When Promise Withers: Tanzania’s Leader Starts Using an Old Playbook
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When Promise Withers: Tanzania’s Leader Starts Using an Old Playbook
TANZANIA
When Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office in 2021, the hope was that she would be a different kind of Tanzanian leader, one that would allow civil liberties, stop repression, and promote the development the country so desperately needs.
In the first year, she go off to a good start, say observers, promoting the “Four Rs” of reconciliation, resilience, reforms, and rebuilding, becoming a marked contrast to her predecessor, dictator John Magufuli, who, when he died, catapulted his vice president, Hassan, into the country’s top post.
The president, from the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has held power since 1977, released political prisoners, removed restrictions on media outlets, began working with the opposition, lifted a ban on opposition party rallies, and started a program of electoral reform.
But that was then, before a crackdown on the opposition began last year and is intensifying in the runup to elections later this year.
“The façade of progressive change that had been constructed under Samia is crumbling and could presage a return to authoritarian rule in Tanzania,” wrote World Politics Review.
Recently, the government arrested the country’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, for treason and other crimes, charges he denies as politically motivated, and come ahead of elections in October.
The accusations are in relation to social media posts he made calling for Tanzanians to boycott the elections, citing the possibility of rigging. His party last year began a “No Reforms, No Election” campaign, which calls for reforms to the country’s electoral system, such as an independent election commission and an ability to challenge the results in court. Without these, the party says, the current system is weighted on the side of the ruling party. The treason charge carries the death penalty.
As the BBC explained, Lissu, who was shot 17 times in an assassination attempt in 2017 and arrested multiple times over the years, “is the great survivor of Tanzanian politics – and one of its most persecuted politicians.”
At the opening of his trial last week, Lissu, the chair of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) appeared sanguine and said he was “hopeful,” telling his supporters that “all will be fine.”
Still, the government has also banned his party from running candidates in the election after it refused to sign a code of conduct mandated by the Independent National Electoral Commission in order to participate in the elections.
Party officials say they refused to sign because of the absence of election reforms, Africanews reported.
Now, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, October’s election promises to be a repeat of local elections in November, where many CHADEMA candidates were disqualified, and the CCM ended up winning 99 percent of the local races.
Meanwhile, the abductions and disappearances of CHADEMA members continue, say human rights groups.
Dioniz Kipanya, a CHADEMA party official, disappeared in July after leaving his house, Amnesty International detailed, calling him and others who have disappeared the victims of a “campaign of repression.” Among these are two CHADEMA youth activists who were kidnapped in August by a group of men suspected to be police officers. And the body of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior CHADEMA member, was found in September after suspected security agents had abducted him from a bus while he was travelling home. According to a post-mortem his body had been soaked in acid and bore signs of a beating.
Some say the wasted promise of Hassan’s presidency is due to hardliners in her party whose support she needs to remain in power and whose influence is very strong.
“President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s ascent to power following Magufuli’s death provided an opportunity for the country of 67 million to exhale and (pivot) back toward Tanzania’s historically more moderate political culture,” wrote the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. “In the process, the lines between the party and the state have become blurred. Like other liberation parties in Africa, some CCM members feel entitled to govern indefinitely and, emboldened by Magufuli’s tenure, are willing to resort to whatever tactics needed to maintain their absolute hegemony.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Serbian Students, Staff, Protest Bill To Weaken University Independence
SERBIA
Thousands of protesters hit the streets of the capital, Belgrade, over the weekend to oppose what they say is an unprecedented government assault on public universities’ independence, the latest explosion of public anger in Serbia, which has seen months of anti-government demonstrations, the Associated Press reported.
Friday’s demonstrations took place outside the Serbian government buildings, with protesters calling on authorities to abolish a bill that would allow authorities to appoint state university leadership, in effect ending academic independence.
The government has also cut the salaries of professors involved in the protests and threatened to defund faculties where classes have been suspended due to student-led protests.
Demonstrators accused President Aleksandar Vučić and his administration of attempting to suppress dissent under the guise of reform.
Serbia has been grappling with mass student-led protests since November following the collapse of the roof at Novi Sad’s main train station that killed 16 people.
Vučić has accused the protesters of serving foreign interests and attempting to destabilize Serbia. He has refused student demands for early elections to resolve the political crisis.
Meanwhile, student demonstrators have reported facing attacks from pro-government groups, as well as pressure from police and state security services.
Amid the ongoing unrest, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed support for the demonstrators during a visit to Belgrade last week. She warned that Serbia’s EU future hinges on upholding democratic values and insisted that “the autonomy of the universities must be respected,” the AP wrote separately.
Vučić maintains a pro-EU stance officially, but critics say he is eroding democratic freedoms while strengthening ties with China and Russia.
Demonstrations Erupt in Mongolia Over Corruption
MONGOLIA
Hundreds of young Mongolians took to the streets of the capital of Ulaanbaatar this week to demand the prime minister’s resignation over corruption allegations, unrest that comes amid internal disputes within the country’s coalition government and growing public dissatisfaction over Mongolia’s economic outlook, Agence France-Presse reported.
For more than a week, demonstrators have protested in the capital’s Genghis Khan Square with protesters chanting slogans, holding placards, and demanding that the prime minister step down.
They say that Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrain – in power since 2021 – and his family are enjoying a more affluent life than the average citizens.
The unrest was sparked earlier this month by a social media post from the girlfriend of Oyun-Erdene’s 23-year-old son, Temuulen, showcasing a lavish birthday gift. The display of wealth quickly gained traction online and reignited long-standing anger over corruption within the ranks of Mongolia’s political elite.
The prime minister’s office dismissed the claims as a “smear,” but authorities have since called Temuulen back from Harvard University as they investigate his finances.
Meanwhile, protesters have vowed to continue demonstrating until he steps down.
The protests also follow economic frustrations as Mongolia’s gross domestic product growth slowed to 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, down from 7.9 percent during the same period in 2024, according to bne IntelliNews.
Critics have pointed to the administration’s state-centric economic policies as a contributing factor, prompting calls for a pause or shift in strategy.
Complicating the situation is the current internal dispute within the governing coalition.
Earlier this month, the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which holds 68 of the 126 seats in parliament, voted to expel the Democratic Party (DP) from the coalition government.
The vote came after a number of DP members supported the protesters’ demands for Oyun-Erdene’s resignation.
The split raises the likelihood of a cabinet reshuffle or even Oyun-Erdene resigning, as he had previously indicated he would step down if the coalition collapsed.
Danes Criticize Move To Increase Retirement Age To Highest In Europe
DENMARK
Following weeks of protests, Danish lawmakers passed a bill that would raise the retirement age to 70, a move that sparked criticism from citizens, trade unions, and opposition politicians who called the measure unfair and out of touch with workers in physically demanding jobs, CNN reported.
The new bill will raise the current retirement age of 67 to 70 by 2040. The changes will apply to all citizens born after Dec. 31, 1970.
The decision makes Denmark the first European country to set a retirement age beyond 69, and places it among the highest retirement ages globally.
Before the vote, protests backed by trade unions took place in the capital, Copenhagen, in recent weeks, with unions warning that the change would deny workers “the right to a dignified senior life,” the BBC wrote.
The socialist Red-Green Alliance party and blue-collar workers condemned the bill as “incomprehensible” and that it “cannot be defended.” They countered that professionals with desk jobs do not face the same physical toll, adding that politicians and ministers can retire at 60.
But officials said the reform is driven by concerns about financial sustainability and the ability to aid Denmark’s future generations, with Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen adding it was necessary to “afford proper welfare for future generations.”
Since 2006, Denmark’s official retirement age has been linked to life expectancy and has been revised every five years. It is currently 67 but will rise to 68 in 2030 and to 69 in 2035.
Despite supporting the bill, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had previously expressed reservations about the automatic link between retirement age and life expectancy.
Meanwhile, about 80,000 Danes over the state pension age are still employed, according to the insurance and pension trade association F&P.
The association claimed that a growing number of Danes are already continuing employment beyond retirement age, and many have both the health and the motivation to do so.
Meanwhile, a number of countries have opted to increase the retirement age to reflect longer life expectancy and to tackle budget deficits.
In 2023, demonstrations erupted across France over the government’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Last year, China, which had one of the lowest retirement ages worldwide, increased it from 60 to 63 for men, and from 55 to 58 for women, depending on occupation.
DISCOVERIES
Lost – and Found
A type of gecko so rare that it was thought to be extinct – if it had ever existed at all – was recently spotted for the first time in 33 years in a remote canyon in South Africa.
The Blyde Rondavel flat gecko, Afroedura rondavelica, was first identified in that same canyon in Mpumalanga Province in northeastern South Africa in 1991 by only one scientist. But researchers believed that after such a long period of the little lizard’s absence, it either went extinct or that the two juvenile male specimens the scientist spotted decades ago were actually a different species.
As a result, it was classified as a “lost” species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature registered it as “data deficient.”
But those designations served as a challenge for researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
“Having a species that is data deficient annoys me,” researcher Darren Pietersen told the Associated Press. “I’ve always loved the species that others wouldn’t study because they’re harder to find or obscure.”
Darren and his colleague, John Davies, have been on a mission to figure out the mystery of the missing lizard for years. Recently, after waiting two years to get the necessary permits, they were dropped off by helicopter on top of one of the canyon’s landmark rocky outcrops, where the cliffs, which are over 300 feet high, can’t be easily climbed. They were there to see if they could find the gecko exactly where it was first spotted in 1991.
The researchers only had three days to find the creatures, which are about 3.15 to 3.54 inches long when fully grown, before they would have to leave the area.
“And when we did, we were elated to say the least,” said Pietersen.
They saw 20 to 30 of the geckos and were able to capture and photograph seven for the world to see. Now, the Endangered Wildlife Trust says the data collected should be enough to confirm the Blyde Rondavel gecko as a distinct species.
The gecko’s rediscovery is part of the Trust’s expanded approach to implement biodiversity surveys to identify the “biodiversity riches” in “remote and poorly understood wilderness areas across Africa,” it said in a statement, adding that it was the fifth animal it had rediscovered in recent years include a sand-dune mole, a frog and a butterfly. “They all show how much there is still to learn about the world’s biodiversity.”