In the four years that President John Magufuli has been president of Tanzania, the state has ramped up repression against vocal government critics. While Tanzania’s constitution guarantees rights such as rights to equality, personal freedom, life, privacy, freedom of expression, religion, assembly, association, information and the right to take part in public affairs, in reality, the Tanzanian authorities have seriously restricted these rights.
Concerns over the misuse of the criminal justice system to arrest and prosecute government critics are rife with trumped-up charges levelled against them, besides. The state is using legislation to deny individuals bail or bond; or subjecting them to baseless endless court appearances.
In addition, the government is increasingly disregarding its regional and international human rights obligations leaving Tanzanians without recourse in the face of violations.
Our new report ‘The Price We Pay: Targeted for dissent by the Tanzanian state’ demonstrates how the Government of Tanzania is enacting and abusing laws to clampdown on human rights.