COUNTRY REPORT Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.

TANZANIA Bomb Attack on Opposition Party Casts DANJA BERGMANN STEFAN REITH Shadow over Local Elections in

June 25 th , 2013

A bomb attack has once again shaken CHADEMA party leader Freeman Mbowe had www.kas.de Arusha, the tourism hub in Northern concluded his address. Tanzania, on June 15 th . It occurred dur- Local and national political leaders were ing a campaign event on the eve of seated close to the podium, which was ac- countrywide by-elections, during which tually the roof of a delivery van. However, 26 local mandates of local and commu- the explosive failed to reach its alleged tar- nity representatives were due to be gets: both Freeman Mbowe and Godbless filled, and it was directed against Lema, a national MP who is highly popular CHADEMA, the largest Tanzanian oppo- with the Arusha population, remained un- sition party. In the attack, four people harmed. The full force of the explosion did were killed, three of whom were chil- hit the people seated in the front rows dren. This tragic event is the culmina- though, many of whom were children. Three tion point in what eye-witnesses de- children, and Judith Moshi, the head of the scribe as a campaign characterised by CHADEMA'S women's association in Arusha, massive attempts to intimidate voters, were killed, and more than 60 people, in- and it marks just one in a series of in- cluding many party activists, were injured, cidents caused by both politically and some of them severely. religiously motivated violence. Haphazard Police Operation After the attack, the Arusha elections were Eyewitnesses describe the response of the postponed to June 30 th , 2013. In Arusha, police present at the scene to protect the which is perceived to be a CHADEMA (Swa- rally as uncoordinated and haphazard. Offi- hili for Party for Democracy and Progress ) cers shot into the air and, while participants stronghold, four mandates need to be filled. ran away in a panic, threw tear gas canis- These are fiercely contested by both the ters at the crowd, obviously in gross mis- opposition and by the governing party CCM judgement of the situation. The rally atten- (Party of the Revolution in Swahili) because dees started their own methods of rescue. the outcome of the elections in Tanzania's As there weren’t any ambulances there, second largest city is of great symbolic im- CHADEMA members put their own cars at portance for the balance of political power the disposal of those who needed to trans- at a national level. The most recent attack port the severely injured to nearby hospi- occurred only six weeks after a catholic ser- tals. That same night, a visibly stunned vice was bombed in Arusha on May 5 th . Freeman Mbowe visited the injured at the local hospital where he called for solidarity Just after 6 p.m. on Saturday June 15 th , with the victims and stated that the highest during CHADEMA’S closing rally, an explo- priority should be given to caring for the sive device was thrown into the crowd. It injured. Subsequently, the party board exploded in the immediate vicinity of the withdrew for further considerations. podium, from which, just moments before,

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. Official Reactions In a government announcement concerning Inspector General of Police (IGP), Said the Arusha bombing, , who is TANZANIA Mwema, announced nationwide criminal in- the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's DANJA BERGMANN vestigations to identify and detain the per- Office and the man responsible for policy, STEFAN REITH petrators. There were numerous tips from coordination and parliamentary affairs, said

the population, he claimed, which the police that the trend of some political parties to June 25 th , 2013 would follow. IGP Mwema described the at- turn people against the police had finally

tack as a 'terrorist act' carried out by a culminated in the recent tragic events. Even www.kas.de handful of people or a group whose aim it though names were not given, Lukuvi's al- was to undermine peace in the country. The legations were clearly levelled against police, he asserted, would do anything to CHADEMA. Furthermore, he stated that bring the perpetrators to justice. CHADEMA followers had prevented security President Kikwete condemned the attack in forces from entering the scene after the ex- an address published by the Directorate of plosion and thus from subjecting the perpe- Information at State House and offered his trators to criminal prosecution. One won- condolences to the families of those killed or ders — he added in an address to parlia- injured in the incident. He immediately or- ment — whether the obstruction of police dered extensive criminal investigations and work had happened accidentally, or had called upon the people to cooperate with been planned. Moreover, he added that the the law enforcement agencies. Also, the top police had been attacked by CHADEMA fol- government representative in the Arusha lowers and were forced to resort to self- region, Regional Commissioner Magesa Mu- defence by using firearms. This statement longo, declared that he was 'shocked and led to harsh criticism from a number of deeply saddened' when he received the Members of Parliament who accused the news of the bomb attack. His sympathy was government of not responding to the in- with CHADEMA and the victims, declared creasing excess violence in the country. Mulongo, who, in his capacity as the highest political representative of the President in Harsh Accusations and Counter- the Arusha region, is also responsible for accusations overseeing police and security forces. Nape Nnauye, secretary for ideology and publicity of CCM, went one step further by In light of the developments just two days claiming CHADEMA itself had committed the after the attack, these declarations from the attack in order to sabotage local elections in government, however, appear not to have Arusha, as they had realised that the party been fulfilled. Representatives of both gov- was about to lose in the polls. The bombing, ernment and opposition kept reproaching Nnauye continued, was part of CHADEMA's and accusing each other of being responsi- strategy to make cheap political capital out ble for the attack. On Sunday, the CHADE- of the tragedy. These utterances provoked MA members of Parliament declared that outrage and indignation both in the opposi- they would stay away from the sessions of tion and amongst many civilians critical of the national parliament for one week in or- the government. Related comments and der to mourn with the victims and their statements rapidly spread via social net- families. When the regular budget session working sites and online forums. was opened as planned, however, Speaker Makinda of the National Assembly said that Later that day, CHADEMA chairman Free- she had no idea why the CHADEMA mem- man Mbowe met the press in Arusha with bers were not present in parliament, and an official statement rejecting the claims of then moved on with the agenda. the government. He also made serious alle-

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. gations against the police and security and had even cut short an official state visit th forces. Mbowe declared that the bombing after the church bombing on May 5 . When TANZANIA had been planned and carried out by state terrorists attacked the opposition move- DANJA BERGMANN security agencies. He further claimed that ment, however, he showed a very low pro- STEFAN REITH high-resolution video footage and photo- file. Many posters highlighted their concern

graphs were available, which clearly showed about Tanzania's potential descent into vio- June 25 th , 2013 the perpetrator, who was wearing the uni- lence and chaos should the government fail

form of the government security forces. to act consistently and call those behind the www.kas.de This person, Mbowe continued, had already attack to account. been identified, and his name would be published soon. After throwing the grenade, Clashes at Funeral the person in question had fired several On June 18th, three days after the attack, shots from a firearm, boarded a police van the situation in Arusha once again esca- and was subsequently taken away, he said. lated. An opposition meeting, held as a fu- Videos and photographs had been deposited neral service at the site of the attack was at a secure location and would be made violently broken up as use of the site had public shortly. Mbowe proceeded to say been prohibited by it’s owner, the Arusha that, following the detonation of the explo- International Conference Center (AICC), sives, the crowd was shot at with pistols which is an institution subordinate to the and submachine guns. Bullet holes were Tanzanian government. When members of also detected in the tank of the van that the opposition movement subsequently was used as a stage for the speakers. Sev- called upon the crowd to leave the site and eral people were admitted to hospital with instead move to a nearby hospital to pay bullet wounds. Mbowe called on president their last respects to the dead, police and Kikwete to establish an independent com- security forces began to disperse the crowd mittee of enquiry composed of judges. This by using truncheons and tear gas. For committee would be provided with all of the hours, chaos reigned in Arusha's city centre evidence. The police, he continued, could and the streets were covered in clouds of not be trusted in this matter, as they were tear gas. Even the road connecting Arusha involved in planning and carrying out the with Nairobi, the main arterial road of bomb attack in the first place. Northern Tanzania, was temporarily closed due to the turmoil. Four members of par- The Prerogative of Interpretation liament for the opposition party were de- In a number of Internet forums, among tained on the pretext of having addressed them the popular Jamii Forum — a Kiswahili an illegal gathering. They were only re- service in Tanzania similar to Facebook — leased the next day. There were rumours and in online discussion forums, a fierce claiming that one parliamentarian, Tundu battle for the prerogative to interpret the Lissu, CHADEMA's chief whip, was killed in incident has been raging ever since. The the police operation, but these turned out to overwhelming majority of participants in the be false. After being released from police debate are critical of the government. Many custody, Mr. Lissu, however, reported ill posts blame the government for remaining treatment by the police. Journalists and passive and calling CHADEMA activists ter- other media workers also reported persecu- rorists, while condoning or even actively tion and reprisals by the police, who they contributing to violence against members of said had confiscated digital cameras, laptop the opposition. One of the posters, for in- computers and mobile phones. stance, argues that the President was pre- sent 'at any given funeral in the country'

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. The mutual finger pointing continued as a Incidents During Local Elections consequence of the renewed clashes. CCM Even though local elections in the four elec- TANZANIA representatives accused the opposition of toral constituencies of Arusha were deferred DANJA BERGMANN instigating hatred against the police and of to June 30 th , 2013 for security reasons, STEFAN REITH trying to use the attack to score political polls opened for local elections in all other

points. Representatives of the opposition in locations on June 15 th , as planned. Accord- June 25 th , 2013 turn denounced the excessive violence used ing to the reports of eyewitnesses, as well

by the police against the participants of a as for the people who were personally af- www.kas.de peaceful gathering, and, furthermore, ac- fected, the Arusha bomb attack overshad- cused the security forces of covering up the owed many other incidents. truth that lies behind the bomb attack. In a public statement, national MP and head “With An Iron Hand” of CHADEMA's public relations, John Mnyika, These recent developments in Arusha have declared that the governing CCM party had caused a commotion in Tanzania’s National encouraged its followers to use violence Assembly. A public statement made by against CHADEMA in the election venues, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda was met with and that the population was intimidated by a wave of outrage by the media. Answering the police. He further stated that CHADEMA the question of a member of parliament representatives had been severely beaten who wanted to know what the government and abducted prior to the elections. Many of intended to do about the increasing violence the victims were severely wounded. Fur- in Tanzania, Pinda emphasised that those thermore, even though it was common who allegedly caused the chaos ought to be knowledge who the perpetrators were, the beaten up. He stated that the government police did not make any attempt to hold was ready to take all necessary measures to them accountable. CHADEMA has published preserve peace and security in the country. a list in which these incidents are described If the government was forced to use vio- in detail - including even the licence plate lence then people would suffer, so was his numbers of the police vehicles involved. In clear-cut warning. In the words of Mr. Pin- Monduli a national CHADEMA parliamentar- da, the reason for the most recent of inci- ian was seriously injured when he was at- dents could be CHADEMA's threat to make tacked and beaten up by a group of 30 al- Tanzania ungovernable. One deputy from leged CCM followers as he left the polling the oppositional party CUF (Civic United station. Later at the hospital, Joshua Nas- Front) deliberated that these remarks were sari explained that he had managed to es- infringing upon both the country’s Constitu- cape to his car where he had left his pistol. tion and with the principle ‘innocent until He used it to keep his attackers at bay. proven guilty’. Pinda responded to this by Otherwise, Nassari said, he would most claiming that the Constitution was only ap- likely have been beaten to death. plicable to those who obeyed the law, not to people who opposed the lawful orders given Obviously in many places the elections were by the state. Independent observers inter- rife with attempted or actual vote rigging. preted this statement made publicly in par- In Arusha, a high-ranking CCM politician liament as a blatant threat to CHADEMA and was charged with an attempt to bribe the an appeal to police and security forces to electoral authorities. In Mbagala, a suburb respond with complete severity and rigour of Dar es Salaam, the number of voters en- to any protests staged by oppositional tered in the electoral roll was greater than groups or government critics. the number of voters entered in the national electoral register.

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1 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. In other places, registered voters were not the 2010 parliamentary and presidential able to find their names on the lists. Op- elections can be observed, the levels of TANZANIA positional groups and local media reported state repression against the opposition and DANJA BERGMANN numerous irregularities. Against the back- critics of the government have increased STEFAN REITH drop of all this, numerous independent ob- substantially, as is clearly demonstrated in

servers, as well as many segments of the several independent reports. 2 June 25 th , 2013 population had the strong impression that

the governing party had attempted to rig Religious Spiral of Violence www.kas.de the elections across the country. Growing political tension has been accom- panied by an increase in religiously moti- The Future of the Opposition vated strife and violence. This development According to official statements from the culminated in the bomb attack that occurred government and the opposition, both con- during the consecration of a Roman Catholic gratulate themselves on the outcome of the Church in Arusha on May 5 th , 2013. Shortly election. Out of a total of 22 mandates the before the beginning of the ceremonial governing party claimed 15 seats, whereas mass led jointly by Josaphat Lebulu, the CHADEMA won 7. While CCM interprets the Archbishop of Arusha, and Francisco Padillo, results as proof of the continued confidence the Vatican's ambassador to Tanzania, an of the majority of the population in the cur- explosive device was thrown towards the rent government, CHADEMA representatives assembled crowd of worshippers. The blast emphasise the significant gains. In the pre- killed three people and left more than 60 vious elections, CHADEMA held only one injured, some of them severely. Among the seat, which was defended successfully. In dead and wounded on that day were nu- the current elections six more seats were merous children. won. In the face of the current campaign of intimidation and vote rigging this outcome President cut short his state could be assessed as very positive. More- visit to Kuwait immediately after the inci- over, another four mandates will be filled in dent was reported. The president and other Arusha on June 30 th . A party spokesperson high-ranking government officials, among pointed out that, given the total number of them vice president Mohamed Gharib Bilal votes cast, CHADEMA (approx. 18,000 and Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, arrived in votes) was well ahead of CCM (with around Arusha to visit the victims and to demon- 17,000 votes). strate to the public that all possible meas- ures would be taken to investigate the Independent observers regard the election background to the attack and to detect and

outcome as proof of the fact that, politically, CHADEMA is now moving at eye level with 1 the government and that the party stands a The unicameral National Assembly of Tan- zania or Bunge has 357 seats. In 2010, good chance of winning in the 2014 local CHADEMA increased the number of its man- elections, as well as in the 2015 parliamen- dates from 11 to a total of 49.

tary and presidential elections. The funda- 2 Tanzania Human Rights Report 2012, Le- mental prerequisite for achieving this goal is gal and Human Rights Center, Press Free- dom Index 2013, Reporters Without Borders a largely transparent and fair electoral proc- (Tanzania fell 36 places to 70th out of 179), ess. In the light of recent developments, Annual Report 2012, Amnesty International, Freedom in the World 2013, Freedom Hou- however, this appears to be far from being se. See also: KAS Country Report ('Länder- realistic. While an increasing popularity of bericht') of September 2012 (German only): Die Repression in Tansania nimmt zu – Op- the opposition even outside the country's position, Medien und Menschenrechtsgrup- urban centres since its electoral success in pen in großer Sorge .

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. prosecute the criminal offenders. Like in the prominent advocate of interreligious dia- case of the assassinated priest on the island logue suffered an acid attack by two uni- TANZANIA of early in 2013, the Tanzanian dentified assailants while he was out jog- DANJA BERGMANN police force was complimented by FBI ging. His face and upper part of the body STEFAN REITH agents in their detection of potential links sustained severe injuries.

between religiously motivated attacks on June 25 th , 2013 Christian and Muslim clerics and the in- In separate attacks, two catholic priests

creasing interreligious conflict and dispute were shot by gunmen in Zanzibar in De- www.kas.de in the country. According to the Regional cember 2012 and February 2013, respec- Commissioner of Arusha, at least 9 suspects tively. To help local police thoroughly inves- were detained and questioned over the May tigate the killing of father Evarist Mushi, 5th bombing. Four tourists from Saudi Ara- foreign investigators from the US Federal bia were released soon afterwards, while Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were invited. the whereabouts of an arrested Tanzanian No substantial results have been disclosed national is not clear. At this point, however, to the public so far. In the course of ongo- the official sources of information on the ing disputes between Christians and Mus- current status of investigations are ex- lims in the region of Geita, south of Lake hausted. Victoria, a Christian priest was beheaded. Luckily it was possible to prevent the en- Ever since October 2012 tensions between raged crowd from burning down the mosque Christian and Muslim populations have sig- in which the escaped Muslims were hiding in nificantly increased, and the same is true return. for protests staged by Islamist groups against the state, or against Christian Against the backdrop of the most recent at- church officials. Some still unsolved cases of tack on the CHADEMA rally on June 15th, arson attacks on churches in Zanzibar and which, in the face of circumstantial evidence Dar es Salaam committed by crowds of en- appears to be politically motivated, atten- raged Muslims following the defilement of tion has been once again turned to the the Quran by a fourteen-year old youth bombing in Arusha on May 5th. Observers have been in the news. Several waves of wonder whether there is a link between protest sparked by some radicalised Islam- both incidents and between the known cas- ist officials of the UAMSHO movement, es of politically and religiously motivated which advocates Zanzibar's secession from violence at large. mainland Tanzania, repeatedly resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency in Loss of Power and Eruption of Violence Zanzibar's capital city, and cost the life of a With the developments of recent months in police officer. The catalyst was when one of mind — the increasing support for the op- the movement's religious leaders disap- position, the considerable loss of prestige peared for three days. Followers used the on the part of the government, (currently UAMSHO facebook site to call for violent at- limited) massive popular protests 3, and the tacks on Christians. Late in 2012 even Dar ongoing constitutional reform process 4 — es Salaam was repeatedly shaken by pro-

tests against the detention of radical Islamist Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda. Another 3 In Mwara (Southern Tanzania) mass pro- tests in connection with the development of link in the chain of incidents caused by re- large deposits of natural gas were repeat- ligiously motivated violence was the attack edly violently quashed by the police; deaths and injuries were recorded. on the Secretary to the Mufti of Zanzibar in November 2012. Sheikh Fadhil Soraga, a 4 The Constitutional review process initiated by the President himself is perceived today

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. the governing CCM sees its monopoly of tims who are criminalised. They are regu- power called into question. From Tangan- larly charged with "incitement of masses, TANZANIA jika's independence in 1961 to the reintro- sedition and terrorism". Such re- DANJA BERGMANN duction of a multi-party system in 1992, the interpretation of the roles of victims and STEFAN REITH current ruling party had been governing the perpetrators at the very highest levels of

country as a state party in a one-party sys- the government is systematic. While in par- June 25 th , 2013 tem. It was even dominant for another ten liament the prime minister publicly de-

years after the reintroduction of the multi- manded that protesters be bludgeoned, af- www.kas.de party system, which was applied for the first ter the most recent attack in Arusha, the time during presidential elections in 1995. governing party's spokesman charged the Nevertheless, the opposition succeeded in opposition with committing the bomb attack establishing itself as a visible alternative in on their rally themselves in order to create the 2010 elections. Numerous international compassion and support. These statements and national experts consider a change of speak for themselves. government in the coming years as con- ceivable. However, they are equally worried New Dimension of Violence that the governing elites will use all the The escalation of language is symptomatic means at their disposal to prevent that from of the self-fuelling cycle of violence. It is happening. The police and security forces' still unclear to which extent religious and increasingly repressive response to people's political motives are connected. This is also legitimate protests and criticism are per- the case when one regards the two bomb ceived as a mere foretaste of things to attacks of May and June 2013 in Arusha. come two years from now, when the next Both incidents, however, reveal a new di- elections are held. The number of cases of mension of violence. Among the victims of threats, repression and persecution of op- both the church bombing and of the attack position activists and government critics is on the CHADEMA rally were many children. steadily growing. It is not just because of this that many commentators refer to the attacks as acts of In this context, subtle forms of intimidation terrorism. What is common in both cases is and manipulation are alternated with the that little has been made public from the outright use of violence. Usually, the perpe- concrete results of the criminal investiga- trators of violence remain unidentified, or tion.6 their identities are concealed. Perpetrators are not called to account by the government After the church bombing, the Tanzanian law enforcement agencies. Even when there government immediately contacted the US is clear evidence of the involvement of se- embassy to invite FBI investigators to help curity forces in the killings, perpetrators are with the investigations, yet it failed to make protected and go unpunished.5 It is the vic-

lice (DCP) at the police national headquar- ters in Dar es Salaam in June 2013, thus by CCM as a threat to its own position. A being promoted to one of the highest police draft submitted by the constitutional com- positions in Tanzania. mittee is acknowledged to be reform- oriented and would likely limit the role of 6 CCM. CCM officials voiced their criticism. Even though both attacks were allegedly committed using a hand grenade and both 5 Michael Kamuhanda, regional police com- venues are close to the Kenyan border with mander (RCP) of Iringa who verifiably wit- Arusha, security agencies see no indication nessed personally the killing of journalist of a possible connection with Al-Shabaab, a Daudi Mwangosi in September 2012 by the group that perpetrated attacks in Kenya fol- police without taking any action to stop it, lowing the same pattern in the past. was appointed deputy commissioner of po-

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7 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. such a request after the most recent attack country. Many will find it difficult not to on the CHADEMA rally. Critics regard this as agree with Mr. Sebregondi's assessment. TANZANIA proof that the government is not genuinely DANJA BERGMANN interested in solving the case of the attack STEFAN REITH on the opposition. While eyewitness reports

seriously incriminating the police are printed June 25 th , 2013 in the media, CCM officials continue to shift

the blame onto the opposition. However, it www.kas.de must be noted that CHADEMA, up until the publication date of this report (June 25 th , 2013), has not made any of the previously announced photo and video evidence public.

At present there is no sign that tensions will start to ease. On the contrary, public threats uttered by government officials give reason to fear a further heightening of ten- sion in the future. In view of this, the up- coming election of four town representa- tives scheduled for June 30 th in Arusha once again holds a lot of potential for conflict.

The fact that even local by-elections involv- ing a handful of municipal mandates could lead to massive outbreaks of violence and finally the bomb attack in Arusha leads me- dia commentators to the conclusion that the forthcoming elections in 2014 and 2015 have the potential to plunge the country in- to chaos and violence if those responsible do not change their course immediately. Pessimists have voiced their doubts as to whether the current political, religious, and social tensions can be channelled for such a long time. In this context, the representa- tives of the international community in Tan- zania have called for rapid action. In an in- terview with the country's biggest English- language daily newspaper “The Citizen”, the head of the EU Delegation to Tanzania, Mr Filiberto Sebregondi, declared that the lack of investigative results and continued impu- nity for those responsible for the most re- cent acts of violence posed a threat to the

democratic process and the future of the 7 The Citizen, June 25 th , 2013, page 1. http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/EU--Act- swiftly-on-Arusha-/-/1840392/1890874/- /1s8siw/-/index.html