Tanzania: Internet blockade ended after five days, WhatsApp & Co. still blocked
Tanzania was offline for almost a week, now the internet is back. However, social networks and messengers are apparently still blocked.
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After a five-day shutdown, the internet in Tanzania was partially restored on Monday, but numerous internet services and social networks remain blocked. This was reported by Netblocks and can also be verified elsewhere. For example, measurement data show from the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) shows that neither Facebook Messenger, Signal, nor WhatsApp are working in the country; Telegram is also not working but was blocked earlier. Tor can therefore currently also not be used from Tanzania. Cloudflare has also observed the restoration of the internet; the US company published temporary lifting of the blocks on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
The nationwide internet blockade began last week concurrently with the presidential and parliamentary elections in the East African country. There was no information on the background. However, after the polling stations closed, reports of demonstrations across the country emerged. The re-election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan (65) was considered certain, also because the two most promising opponents were excluded from the election. Parallel to the internet shutdown, a state of emergency was declared after the vote; yesterday, Monday, the incumbent president was sworn in for her second term. According to official results, Hassan was re-elected with 97.66 percent of the votes.
Radio France Internationale (RFI) now reports that hundreds of people are said to have died in the massive protests in recent days. Citing an anonymous source, the French international broadcaster further writes that there are “concerning reports” that the police in Tanzania may have used the period without internet to “hunt down opposition figures and people with video recordings of the crimes.” Dozens of election observers from ten countries have reportedly criticized the elections and stated that many people were unable to express their democratic will. Despite the end of the internet blockade, there are no new articles on news sites from Tanzania yet.
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The sworn-in president, according to dpa, expressed her grief over the loss of life and destruction of property in her inaugural address. She reportedly blamed foreign nationals for the violence. At the same time, she warned that security forces would act decisively against troublemakers. “We must ensure that something like this never happens again,” she said. Schools and shops remain closed in the country, and public transport is also still at a standstill, according to RFI. The opposition has reportedly already called for new elections and is heavily criticizing the government.
(mho)
