President Samia Suluhu Hassan has squarely blamed the opposition and foreign actors for instigating the recent wave of chaos in Tanzania, asserting that the youth involved in the demonstrations were heavily funded to destabilize the country and undermine her government's authority.
In a televised address from State House in Dar es Salaam on November 20, 2025, Suluhu described the unrest as a calculated plot rather than a spontaneous expression of public dissatisfaction. "The violence that followed our elections was not the voice of the people; it was the echo of moneyed interests seeking to sow discord," Suluhu said. "Young Tanzanians were paid to take to the streets, armed with funds from opposition leaders and foreign hands that fear a stable and sovereign Tanzania."
The president's remarks came as she launched a commission of inquiry into the post-election violence that claimed at least 28 lives between October 30 and November 5. The clashes, which erupted in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, and Pemba, followed the announcement of Suluhu's reelection with 98 percent of the vote amid opposition allegations of fraud and candidate disqualifications.
Suluhu claimed that investigations had uncovered financial trails linking the protests to opposition figures and international NGOs. "We have evidence of payments transferred to youth coordinators through mobile money and cash drops in Arusha and Dar es Salaam," she stated. "These were not cries for justice; they were choreographed disruptions funded by those who lost at the ballot box and now seek to win through the barrel of the gun."
Opposition leader Tundu Lissu of ACT-Wazalendo immediately rejected the accusations, calling them a "desperate smear to justify the crackdown." "The president is deflecting from the real issue: a stolen election where candidates were barred and votes suppressed," Lissu said in a video statement from Arusha. "Our youth marched for democracy, not dollars. If she has evidence of foreign funding, let her show it in court, not from the safety of State House."
The violence began on October 30 when ACT-Wazalendo supporters gathered in Dar es Salaam's Ubungo district to demand a vote recount. Police response with tear gas and live ammunition resulted in 12 deaths, including 22-year-old university student Juma Kibwana, shot while holding a placard reading "Our Vote, Our Voice." Kibwana's mother, Fatuma Ali, reacted to Suluhu's claims with disbelief. "My son was studying engineering—he wanted to build bridges, not burn them," Ali said from her home in Temeke. "He was not paid; he was passionate. If money changed hands, it was the government paying police to shoot us."
In Arusha, where 10 youth died on November 1 after barricading the Arusha-Nairobi highway, 19-year-old barista Amina Hassan's father, Ibrahim Hassan, dismissed the allegations. "Amina served tea to protesters, not stones," Hassan said, his voice breaking. "She wrote me a letter the day before saying she marched for her future. Foreign actors? The only foreigners were the teargas canisters from South Africa."
Mwanza's November 3 lakefront clashes, claiming eight lives, saw 25-year-old fisherman Elias Magoti beaten to death by vigilantes. His widow, Grace Magoti, questioned the narrative. "Elias fished for his family, not for foreign money," she said. "If anyone was paid, it was the goons who dragged him from his dhow."
Pemba's five deaths on November 4 during CUF protests highlighted island tensions. ACT-Wazalendo MP Zuleikha Mohamed, representing families, called Suluhu's words "defamatory deflection." "Our youth in Stone Town were reckoners, not rent-a-crowd," Mohamed said. "Show the evidence or withdraw the slander."
The commission, chaired by retired Judge Hamisi Mtalakwa with 12 members including AU observers, has 90 days to investigate. "We will follow the money—local or foreign," Suluhu vowed. "Officers who fired without protocol, politicians who incited, financiers who fueled—all accountable."
CCM Secretary General Daniel Chongolo: "The party mourns; inquiry heals." EU Ambassador Henna Virkkunen: "Evidence-based, global eyes." AU's Moussa Faki: "Courageous accountability."
Lissu's video: 500,000 views. Ali's disbelief: Temeke home. Hassan's letter: Arusha. Magoti's dhow: Mwanza. Mohamed's slander: Pemba. Commission hearings: December 1. Hotline tips: 200 first week. In Tanzania's tempest, Suluhu's sorrow and suspicion stir—a probe where paid protests unravel, justice journeys from allegation to answer.
