Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi alleges assassination plot, names suspect

Prominent Tanzanian activist and whistleblower Maria Sarungi Tsehai has alleged an assassination plot against her life.

In her statement she named a suspect allegedly  operating under a Kenyan phone alias.

The accusation, posted on X earlier today comes amid heightened tensions following a violent crackdown on protests after Tanzania’s disputed general elections.

In her post, Ms. Tsehai shared a photograph of the alleged suspect and urged her followers to provide additional details to verify his identity, stating her intention to submit evidence to authorities. 

“The plot to assassinate me is confirmed! The name is confirmed! I just want to make sure we have the correct face before I submit necessary documentation,” she wrote.

Earlier on this year, Ms. Sarungi was abducted in Kenya.

It is reported that she was manhandled and forcibly taken into a vehicle by four unknown assailants in Nairobi. 

The activist is a staunch critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. 

The post has since gotten different responses with Kenyan users offering to track the named person's whereabouts in Nairobi, including specific locations along Naivasha Road and Uthiru. 

However, some counter-claims on the platform accuse Ms. Sarungi of inciting unrest, reflecting the polarised reactions to her activism.

Her allegations build on her ongoing campaign against state-sponsored violence in Tanzania, where she has documented harassment, abductions, and the alleged use of mercenaries. 

The recent election violence, which saw the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party retain power, has drawn international scrutiny. 

Roland Ebole, Amnesty International’s regional researcher for East Africa, told AFP that the post-election chaos stems from a wave of abductions and killings of government critics.

“People were not expecting Tanzania to get to this level. But when you push people, when opposition candidates are either in prison or banned from participating, when people are abducted left, right, centre with no kind of accountability, when there are arbitrary arrests of opposition supporters, people have been cornered for so long, and at some point they had to retaliate and push back,” he said.