The mother of former Tanzanian Ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, has made an emotional appeal following her son’s reported abduction, pleading with authorities to return him whether alive or dead. In an exclusive interview with BBC, AnnaMary Polepole spoke tearfully about her pain, saying she simply wants closure.
“Don’t throw my son into the sea. If he is dead, bring him back so I can bury him myself. I raised this child from when he was a baby. It hurts deeply to see this happening. Even if the police know or don’t know what happened, I beg them to help us,” she said during the interview.
She described Humphrey as a kind and humble man who loved helping others. “He was a child full of love. He once dreamed of becoming a pastor and a pilot, but we did not have the money for that. Even after finishing Form Six, he remained a good-hearted person who never looked down on anyone,” she recalled.
Humphrey’s mother added that it is painful to see a country once guided by the late Mwalimu Nyerere’s values turn into a place where citizens can disappear without trace. “In Nyerere’s time, this would never happen,” she lamented.
Her emotional appeal came just hours after the Tanzania Police Force confirmed that it had opened investigations into the reported abduction. Police spokesperson David Misime said a formal file was opened on October 6, 2025 and that officers were gathering evidence and statements. The police are also looking for Augustino Polepole, the diplomat’s brother, to verify details surrounding the incident.
Polepole was reportedly taken from his home in Boko Basihaya, Dar es Salaam, by unknown men in the early hours of Monday. His whereabouts remain unknown. The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) has condemned the abduction, urging police to act swiftly and transparently. “If he is in custody, the law requires that he be brought before a court of law immediately,” LHRC said.
His legal team, led by Advocate Peter Kibatala, has filed a habeas corpus case in the High Court, demanding that authorities produce him in court or disclose his whereabouts. They have also written to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, calling for intervention.
His disappearance comes just weeks before Tanzania’s October 29 general election and months after his dramatic resignation as Tanzania’s Ambassador to Cuba in July 2025, where he cited a “leadership crisis” within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). In his resignation letter to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Polepole expressed deep frustration over what he called the erosion of political ethics and integrity in government. “I have witnessed, with great sadness, the decline of leadership values and a failure to serve the people with integrity,” he wrote. He also criticized CCM’s nomination process, saying personal interests had overtaken the party’s founding principle of “the party first, the individual second.”
Despite his resignation, Polepole had maintained his loyalty to CCM, expressing hope that Tanzania would one day be led by a government built on justice and good politics. Before his posting in Cuba, he had served as Tanzania’s Ambassador to Malawi and as a Member of Parliament for Jamhuri ya Muungano constituency.
