Tanzanian police said on Friday they were banning the main opposition party from holding a protest against killings and abductions of its members.
The Chadema party had called a mass rally in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on September 23 unless recent disappearances were investigated and missing members 鈥榖rought back alive or dead鈥�.
But police spokesperson David Misime told reporters that 鈥榯he Chadema protests are banned鈥� and warned the party that 鈥榩olice will deal with anyone who violates this order鈥�.
There had been hopes Tanzania was entering a period of democratic freedom under president Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took over from her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli when he died suddenly in March 2021.
She had removed a ban on opposition gatherings and eased restrictions on the media, but rights groups are concerned by signs her position has hardened in recent weeks.
In August, as many as 520 Chadema leaders and supporters were arrested across the country ahead of a planned rally to mark International Youth Day, though key figures were released on bail a day later.
Chadema accuses the authorities of 鈥榢illings and abductions鈥�, including of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a member of its national secretariat, who was found dead at the weekend after being beaten and doused with acid, according to party leader Freeman Mbowe.
鈥榃e have resolved to demonstrate in efforts to protect our lives and our country,鈥� Mbowe said Wednesday.
The Tanganyika Law Society said last month that 83 people were either kidnapped or went missing between 2016 and 2024.
The US embassy in Tanzania has called on the authorities to conduct an 鈥榠ndependent, transparent, and prompt investigation鈥� into Kibao鈥檚 death.