Need for a Review
Calls for a Policy Review towards Tanzania won't go away
One of the classic sayings to describe actions that are confusing is to say the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Other times we will hear about how often Peter is robbed to pay Paul. In Foreign Policy, this is a paradox that occurs more often than not.
This phenomenon often happens during or after a crisis has run its course. Often, we can use to describe the positions that often are in play within the various branches of the United States Government.
Once again, this dynamic is active in Washington. Various Elements within the branches of the U.S. Government are sending mixed signals on what the concerns they have over a country that had a recent crisis and what steps are being taken to address the issues.
In late October 2025 Tanzanian voters went to the polls to determine whether President Samia Suluhu Hassan was deserving another term as President of the United Republic of Tanzania. After a brief delay in tabulating the results, it was then determined that Ms. Hassan was duly reelected as President.
After the results were announced, a weeklong series of protests turned violent. Thousands of young citizens were killed or injured within a week. The actions of the security forces in covering up their actions in suppressing the violence couldn’t be ignored.
In Washington, one of the first actions that was demanded was a policy review conducted by the State Department. Since that call was first made in November that issue has been overshadowed by other issues such as the situation in Nigeria. However, recent reports indicate that the issue may soon be returned.
On May 20th, Semafor, one of the relatively new online political news outlets, posted an item where they had exclusive insight into a pending resolution. It seems that Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) would authorize new sanctions on Tanzanian officials and freeze security assistance to the country amid the ongoing political crisis.
It appears that the idea is popular with some inside the State Department. A mere 24 hours later the State Department announced that Tanzanian Police Force Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele would be targeted with Sanctions for violating the rights of two Ugandan Observers at the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. For these acts the commissioner would be banned from travelling to the United States.
As with most pieces of legislation that are introduced on a bipartisan basis, there are different focal points for both Senators.
Senator Shaheen was quoted “Tanzania has long been an important partner in East Africa, but the country’s recent democratic backsliding, political violence and repression cannot be ignored,” She would further add that the bill “makes clear that the United States must stand firmly for democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law.”
Senator Cruz raises different concerns in his remarks. He would touch on the reports of Christian Persecution that has drawn more attention since the carnage after the elections. “This bill will help counter that political repression and the persecution of Tanzanian Christians, and I am proud to lead it with Senator Shaheen”. He referred to instances of ballot manipulation, abduction of religious leaders and restrictions on Christian Worship by the Tanzanian Government as factors that led him to cosponsor this resolution.
The bill if passed would give Secretary of State Marco Rubio 90 days to conduct the review and assess the democratic priorities within Tanzania, the totality of U.S. Security Assistance to Tanzania and the status of relations with China.
One thing that needs to be addressed came out of the Justified Accord Exercise earlier this month. It was revealed during this exercise that Tanzania is now matched with the Nebraska National Guard under the State Partnership Program. Under the terms of this resolution, this is an issue that needs to be answered. When was this approved by the State Department? What has changed in the last six months?
Considering the tensions in the region, these are important questions to be asked. And to quote Gen Anderson we do need to close some Intelligence Black Holes.