09/12/2025
TANZANIA RESTRICTS INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS AMID POLITICAL TURMOIL
On the eve of Tanzania’s cherished Independence Day, the nation finds itself cloaked not in festivity, but in caution. The government has decreed that citizens mark December 9, 2025, from the solitude of their homes, with only essential workers permitted to tread the streets. The order comes as whispers of protest ripple across social media, stirring unease in the corridors of power.
Police have branded the online calls for demonstrations illegal, and since mid‑November, the crackdown has been swift. At least ten activists and opposition figures—including Ambrose Leonce Dede, Kibaba Furaha Michael, Clemence Mwandambo, and several Chadema officials—have been swept into detention, their voices silenced for posts deemed incendiary. Human Rights Watch has denounced the arrests as arbitrary, warning of a tightening grip on freedoms as surveillance deepens and digital spaces shrink.
Authorities justify the measures with grave words: threats to public safety, even murmurs of an attempted coup. Yet the shadow of international consequence looms large, as Sweden signals its intent to sever bilateral cooperation by August 2026—a diplomatic chill that underscores the gravity of Tanzania’s political crossroads.
What was once a day of jubilant parades and patriotic song now unfolds as a muted vigil, a reminder that independence, hard‑won decades ago, remains vulnerable to the storms of politics and power.
BY SARAFINA MUSYOKI/ VICTOR BARAKA, 09 DECEMBER 2025
