Former Botswana President Ian Khama has branded Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu an illegitimate leader, accusing her of rigging last month’s election and overseeing a violent crackdown on opposition figures.
Speaking on Sunday at Lukenya University in Makueni County during a forum on African renaissance, Khama addressed intensified arrests of opposition officials and reports that post-election protests have left more than 1,000 people dead.
“The recent election in Tanzania, and what transpired around it, including the killings, I, for one, do not recognise the person who was inaugurated as the president of Tanzania. She is an illegitimate president,” Khama said, drawing applause from the audience.
He also denounced the broader pattern of repression, arguing that African leaders who cling to power through violence and manipulation undermine the continent’s future.
“It is totally unacceptable when an African leader, in order to stay in power, resorts to killing his or her own people. In order to stay in power, they will rig an election as if they are God’s gift to their country. When you have a country with millions of people, for any leader to think they are the only one who can be president is pathetic.”
Khama, who served as Botswana’s president from 2008 to 2018, criticised Cameroon President Paul Biya as well, saying the challenges in both countries reflect a wider governance crisis in Africa. Without naming others, he condemned the intimidation of opposition leaders through arrests and party bans.
“That is not the Africa that we want,” he said.
The CHADEMA party in Tanzania has been particularly affected by the crackdown. Deputy Secretary-General Amani Golugwa was detained in Arusha on Saturday, following police summonses for ten senior party officials.
“After the arrests of Golugwa, Lema, and Jacob, only three of the party’s six top leaders remain free, following the earlier detentions of party chairperson Tundu Lissu and vice-chairperson John Heche,” the party said in a statement.
Other senior CHADEMA figures, including Boniface Jacob and Godbless Lema, were also arrested, with Lema reportedly moved from Usa River to Moshi in Kilimanjaro province.
At least 240 people arrested after the election have been charged with treason, which carries the death penalty, though Tanzania has not executed anyone since 1995.
