Amnesty International has faulted Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli for building a formidable arsenal of laws to stifle all forms of dissent ahead of elections.
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“The use of the law to systemically and deliberately clamp down on people’s inalienable human rights, especially in an election season, is an extremely worrying and unhealthy sign for a country positioning itself for greater growth and development,” said Deprose Muchena.
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“The authorities must stop harassing opposition politicians over ridiculous pretexts and instead respect, uphold and facilitate the fulfilment of the rights to liberty, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, to enable them to freely run their campaigns,” said Deprose Muchena.
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“NGOs are now struggling between disclosing extensive information about their work, which undermines the independence required for legitimate human rights work and puts the security of their staff at risk or face being deregistered,” said Deprose Muchena. The Elections Commission on 23 June barred key civil society organizations such as the Tanzania Constitution Forum (TCF), the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) from conducting voter education.
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa
“President Magufuli must urgently reverse the decline in political and civil freedoms in Tanzania and ensure human rights defenders, activists and civil society organizations can carry out their work freely and independently without any fear of reprisals,” said Deprose Muchena.
