Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) President Boniface Mwabukusi has strongly criticized the report released by the Judge Othman Chande Commission, saying it failed to properly address key issues surrounding the violence, abductions and killings reported during and after Tanzania’s 2025 General Election.
Speaking during a press briefing at the TLS headquarters in Dar es Salaam on May 11, Mwabukusi said the country cannot achieve genuine reconciliation without truth, accountability and justice for victims and affected families.
He accused the commission of avoiding critical questions, especially on alleged abductions, disappearances and deaths linked to the October 29, 2025 unrest. Mwabukusi questioned why the report did not identify who gave orders for civilians to be killed during and after the election period. “TLS wants justice, truth and accountability,” he said, while also calling on the government to publicly acknowledge mistakes committed before, during and after the election.
Mwabukusi also criticized attempts to place blame on Gen Z youth for the violence, arguing that the unrest was the result of long-standing failures within the country’s governance and legal systems. “The violence was not caused by young people alone. These are problems that have built up for years because of weak systems and lack of accountability,” Mwabukusi said.
He further faulted the report for what he described as weak findings on high-profile abduction cases involving people such as Humphrey Polepole, Mdude Nyagali and Deusdedith Soka. Mwabukusi dismissed suggestions that some of the abductions may have been linked to personal relationships, saying if such claims exist, evidence should be made public.
Mwabukusi also raised concerns over what he described as the commission’s silence on allegations of torture and unlawful detention during the election period. According to him, some suspects arrested during the unrest were allegedly tortured, denied their rights and later taken to court with visible injuries. TLS is now demanding that the government reveal the whereabouts of missing persons and release the bodies of those who died during protests so that families can bury their loved ones with dignity.
The Judge Chande Commission was formed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to investigate the violence and unrest reported during and after the October 2025 General Election. The commission’s report, released on April 23, linked the violence to long-standing political, economic and social grievances, including demands for a new Constitution, complaints over the electoral system, economic hardships, unemployment, high taxes, alleged abductions and concerns over human rights.
The report stated that at least 518 people died during the unrest, though opposition party CHADEMA rejected the findings and accused the government of attempting to cover up the scale of the violence.
TLS says real reconciliation in Tanzania will only be possible if those responsible are held accountable and major reforms are made to prevent similar events from happening again.
