The women’s wing of Tanzania’s opposition party ACT-Wazalendo has announced plans to go to court to seek legal interpretation over the ownership of a report investigating violence linked to the October 2025 general elections.
Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam on May 10, 2026, the chairperson of the party’s national women’s wing, Janeth Rithe, said the move follows remarks by President Samia Suluhu Hassan claiming the report was her personal property and not public property.
Rithe said the opposition party intends to ask the court to determine the legality of withholding a report funded by taxpayers.
“We want to know the legality of privately owning an investigative report financed by citizens’ taxes,” she said.
She added that ACT-Wazalendo would also seek a court order nullifying the report if it is not made public and instead push for the formation of an independent international commission to investigate the killings linked to the elections.
According to Rithe, the party believes only an international inquiry would ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible for planning and carrying out acts of violence against Tanzanians.
The women’s wing also criticized retired judge Othman Chande, accusing him of abandoning neutrality and acting more as an adviser to the president than an independent figure committed to revealing the truth.
ACT-Wazalendo said it had from the beginning demanded an independent international commission, but claimed the government ignored those calls and instead formed a commission whose findings are now being withheld from the public.
The party argues that any report financed using public funds legally belongs to Tanzanians and should therefore be accessible to citizens.
The dispute adds to growing political tension in Tanzania following the controversial October 2025 elections, which triggered allegations of violence, repression and crackdowns on opposition supporters.
Opposition groups and human rights organizations have continued demanding greater transparency over investigations into the reported killings and unrest that followed the elections.
