U.S. Formally Reassesses Ties with Tanzania Over Deepening Rights Crisis

By: Juba Global News Network

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – December 9, 2025

In a move that’s really ratcheted up diplomatic tensions, the United States announced on December 6 that it’s launching a “comprehensive review” of its relationship with Tanzania. Washington, for its part, says this comes in response to what it calls “systematic and worsening human rights abuses” that have happened before, during, and after the country’s hotly disputed October 2025 general elections.

The statement—delivered in tandem by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz—amounts to the sharpest, most public condemnation yet of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government. It’s a striking reversal for an administration that, not too long ago, was seen as a welcome change after the late John Magufuli’s heavy-handed rule.

What’s driving this review? Well, a string of incidents:

Security forces killed at least 27 opposition supporters and bystanders during post-election protests, both in Zanzibar and on the mainland.
Over 1,200 Chadema party members—including high-ranking leaders—have been arrested since August.
Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu are still being held incommunicado.
Live election-night broadcasts were banned, and international observers were booted from several polling stations.
There are documented cases of torture while in detention, including the death of Chadema youth wing leader Ali Kibao on November 18.

At a State Department press briefing, Secretary Rubio didn’t mince words: “The United States cannot in good conscience continue business as usual with a government that uses lethal force against its own citizens for exercising universally recognized rights. We are reviewing all aspects of our partnership, including development assistance, security cooperation, and preferential trade access under AGOA.”

The stakes here are huge. Tanzania pulls in roughly $650 million every year in U.S. development and health aid, plays a key role in America’s East Africa counter-terrorism efforts, and enjoys duty-free access to U.S. markets for thousands of products through the African Growth and Opportunity Act. If any of that gets suspended or scaled back, the hit to Tanzania’s economy—already battered by post-election capital flight and a 40% slump in tourism bookings—could be devastating.

From Hope to Hardline: The Samia Paradox

When Samia Suluhu Hassan stepped in as Tanzania’s first female president in March 2021 after Magufuli’s sudden death, the world took notice—and applauded. She scrapped bans on pregnant girls in schools, freed political prisoners, opened the door for opposition rallies, and allowed shuttered media outlets to reopen. The Biden administration, for instance, praised her as a “champion of democratic renewal.”

But now, human rights groups say there’s been a steady, almost methodical rollback—one that sped up in 2024 and hit a breaking point ahead of the October 2025 elections. Several things seem to be in play here:

Hardline factions within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) apparently saw her early reforms as a sign of weakness.
There’s anxiety about losing their grip on Zanzibar, especially since the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) and ACT-Wazalendo have been making gains.
They’ve also wanted to stop Chadema’s Tundu Lissu—who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and made a triumphant return from exile in 2023—from gaining more traction.

The election itself? Pretty much a mess, with widespread claims of fraud. Independent vote tallies by Chadema and civil society outfits reportedly showed Lissu ahead of President Samia by 58% to 42% on the mainland. Yet, just hours after the government cut the internet nationwide, the National Electoral Commission declared Samia the winner, claiming a landslide victory with 71% on October 29.

What came next was the deadliest post-election period Tanzania’s ever seen. In Zanzibar, security forces opened fire on crowds in Stone Town, killing 19 people in a single day. On the mainland, police used live ammunition in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Arusha. Amnesty International has verified videos showing officers executing unarmed youths at close range.

International Fallout Accelerates

America’s move comes after similar steps from other Western partners:

The European Union suspended €60 million in budget support on November 20.
The UK froze new bilateral aid and called its High Commissioner home for consultations.
Norway and Denmark—usually big donors—have stopped all non-humanitarian funding.
The World Bank is withholding a $750 million resilience loan until “credible investigations” into the election violence are carried out.

Inside Tanzania, the mood swings between fear and defiance. In Dar es Salaam’s busy Kariakoo market, traders murmur that “Mama Samia has become worse than Magufuli.” On campuses, students are quietly organizing underground protests, even with plainclothes intelligence officers lurking nearby. Online, the hashtag #SamiaMustGo has kept trending for weeks, even as authorities throttle the internet until it’s crawling.

Chadema has now announced plans for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign starting December 15, unless all political detainees are freed and an independent international probe is allowed into the killings.

A Continent Watches

This crisis isn’t just about Tanzania. The country was, not so long ago, considered one of East Africa’s most stable democracies. Its rapid decline now stands as a stark warning for the rest of the region. In neighboring Kenya, where elections are coming up in 2027, some ruling party hardliners are already citing the “Tanzania model” of cracking down early.

So far, the U.S. hasn’t slapped targeted Magnitsky sanctions on senior Tanzanian officials, but from what multiple sources say, those lists are basically ready to go. It’s anyone’s guess whether Washington’s review will mean a measured downgrade or a total break—and whether President Samia will choose dialogue or just double down.

About the only thing that seems certain: the hope so many people felt when Tanzania welcomed its first female president in 2021 has, for millions, morphed into a nightmare they probably never thought possible.