A CNN investigation has exposed disturbing scenes from Tanzania after the disputed presidential election on October 29. The new evidence shows police and armed men shooting at protesters, morgues filled with bodies, and signs of possible mass graves.
The investigation used verified videos, satellite images, audio analysis, and witness accounts. The findings point to widespread violence that the government has tried to deny.
After the election, President Samia Suluhu Hassan claimed a 98% win after blocking her main rivals. Protests broke out, and the government imposed a curfew, shut down the internet, and later warned people not to share videos. Local and international media were also barred from covering the unrest.
Government officials insisted no one had been killed. Last week, however, the president admitted there were some casualties but did not give numbers.
But reports indicate the fatalities could be more than 700.
CNN reviewed dozens of videos showing the reality on the ground. Many protesters looked unarmed. Some held only rocks or sticks. In several clips, police and men with guns fired directly at crowds.
In Dar es Salaam, video from Mwananyamala Hospital shows dozens of bodies covering the morgue floor. The bodies are stacked on top of each other.
The Ministry of Health claimed the video was fake.
In Mwanza, videos outside Sekou-Toure Hospital show more bodies piled on stretchers because the morgue was full. A doctor at the hospital said police kept bringing bodies for four days.
The doctor said most victims were young men with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, stomach, and legs. One interviewee said she recognized her brother among the bodies at Mwananyamala. He had been shot on the balcony of his home during the protests, and the family had been searching for him for days.
Pregnant Woman Shot in Tanzania Protests
CNN also reviewed videos from a protest in Arusha. In one clip, a pregnant woman is seen running away when she is shot in the back. She falls to the ground as blood spreads across her blouse. People try to help her, but gunshots continue. A few minutes later, a young man is shot in the head. Forensic audio experts confirmed that police fired from more than 90 meters away.
A witness said the demonstration had been peaceful until police started shooting. She saw the pregnant woman get shot and called the scene “the most inhumane thing ever.”
In other parts of the Tanzania, plainclothes gunmen were also filmed shooting at civilians. Drone footage from Dar es Salaam shows a white pickup truck arriving on a residential street. Armed men get out and open fire at people hiding in courtyards and behind buildings. Locals believe these gunmen were working with the police.
The violence has touched many families. A local sports agency said seven young football players under their management were shot and killed at their homes. Six of their bodies are still missing. Another woman told CNN that her second brother, who was also reportedly shot, has not been found anywhere.
There are also allegations of mass graves. Tanzanian human rights groups and witnesses told CNN that bodies of protesters were buried at the Kondo cemetery in Kunduchi, outside Dar es Salaam. Satellite images show freshly disturbed soil between November 2 and 5. Videos taken on the ground show large patches of overturned earth, but it is unclear how many bodies were buried there.
The United Nations Human Rights Office says information from several sources suggests that hundreds of protesters and civilians may have been killed, with many others injured or detained.
President Hassan has since formed a commission to investigate the unrest. She also suggested that some protesters were paid.
By Vivian K.