Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has established a new criminal inquiry commission, in charge of investigating the killings of hundreds of people in last year’s election-related violence.
In a statement her office issued on Tuesday, President Samia announced the appointment of a special criminal investigation commission tasked with conducting deeper probes into the violence, deaths, disappearances and alleged abuses linked to the unrest.
According to the statement, the commission will be chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Shabani Ally Lila, alongside retired High Court judges Gad John Mjemmas, Awadhi Mohamed Bawazir and Aishieli Nelson Sumari as commissioners.
The president’s move followed sustained pressure that had been mounted from opposition parties, civil society organisations and sections of the international community demanding that the government pursue actual accountability.
The groundwork for this latest development was laid when the president officially received the Chande Commission report earlier this year.
According to the Chande Commission report earlier this year, 518 people were killed in Tanzania in the widespread protests that followed last year’s general election.
Presenting the final report, commission chairperson Retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman said the majority of the victims died from gunshot wounds.
He said the findings were based on extensive medical and forensic investigations, including interviews with 80 doctors and specialists, as well as postmortem examinations and hospital records from across the country.
“The death toll stood at 518, comprising 490 males (94.6 percent) and 28 females (5.4 percent). Among the deceased were 21 children,” Othman said.
While the Chande Commission did not publicly identify individuals responsible for killings or destruction, it strongly argued that sustainable justice required a more comprehensive criminal inquiry process grounded in evidence and due process.
MG/as/APA