KEY POINTS
- A senior official from Tanzania’s opposition party has been abducted and seriously injured.
- The party alleges that the incident is politically motivated amid growing tensions.
- Authorities have launched an investigation, but the opposition demands accountability.
The main opposition party in Tanzania says one of its senior officials has been kidnapped and dumped in a pool with serious head injuries in what it believes was an act of political violence. The abduction has created a lot of concern within the opposition and has led to escalation of political instabilities in the country.
Official of the opposition party kidnapped
The official, whose identity has not been made public, is a member of Tanzania’s premier opposition party, Chadema. The party said that the official was kidnapped and brutally assaulted before he was dumped in a bad shape. Chadema leaders have attributed this attack to a series of attacks against the opposition members in Tanzania.
The party has stated that the official’s kidnap is a clear indication of increasing political intolerance as the country prepares for the next election where politicians in the opposition have been harassed and sometimes attacked.
The opposition has for a long time accused the government of suppressing opposition and suppressing political liberties.
Reuters reported that Tanzanian authorities have accepted the occurrence and are conducting an investigation but no statement from the authorities has been made about the reason behind the attack.
Chadema demands for accountability
Chadema has demanded immediate action and the government’s head be held to account for failing to protect opposition members from violence.
Party officials are convinced that the attack is in a series of politically motivated violence aimed at deterring the opposition and limiting its capacity to rally the masses in the wake of elections.
The kidnap of an important member of the opposition has been condemned by both national and international organizations.
Chadema has called on international human rights organizations to pay attention to the incident and put pressure on the Tanzanian authorities to investigate the incident and bring the culprits to book.
Political tensions on the rise in Tanzania
This incident occurs at a time when political space in Tanzania has contracted with opposition parties facing numerous challenges in the recent past.
The leaders of the opposition have often accused the ruling party of harassing, arresting and using violence on them saying that the regime is seeking to gag them.
In the next Tanzania’s elections, opposition parties are demanding for enhanced protection and political liberalization to support the free and fair democracy. The recent abduction has increased concerns that political violence may worsen if nothing is done.
Justice in the midst of investigations
While searching for the kidnapped continues, the leaders of the opposition and their supporters believe that the perpetrators will be punished.
It has been said that this attack on one of Chadema’s senior officials is a clear call for reforms that would that would protect of political personalities from acts of violence and brutality.
The government has not said anything about the reasons that led to the abduction but there is pressure on the government to investigate and prosecute the culprits. The opposition is still willing to keep struggling for political liberty and justice in Tanzania even though the threats are escalating.
