NAIROBI – The United States has imposed sanctions on Tanzania’s chief of police, prohibiting his entry into the U.S. due to alleged involvement in human rights abuses by the police force.
These sanctions, unveiled on Thursday, come in the wake of Tanzania’s October election, where President Samia Suluhu Hassan secured a full term with an overwhelming 97% of the vote amidst a clampdown on opposition parties. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had commented in December on reassessing diplomatic relations with Tanzania in light of suppression and electoral violence.
Rubio stated that the decision to sanction Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele was grounded on trustworthy reports of his participation in human rights violations.
“A year ago, Tanzanian police personnel detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, who were in Dar es Salaam to witness the trial of opposition figure Tundu Lissu,” Rubio detailed in his statement.
The arrests of the Ugandan and Kenyan activists occurred in May of the previous year, with allegations of torture by Mafwele. They were reportedly abandoned near the border between Kenya and Tanzania following their detention.
An investigative commission set up by President Hassan to delve into postelection violence reported that 518 individuals were killed, with thousands more injured. Opposition groups maintain that the actual numbers of casualties are significantly higher, marking the most severe unrest in Tanzania in recent decades.
The commission’s report, released in April, recommended further investigation of police conduct during the protests, during which unarmed civilians were reportedly shot in their homes. Internet access in the country also remained disrupted for several days after the polls, and videos of the shootings were shared on social media after restoration of internet access despite police warning people not to share videos online.
