voice? By jailing your main opponent, Tundu Lissu, on trumped-up treason charges, by disqualifying other candidates on spurious grounds, and by barring the main opposition party, CHADEMA, from even participating, you have not shown strength. You have shown a profound weakness, a fear of competition that is the very antithesis of healthy leadership.
We, as African women, are taught to be nurturing, to be builders of communities and bridges of understanding. What, then, is nurturing about a heavy military presence at polling stations? What is compassionate about security forces gunning down peaceful protestors, leading to the unnecessary and tragic loss of hundreds of Tanzanian lives? The internet shutdowns, the abductions, the torture of activists, these are the tools of a dictatorship, not of a democratic leader who believes in her people.
President Samia, you had a golden opportunity. The world applauded you when you began reversing some of the harsh policies of your predecessor. We dared to hope that Tanzania was opening up but we see now that those were merely tactical retreats. Your administration has intensified a crackdown so severe that it has shattered the very possibility of a free and fair election. You have not just tilted the playing field; you have set it on fire and told the other team they are not allowed to play.
This is a pivotal moment for Pan-Africanism. A democratic Pan-African movement can not be silent when a leader, regardless of gender, subverts the will of the people. We can not celebrate women leaders simply for being women; we must hold them to the same, if not a higher, standard of democratic accountability. To do otherwise is to engage in a hollow and meaningless identity politics that does nothing to serve the African people.
I stand in solidarity with the brave people of Tanzania who are demanding electoral justice. Their fight is our fight. The struggle for democracy in Dar es Salaam is intrinsically linked to the struggle for freedom in Harare, in Kampala, and across our beloved continent.
To my sisters across Africa, I say this: Our fight for a seat at the table is meaningless if, once we get there, we use that seat to bar the door to others. Our empowerment is hollow if we do not empower our people. We must shun the tyranny of a single voice and champion the beautiful, chaotic, and necessary chorus of democracy.
I believe in women’s leadership but I believe in justice more. And until there is justice for the people of Tanzania, I will not be silent. The African Union and all democratic nations must not legitimize this electoral charade. The soul of Tanzanian democracy is on life support, and it is our collective duty to fight for its revival.
#StandWithTanzania
#NotInMyName
-Linda Tsungirirai Masarira is a Zimbabwean politician and human-rights activist. She posted this article on X two days after Tanzania conducted a shambolic general election on October 29th.