Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
Social media activist Edgar Mwakabela, known as Sativa, recounts a near-death experience following his abduction from a highway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s principal city.
In an interview with the BBC, he details how he was kidnapped on June 23 of the previous year, subsequently interrogated, and then transported over 1,000km (600 miles) across the country to the isolated Katavi region near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sativa reports being handcuffed, blindfolded, and subjected to severe beatings, including repeated blows to his head, back, and legs with the flat of a machete.
“It was extremely painful,” he stated.
He told the BBC that his abductors sought information regarding the sources of support for his activism and the reasons behind his criticism of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power since 1977.
Sativa believes his captors were either police officers or operatives with ties to the authorities.
The government, however, denies targeting individuals critical of the state.
Sativa recalls that on the fourth day of his captivity, the violence continued as he was transported to Katavi National Park, an area teeming with dangerous wildlife, and dragged toward a river.
He believes that his captors clearly intended to end his life.
Then, he says, came the chilling order shouted from a vehicle behind them: “Shoot him!”
A firearm was discharged, and a bullet pierced his skull, shattering his jaw.
Sativa’s captors departed, leaving him for dead.
As the general election in October approaches, abductions have reportedly become more frequent, predominantly targeting anti-government voices and opposition figures.
Reports of missing persons are announced by police or on social media platforms almost every other week. Some individuals are never found, while others reappear with disturbing accounts of violence or torture; some have been found deceased.
Sativa’s case offers a rare account from a survivor.
Despite sustaining life-threatening injuries, he regained consciousness and crawled to a road, where he was rescued by wildlife rangers.
His survival has been described as “extraordinary,” and he has required extensive and specialized medical treatment.
The police did not respond to BBC requests for an interview. However, in a video statement released to media outlets in June, Deputy Commissioner David Misime, a police spokesperson, stated that they respond to information regarding missing persons and conduct investigations.
The BBC has spoken to families of individuals reported missing and those who have died, and they have recounted their anguish over missing loved ones.
Portrait artist Shedrack Chaula, 25, is among those still missing.
He has not been seen or heard from in over a year. In June 2024, he posted a TikTok video that went viral of him burning President Samia Suluhu’s photo and insulting her.
He was arrested and convicted of cyber-harassment and released after paying a fine. A month later, he was abducted by unknown individuals.
“We don’t know when or if he will be found. When he was arrested, at least we knew where he was. Now, even the authorities say they don’t know,” his father, Yusuf Chaula, told the BBC.
He stated that in August 2024, three men arrived in a car with tinted windows and seized him. They did not identify themselves or explain why or where they were taking him.
“We have made every effort. We are exhausted. We visited every detention facility. We went to prisons and police stations at different levels – local, district and regional,” he said.
The police have insisted that an investigation is in progress.
“If we knew where he is, or where he is being held, or even if we knew he had died and been buried somewhere, at least we’d have a grave to visit,” Mr. Chaula said mournfully, grappling with the torment of unanswered questions and the absence of closure.
In June, UN experts reported that over 200 enforced disappearances have been recorded in the country since 2019.
They expressed alarm over the “torture to silence opposition and critics” ahead of the elections, and called on the government to “immediately” stop it.
Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently accused the government of being behind arrests, abuse and forced disappearances.
The authorities have denied the allegations.
The police have identified at least a dozen abduction cases since last year, some of which have since been resolved, with many going back to 2019.
On June 18, the police announced that investigations had led to the discovery of some victims who were still alive.
They added that some cases involved self-staged abductions, while others arose from romantic relationships gone sour, superstitious beliefs, and property disputes.
“The police force urges relatives, friends, and the public to remain calm as security forces continue their investigations to uncover the facts surrounding these incidents,” Deputy Commissioner Misime said.
The president has urged the police force to end the troubling incidents of people going missing – a directive many Tanzanians hope will lead to justice.
In May, activist and opposition politician Mpaluka Nyangali, widely known as Mdude, was abducted from his home in Mbeya, southern Tanzania, in a violent incident witnessed by his wife and young child.
There were blood stains at the scene, showing the brutality of the attack.
Since then, members of the main opposition Chadema party have launched a search across Mbeya and have held prayer vigils demanding answers from the police, whom they suspect to be complicit in the incident.
To date, Mdude’s wife, Siji Mbugi, has not heard from him.
“I beg for the release of my husband. I believe he is being held by police and the authorities. Mdude has done nothing. He has never stolen anything from anybody, I beg for his release. If he had issues, then take him to court,” she says.
On July 9, the High Court in Mbeya dismissed a case that she filed over her husband’s disappearance.
She had testified that armed individuals identifying themselves as police officers had stormed their home late at night and assaulted Mdude before taking him away.
During the proceedings, Mbeya police admitted they were investigating the possibility that one of their officers may have played a role in the abduction of Mdude.
Activists have described the dismissal of the case as a major setback in the continuing struggle for justice for Tanzania’s embattled opposition.
No arrests or prosecutions have been made in connection with incidents, although the police say investigations are under way.
Some activists from other countries in the region have also accused the Tanzanian authorities of targeting them.
Kenyan Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan Agather Atuhaire have said that they were detained and sexually tortured after they arrived in Tanzania on May 19 to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges.
Mwangi’s and Atuhaire’s whereabouts were unknown for several days. Both were abandoned near their countries’ borders.
But Jumanne Muliro, the commander of the Dar es Salaam police special zone, told the BBC at the time that their allegations were “hearsay” and asked them to present evidence for investigations. They have since filed a case at the regional East African Court of Justice over the matter.
Their ordeal cast a spotlight on the issue of forced disappearances of government critics, opposition figures, and human rights defenders in Tanzania.
“No one is providing answers,” says Maduhu William, an activist at the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), adding that security agencies routinely promise to conduct a thorough investigation, but the matter ends there.
“At the end of the day, we do not get feedback on what is happening to those [cases],” he says, citing the example of Ali Kibao, a senior Chadema official, who was killed last year after being kidnapped, beaten, and doused with acid.
“Even President [Samia] ordered security forces in Tanzania to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report to her for further action. But up to now, nothing has been heard,” he says.
Boniface Mwabukusi, the president of the Tanganyika Law Society, says many people are afraid to come out and share their stories for fear of victimization.
He says there is no free, independent system that can ensure proper justice.
“If you are in police custody and the same officers ask you to give a statement about your abduction, can you really go to them? You can’t,” he says.
“Most people, they leave it to God. They are afraid. They say if they pursue the matter, things will get worse.”
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