Baba Yunus Muhammad
In October 2025, Tanzanians went to the polls, or so it appeared. By the time the electoral commission announced the results, Samia Suluhu Hassan had been declared the winner with over 97 percent of the vote. On paper, it was a landslide. In reality, it was a coronation engineered through exclusion, repression, and the silencing of opposition voices. The two main opposition parties were barred from contesting, their leaders prevented from running, and dissenters were jailed, abducted, or forced into hiding. Citizens who sought to exercise their democratic right found themselves confronted with violence, tear gas, live bullets, and a nationwide internet blackout designed to conceal the truth. What followed was not celebration, but grief and rage, and now, a coalition of civil society groups has petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate what they describe as crimes against humanity committed under Hassan’s watch.
This is not merely a question of politics; it is a question of justice and economic destiny. The stolen mandate has sent a chilling message that democracy can be manufactured and that accountability can be suspended when power is unchecked. The election, stripped of credible opposition, left citizens without a voice, and the post-election repression transformed streets of hope into landscapes of fear. Official death tolls are murky, contested, and likely understated, while families grieve, activists disappear, and ordinary people live in constant anxiety. For those who once believed in the promise of governance for the people, the message is stark: prosperity is postponed.
The petition to the ICC now seeks to pierce that silence, detailing coordinated killings, torture, mass arrests, and deliberate measures to prevent communication and transparency. If the Court acts, it could mark a turning point — not merely a legal reckoning, but a moral one — signaling to all leaders in Africa that legitimacy stems not from coercion, but from consent. The petition is also a reminder that stolen mandates are not abstract violations; they are lived tragedies that echo through every aspect of national life. Businesses hesitate, investments stall, public programs falter, and the ordinary citizen pays the price in deferred education, healthcare, employment, and opportunity. The cost of political manipulation is not borne by politicians, but by the very people they are meant to serve.
For Tanzania, the stolen mandate and the postponed prosperity are intertwined. The nation’s path to development, stability, and dignity is obstructed whenever electoral processes are subverted and dissent is suppressed. Yet even amid despair, the ICC petition, the advocacy of civil society, and the vigilance of ordinary citizens offer a glimmer of hope. It is a reminder that justice is not automatic, that accountability must be demanded, and that democracy is more than an election; it is the recognition of each citizen’s right to participate, to question, and to claim their future.
The coming months will reveal whether Tanzania chooses transparency, justice, and reconciliation, or whether it continues down a path where the people’s mandate is subordinated to political expediency. For activists, scholars, regional bodies, and international observers, this moment is not just about one nation; it is about the principle that when the mandate is stolen, prosperity must be postponed no longer.
Author Bio
Baba Yunus Muhammad is the President of the Africa Islamic Economic Forum, a journalist, and an activist focusing on African governance, economic justice, and human rights. His work combines incisive critique with rigorous analysis, advocating for accountability, citizen empowerment, and the defense of African sovereignty.
