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Some are dead or injured. We never hear from others: a wave of kidnappings in Tanzania that seems to target government critics has put the country on the nerves.
In May, high-ranking dissident Mdude Nyagali was abducted by four armed men after leaving work. He was thrown and seriously beaten in a village two days later, according to the main Chadema opposition party.
The incident came just hours after he described President John Magufuli as "hypocritical" in a Twitter publication. He later accused security forces of kidnapping.
Nyagali was one of the lucky ones.
In February 2018, Daniel John, a member of Chadema, was kidnapped in the middle of a political campaign, but was found dead, machete wounded in the head.
Two years earlier, Ben Saanane, badistant to Chadema's chief Freeman Mbowe, had disappeared and his fate is still unknown.
"I do not remember a wave of kidnappings of this magnitude before 2016," said Aidan Eyakuze, a civil society activist who wrote editorials criticizing the crackdown on Tanzanian media and the media. Magufuli's approach to democracy.
The Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Tanzania (THRDC) has 17 kidnappings of "human rights defenders, journalists, businessmen," and "human rights defenders. politicians and artists "since 2016.
"People say they are scared because no one seems to be safe, and in public transport and bars we do not talk about politics anymore, they are afraid of people sitting next to them," he said. AFP a bus driver from Arusha under the guise of anonymity.
Magufuli, whose nickname "tingatinga" means "bulldozer" in Swahili, came to power in 2015, portraying himself as a realistic man-of-the-people and breaking corruption.
Human rights observers say, however, that a climate of fear has emerged since his election.
"Kidnappings have increased, targeting mainly those who openly criticize the regime, especially political opponents," said Fatma Karume, former president of the Tanganyika Law Society.
"Even among us, in the CCM (ruling party), people are scared.No legislator dares to say anything for fear of being targeted or struck off the list of candidates in the next election ", told AFP a member of this party at AFP. condition of anonymity.
"Lies"
Opposition parties accuse the government of their blame, recalling that since the election of Magufuli, their meetings are banned, that top officials have been arrested while newspapers were closed and their journalists arrested or threatened for criticize the authorities.
Opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu has accused the authorities of having committed an attack in 2017, which would have earned him many bullets at home.
"The regime is behind all this, such are the tactics of a regime that does not accept any criticism," said legislator Halima Mdee, leader of Chadema's women's wing.
A Tanzanian journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that those who survived their kidnappings often remain silent about the details for fear of "retaliation".
Opposition members and human rights activists say that kidnapping investigations lead nowhere.
As for the government, it says that many disappearances are false.
"On social networks, people make kidnappings and disappearances, which can split the country and cause panic among the population," Interior Minister Kangi Lugola said earlier this month. of a public gathering.
He ordered the police "to find and arrest the people who spread these lies in order to return the population against the government".
Last March, student activist Abdul Nondo was kidnapped and found wounded. But when he reported the incident to the police, he was arrested for inventing it.
A court acquitted him in November 2018.
This month's THRDC called for a "national conference" to discuss the issue of kidnappings.
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