By KPC C Reporter
President Suluhu Hassan and Tanzanian security chiefs could be hauled before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the coming months over alleged atrocities during the country’s general elections recently.
News outlets reported that the country’s security agencies were thrown into panic on Tuesday when a coalition of international legal and human rights groups petitioned ICC to investigate Suluhu’s government for alleged crimes against humanity.
The crimes include mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and a coordinated cover-up following the disputed October election.
Sources say President Suluhu convened an emergency meeting Tuesday evening with top officials, including the army commander and intelligence chiefs.
Insiders described the gathering as tense, focused on damage control and reviewing security protocols nationwide.
The petition, submitted on November 13 by Madrid-based lawyer Juan Carlos Gutiérrez on behalf of victims of the post-election protests, accuses the president and senior security leaders of overseeing crimes against humanity.
It urges the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor to swiftly open a preliminary investigation, arguing that the Tanzanian government is both “unwilling and unable” to hold its own security forces accountable.
The 82-page filing cites Articles 15 and 28 of the Rome Statute, placing responsibility on the president, the intelligence director, Dar es Salaam’s police commander, and a senior army general for what it describes as systematic killings of civilians.
It alleges coordinated executions, torture, and mass arrests, carried out under the cover of a nationwide internet shutdown and a midnight curfew.
The ICT Minister is also named, accused of enforcing a five-day blackout the petition calls “inhumane” and essential to enabling the alleged atrocities by limiting scrutiny and real-time documentation.
According to the petition, the violence erupted on October 29—election day—when tens of thousands of young Tanzanians protested alleged electoral fraud in cities such as Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Arusha, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Mbeya, Tunduma, and Tanga.
Security forces allegedly fired live ammunition into crowds, made mass arrests, and carried out torture and executions.
The curfew reportedly allowed night operations without witnesses and facilitated the secret disposal of bodies, deepening public fear.
Opposition leaders and human rights groups claim they have documented more than 2,000 deaths and hundreds of injuries during the post-election crackdown—figures far higher than those acknowledged by the government.
On November 1, President Samia publicly defended the security response, calling the protesters “criminals attempting to overthrow the government.”
Suluhu won the presidency in a race that excluded her main competitors.