Tanzania's ACT-Wazalendo says 31 arrested members missing
Zanzibar's anti-riot police officers stand guard by a group of men sitting on the ground during an operation after the Opposition called for protests in Stone Town, on October 29, 2020 as tensions rose while the results of the general election were being announced.
What you need to know:
- ACT-Wazalendo's Public Relations Secretary, Salum Bimani, said they were also looking for 30 other party members who were reportedly apprehended by the security forces.
- He said the party appealed to the international community and human rights defenders to intervene and pressure authorities against illegally holding its members amid elections.
Dar es Salaam,
It has been three days since opposition ACT-Wazalendo’s Deputy Secretary-General (Zanzibar) Nassor Ahmed Mazrui was reportedly arrested by authorities yet his condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
Speaking to The Citizen, ACT-Wazalendo's Public Relations Secretary, Salum Bimani, said they were also looking for 30 other party members who were reportedly apprehended by the security forces.
“We have not seen or heard from Mazrui since he was taken three days ago. We are also looking for 30 other members. We don’t know their whereabouts. We’ve visited nearly all police stations, and they keep giving us the same answer: they were not there,” he said.
He said the party appealed to the international community, particularly the African Unity (AU), the United Nations (UN), and human rights defenders, to intervene and pressure authorities against illegally holding its members amid elections.
Mr Bimani added: “There [have been many] human rights abuse here. Some members who were arrested by the police have been subjected to inhumane treatment”.
According to him, Mr Ismail Jussa Ladhu, a senior ACT-Wazalendo (Zanzibar) official, who was detained on Wednesday - and led away by security officers when he attempted to go and witness vote-counting - has been hospitalised after sustaining injuries including broken limbs.
Through its twitter account, ACT-Wazalendo showed pictures of Mr Jussa in a hospital bed with visible injuries.
“This is how @IsmailJussa was beaten by security forces yesterday. This is inhumane and this cannot be accepted to those who love humanity. We call on the international community to watch and act over the Magufuli regime, [sic]” the party wrote on its Twitter page.
Seif Shariff Hamad
On Friday, ACT-Wazalendo Zanzibar presidential candidate Seif Shariff Hamad reported to the police as required.
“He has reported and, as we are talking, he is still there,” Bimani said at the time.
Mr Hamad and Prof Omar Fakih were arrested by the police on Thursday morning soon after he had concluded a press conference in Zanzibar.
The arrest came after preliminary results from the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) showed that the CCM Zanzibar presidential candidate, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, was in the lead, according to tallying by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC).
The police did not give details of the arrest but, in a video posted on social media on Thursday, Mr Hamad, who is ACT chairman, called on Zanzibaris to meet at Michenzani Street in Unguja to oppose what the party claimed to be sabotage of the elections.
“In claiming this, I call upon all citizens in Unguja - everyone - to do whatever they can to be at Michenzani right now, without delay. Whether we as leaders will die or be arrested ... we are ready for anything,” he said.
This was Mr Hamad's second time to be arrested by the police in just three days.
He was first arrested on the morning of October 27 when he went to the Garagara polling station in Unguja. October 27 was designated by ZEC as a day for security forces and ZEC officials to cast their votes.
