Tanzania’s X blockade signals deepening purge on opposition

• Live metrics show X (formerly Twitter) has become unreachable on major internet providers in #Tanzania.
• Blackout came shortly after claim that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had died—posted via a hacked account linked to the Tanzania Police Force (TANPOL).
• Earlier, President Suluhu warned activists from Kenya telling them not to “meddle” in her country’s affairs.

On May 20th, 2025, Tanzania’s digital sphere was abruptly silenced — again — for the second time in under 10 months, authorities in the East African country blocked access to X (formerly Twitter), as the ground heats up ahead of the general elections scheduled in October later this year.

According to global internet watchdog, NetBlocks, “Live metrics show X (formerly Twitter) has become unreachable on major internet providers in #Tanzania; the incident comes as a compromised police account posts claims the president has died, angering the country’s leadership.”

The claim that President Samia Hassan had died — posted via a hacked account linked to the Tanzania Police Force (TANPOL) — sent shockwaves across the nation. Yet rather than issuing a transparent update or clarifying the cyber incident, the state’s knee-jerk response was to pull the plug on the platform entirely.

President Samia’s censorship disguised as protection

Hours before the digital blackout, President Samia had ordered the police to “protect” social media — a telling choice of words. In the name of national security, freedom of expression is being gradually rebranded as a threat. It’s not the first time this script has played out.

Earlier, President Samia fired warning shots to activists from neighbouring Kenya, noting that her administration would not allow them to “meddle” in her country’s affairs by perpetuating what she referred to as “chaos”.

The President’s warning was issued hours after prominent Kenyan lawyers and rights campaigners including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and ex-Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua were deported from Tanzania, preventing them from attending the court case of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is fighting chargs of treason.

However, another former Kenyan chief justice, David Maraga, was allowed to attend court in the Tundu Lissu case, and said that he hoped “the legal process ahead will be fair, just, and expeditious”.

“If they have been contained in their country [Kenya], let them not come here [Tanzania] to meddle. Let’s not give them a chance. They have already created chaos in their own country,” President Samia said in a public address.

Increasingly, Human rights groups are concerned that President Samia’s administration is increasingly cracking down on the opposition ahead of hotly contested general election in October, this year.

In August 2024, a similar shutdown of social media platforms occurred following the arrest of opposition leader Tundu Lissu and four other officials. Authorities in Tanzania justified that action, too, blaming social media for enabling protests — some allegedly organized via Zoom. But beneath the techno-fear veneer lies an uncomfortable truth: Tanzania’s leadership is tightening its grip on digital dissent, and the opposition, too.

The silencing of the opposition in Tanzania

On account of recent incidences met on key opposition leaders and people perceived to be critical of the government, Tanzania’s current political landscape is fraught with fear and repression. Tundu Lissu, who miraculously survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times, is now imprisoned, fighting treason charges. His political party, Chadema, has been disqualified from participating in this year’s general election, set for October. The symbolism is stark — silencing Lissu’s voice offline, while ensuring his supporters can’t mobilize online.

And it’s not just Tanzanians who are being caught in the dragnet. As the digital blackout unfolded, news surfaced of two high-profile arrests: Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan attorney Agather Atuhaire. The duo was reportedly taken into custody by Tanzanian authorities under unclear circumstances, with their whereabouts still unknown.

Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday, May 20, Kenya’s Foreign Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi acknowledged that the Tanzanian government had not provided clear details on the reasons for Mwangi’s arrest or the recent deportations of high profile Kenyan nationals.

“Boniface Mwangi is in Tanzania and is being held by the authorities. We hope he will be released and helped to return home,” said Mudavadi, adding: “I think the individuals who visited Tanzania seem to have rattled the administration there during this heightened and emotive electoral process.”

An unfolding pattern of suppression under President Samia

What’s most telling is the pattern. Every time tension flares, whether due to opposition arrests, citizen unrest, or a rogue tweet, Tanzania reaches for the same tool: the kill switch on digital speech. It’s an authoritarian reflex increasingly familiar in the region — a means of masking instability while projecting strength.

Read also: How Tanzania’s President Samia attracted over $1 billion in foreign investments