The United States has imposed sanctions on Tanzania’s police chief, preventing him from entering the country due to alleged human rights abuses by the police force.
The sanctions were announced on Thursday following an October general election where President Samia Suluhu Hassan secured a full term with 97% of the vote amidst a crackdown on opposition figures.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned in December that the US was reassessing its relationship with Tanzania due to concerns over repression and election-related violence.
Rubio stated that the sanction against police Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele was based on credible evidence of his involvement in rights violations.
“A year ago, Tanzanian police detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, who were in Dar es Salaam to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu,” Rubio said in the statement.
The Ugandan and Kenyan activists were arrested in Tanzania in May of the previous year. They claimed that Mafwele tortured them while in custody before they were left near the Kenya-Tanzania border.
A commission appointed by Hassan to investigate post-election violence found that 518 people were killed and thousands injured.
The opposition believes the death toll is much higher, marking the first major violent protests in the East African nation in decades.
The commission’s report, released in April, called for further investigation into police actions during the protests, where unarmed civilians were reportedly shot in their homes.
Internet access in the country was disrupted for several days after the election, and videos of the shootings surfaced on social media once access was restored, despite police warnings against sharing such content online.
