Everyone in Tanzania, including the government, was caught off guard when protests broke out on election day – 29 October. The polls had long been engineered to shoo President Samia Suluhu Hassan back into office. With the surprise protests, Tanzania quickly pulled the plug on internet connectivity, declared a curfew and – according to witnesses – throttled telecom network calls. Then, with deadly force, they responded to protesters, bystanders, and even residents in their own homes. When connectivity returned on Tuesday afternoon, we asked our readers what happened during the blackout. Thirty-seven wrote in. Their stories are harrowing and differ sharply from the government’s nonchalant posture.
This article first appeared in ‘The Continent’ – Issue 219.
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