“Intended Killings”: Witnesses Describe Deadly Police Shootings During Tanzania’s Post‑Election Unrest

By Aaron Ross and Vincent Mumo Nzilani

NAIROBI, Jan 9 – Witnesses and verified video footage describe a deadly episode of police violence in Mjimwema, a neighbourhood of Mwanza, on the night of Oct. 31, when officers allegedly ordered café patrons to lie face down and then opened fire. Reuters’ investigation, based on interviews and corroborated imagery, places the Mjimwema incident among the most lethal from days of unrest that followed Tanzania’s Oct. 29 election.

What Witnesses Say

Several residents of Mjimwema told Reuters that police first moved through the area around 6 p.m., telling people to return home. Around 8:30 p.m., a group of officers returned on foot and began firing in multiple directions. Three witnesses said officers ordered men sheltering in a nearby café to lie on the ground before they opened fire. When the shooting stopped, witnesses said more than a dozen people were dead.

“We have witnessed lots of people killed in their houses. That's why we say it was intended killings,”

— Charles Kitima, Secretary‑General, Tanzania Episcopal Conference

Video, Victims and Allegations

A video posted on social media in early November and verified by Reuters shows 13 lifeless bodies on a blood‑stained surface near the café entrance. Witnesses and hospital sources reported that police later loaded bodies into a vehicle and removed them from the scene. Reuters has confirmed the identities of three victims, including 39‑year‑old Raphael Esau Magige and his 27‑year‑old nephew Johnson Patrick Deus, who family members said were at the café to watch television.

Other witnesses from Mwanza, Dar es Salaam and Arusha described officers shooting at civilians far from demonstrations and firing indiscriminately into crowds. Some said officers singled out people they accused of disobeying orders to go home. Reuters could not independently verify the legal basis for those orders or the broader chain of command for the operations described.

SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB. A photo provided to Reuters by a witness shows the bodies of men on the ground outside the entrance to a cafe in the Mjimwema neighbourhood of Mwanza, Tanzania, October 31, 2025. Three witnesses told Reuters that the men were deliberately shot by a group of police officers. The massacre, reported by Reuters in detail for the first time, is one of the deadliest known incidents from days of violence around Tanzania's October 29 elections. The Tanzanian government said it takes concerns about the use of force seriously and has created a commission of inquiry to investigate election violence. Obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS

Context: Unrest, Internet Blackout and International Reaction

The unrest was triggered by the exclusion of prominent opposition candidates and an accompanying wave of arrests and alleged abductions of critics. The U.N. human rights office has estimated that hundreds may have been killed, while independent U.N.‑appointed experts later suggested at least 700 extrajudicial deaths in the period — figures the government disputes. Authorities also cut internet access across much of Tanzania for more than five days after election day, hampering independent reporting and public information flow.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was declared the winner with nearly 98% of the vote, publicly defended the security response as a necessary reaction to violence by demonstrators. The government says it has launched a commission of inquiry into election violence and denies any policy of intentional brutality or “shoot to kill” orders.

Official Responses And Ongoing Inquiries

Palamagamba Kabudi, Minister of State in the President’s Office, told Reuters the government takes allegations about the use of force seriously and requires verified evidence before drawing conclusions. U.N. human rights experts and international governments have urged transparent investigations; the U.S. government said it was reviewing its relationship with Tanzania in part because of the unrest.

Aftermath

Many families continue to search hospitals and mortuaries for missing relatives. Witnesses say the wooden café in Mjimwema was dismantled weeks after the shooting; Reuters could not determine who ordered the removal. The commission of inquiry is expected to publish findings in due course, and authorities say they are reviewing the Mjimwema incident.

(Editing by David Lewis)