Tanzania has dismissed the latest Human Rights Watch report detailing various rights abuses in the country ahead of local government elections next month, saying it is exaggerated and lacks credibility.
HRW on Wednesday called on Tanzanian authorities to "take urgent steps to reverse the deteriorating human rights situation in the country" ahead of the November 27 civic polls, including ending a crackdown on opposition voices and ensuring "prompt and impartial" investigations into abuses.
It cited a string of arrests, abductions and killings of government critics and restrictions on freedom of expression in recent months as evidence of increasing government "intolerance" in the run-up to the elections.
But, speaking to DW Kiswahili radio later on Wednesday, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi said the report did not "accurately portray the actual situation on the ground."
"No country is perfect, but the human rights situation in Tanzania is not as bad as HRW is claiming. All the steps that the government has been taking (to address the situation) have been based on the country's Constitution, laws, regulations, procedures, norms and traditions," Prof Kabudi asserted.
"HRW should not be claiming we are breaking laws but rather pointing out any problems with the laws that are in place. A lot (more) will be said, but it's important that people weigh each claim accordingly."
In its statement, the international rights watchdog said Tanzanian authorities had "arbitrarily arrested hundreds of opposition supporters, imposed restrictions on social media access, banned independent media, and been implicated in the abduction and extrajudicial killing of at least eight government critics" since June this year.
It said the "oppressive measures" mirrored the climate ahead of Tanzania's 2020 general election, "when there was a (similar) marked deterioration in freedom of expression and association and other human rights".
“The Tanzanian authorities have shown increasing intolerance for free speech by clamping down on their critics and the political opposition,” said HRW senior Africa researcher Oryem Nyeko.
“The government should urgently stem the tide of repression or risk escalating an already tense political environment.”
The statement also referred to a report by Netblocks in September that Tanzania had blocked access to the social media platform X to restrict online discussions around the situation, and the suspension of media house Mwananchi Communications Ltd (MCL) online licence earlier this month for publishing an animated video hinting at government inaction over the abductions.
Responding to these media clampdown claims, Prof Kabudi described the Netblocks' report as an "allegation", but said the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority had acted within its mandate in sanctioning MCL over the animation.
