Tanzania has been thrust into the global spotlight after President Samia Suluhu Hassan was named in a explosive petition filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged atrocities linked to the country’s October 29, 2025 general elections.
According to a statement dated Tuesday, November 25, 2025, the World Jurists Association and the Madrid Bar Association accuse Tanzanian security forces of carrying out mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and the violent displacement of Maasai communities during and after the disputed polls.
The petition—an 82-page document submitted under Article 15(2) of the Rome Statute—argues that Tanzanian civilians were subjected to systematic and widespread attacks allegedly enabled by state policy.
“This Communication provides substantiated information concerning crimes against humanity perpetrated against the civilian population… with particular focus on the systematic attack during and following the general elections of 29 October 2025,” reads part of the filing.
The petitioners, led by international human rights lawyer Juan Carlos Gutierrez, go further—asserting that the alleged atrocities were carried out “with the knowledge and direct participation of the highest levels of the Tanzanian government, including President Samia Suluhu Hassan.”
They say the crimes meet the threshold of Article 7 of the ICC Statute, covering:
murder
persecution
torture
enforced disappearance
sexual violence
forcible transfer of populations
The groups claim the violence of 2025 was not an isolated eruption but part of a three-year pattern of abuses.
“The temporal scope of this Communication extends from 2022 to the present… documenting a systematic pattern of crimes against humanity that intensified dramatically during the October 2025 electoral period,” the petition states.
They also say they have conducted cyber-enabled monitoring and documentation since 2016, forming much of the evidence submitted to the ICC.
In their starkest appeal, the organizations demand immediate ICC intervention, saying victims have waited too long for accountability.
“Tanzania’s victims—protesters murdered for demanding electoral integrity, activists disappeared, journalists tortured, Maasai dispossessed, Muslim communities devastated—have waited long enough for justice.”
They are urging the ICC Prosecutor to:
open a preliminary examination,
launch a full investigation, and
pursue prosecution “with all available resources and speed.”
The ICC has not yet confirmed the admissibility of the petition or whether it will open proceedings.
Legal experts note that the court will first assess:
jurisdiction,
gravity of allegations,
admissibility under international thresholds,
before deciding whether to advance to the investigation stage.
As regional and global actors monitor the situation, the petition represents the most serious international legal challenge to President Samia Suluhu’s administration to date. Whether the case proceeds could significantly shape Tanzania’s political and diplomatic trajectory in the months ahead.
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