Tanzanian government vows to investigate, verify allegations in CNN's investigation on killings

The Tanzanian government has issued its first official response to a CNN investigation that accused police of shooting unarmed protesters and secretly burying dozens, possibly hundreds, of bodies in mass graves after the disputed 29 October general election.

In a short statement released on Friday by the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Chief Government Spokesman Gerson Msigwa said the authorities had "taken note" of the documentary and were now "reviewing and verifying" the allegations.

He added that a fuller response would be given once the review is complete.

The restrained tone of the statement contrasts sharply with the disturbing claims made by CNN.

The investigation used satellite images, geolocated videos, forensic audio analysis and eyewitness accounts to show what it described as indiscriminate police shootings in several cities, including Arusha and Dar es Salaam.

The report said the violence left multiple people dead, among them a pregnant woman and a young man who was shot at close range.

CNN also pointed to satellite images of freshly disturbed earth at Kondo cemetery near Arusha as possible signs of mass graves. During a week-long internet shutdown and national curfew, morgues were said to have been filled with unidentified bodies.

Larry Madowo, CNN's International Correspondent, who led the investigation, noted the government's earlier silence in a Facebook post.

Geolocated videos from the scenes, audio forensic analysis of the shots fired and first-hand accounts from witnesses and victims document the brutality unleashed on young demonstrators following the re-election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan - who claimed she won with 98% of... pic.twitter.com/VEl6voRo1J

- CNN Africa (@CNNAfrica) November 21, 2025

Posting the statement on his socials, he wrote: "The Tanzanian government didn't respond to our detailed questions before we published. Now they're saying this."

President Samia Suluhu Hassan's sweeping victory, officially put at almost 98 per cent, has been rejected by opposition leaders, human rights groups and regional observers, who say it followed widespread voter suppression and the removal of key challengers from the ballot.

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power for six decades, has denied all wrongdoing, insisting that the unrest involved only isolated acts of vandalism that were quickly contained by police.