Tanzanian Police Steal Mobile Phones & Laptops from Arbitrarily Arrested Activists

12th March, 2024 — Young Tanzanian activist Deusdedith Soka was arrested by the police this morning at 4 am, he was severely beaten by Samia Suluhu Hassan’s thugs and sustained an eye injury. This evening, after an all-out call for his release exploded on the internet, the police released him and he was taken to hospital by friends and well-wishers for emergency treatment.

In my article Tanzanian Dictatorship On the Verge of Collapse Turns On Activists in New Spate of Arbitrary Arrests, I talk about Soka’s previous arrest earlier this year, and spill the beans on the ruthless Tanzanian dictatorship.

In this article, I want to focus on mobile device theft perpetrated by the Tanzanian police. They’ve taken away Deusdedith Soka’s mobile phones and laptop as they do with every activist they arrest, and this is not the first time they’ve stolen his mobile phones. Mind you, this is not confiscation for investigation purposes, it is outright theft. The police never return devices, they flush them and acquire them as their own personal property.

We want the police to return all the devices they’ve stolen from Deusdedith Soka, and we hold the president of the United Republic Of Tanzania directly responsible because not only does she order these arrests, she allows the police to break the law with impunity.

In my article #Tanzania: A Citizen Reflects On Nation’s Plight Ignored by Government, I publish an account of the events that are unfolding on the ground and urge donors and development partners to hold back on funding Tanzania’s illegitimate CCM government.

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