DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania: President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan on Friday announced a probe into the deaths that occurred during the election that returned her to power while calling for leniency for some protesters charged with treason.
Hassan retained the presidency with 98 percent of the vote on October 29, according to the electoral commission.
Allegations of rigging and government repression triggered days of violent protests, during which hundreds were killed by security forces, according to the opposition and human rights groups, all amid a nationwide internet blackout.
“I am deeply saddened by the incident. I offer my condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones,” Hassan said at the opening session of the new parliament.
“The government has taken the step of forming an inquiry commission to investigate what happened,” she added.
It was the government’s first conciliatory message to the protesters since the unrest, though officials have still not released any casualty figures.
Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested and charged with treason—a crime punishable by death—but the president signaled that leniency would be considered as she seeks to heal a traumatized nation.
“I realize that many youths who were arrested and charged with treason did not know what they were doing,” she said.
“As the mother of this nation, I direct the law enforcement agencies and especially the office of the director of police to look at the level of offenses committed by our youths.
“For those who seem to have followed the crowd and did not intend to commit a crime, let them erase their mistakes,” she said.
Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.
