Tanzania vows to arrest US-based activist over posts alleging killings

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Mange Kimambi, a prominent Tanzanian activist living in the United States, has been posting photos and videos allegedly showing anti-government protesters killed in last week's elections -- content that authorities are now seeking to suppress.

President Samia Suluhu won the October 29 poll with 98 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, but the opposition branded the polls a "sham," while continental observers said it did not adhere to democratic principles.

Violent protests broke out across the East African country on election day, and the government responded with internet blackout, making it difficult to access verified information.

Activist Kimambi has been posting gruesome images and videos almost hourly, showing corpses with exposed tissue, hospitals with blood-soaked floors, and wounded bodies torn apart by bullets.

Some appear to show police officers or men in civilian clothes walking with weapons in hand or firing in cities turned into ghost towns.

While the content is difficult to verify, some visuals examined by AFP's fact-checking team show no previous presence online.

Certain details -- including road signs, police uniforms and the use of Tanzanian Swahili -- suggest the footage may have been taken in the East African nation.

"The violence Samia Suluhu unleashed against Tanzanians for protesting and demanding free and fair elections," reads a common caption in Kimambi's posts.

Opposition party Chadema has said that at least 800 people were killed in election violence, with diplomatic and security sources backing that estimate and suggesting there were credible reports the numbers could reach thousands.

Tanzanian authorities have not released an official death toll, only expressing regret for the "lost lives".

On Thursday, Tanzanian Attorney General Hamza Johari vowed to arrest Kimambi for continuing to post the harrowing visuals on her Instagram, where she has 2.5 million followers, and on X, where she has nearly 400,000.

"We must arrest her... Let's see if we have an extradition agreement with the United States to bring her here," Johari said.

Kimambi appeared unmoved by the statements, labelling the attorney general an "idiot" and questioning if such an extradition agreement exists.

"You have killed thousands of young people in Tanzania, but you're going after Mange instead of prosecuting the murderers and those who sent them to kill," she said in a video.

Tanzanian police warned this week that anyone found sharing images "that may create panic or humiliate people" would be punished.

Human rights defender Tito Magoti said the moves were by the government and "their propaganda machinery" as they attempted to "instill fear".

Despite the escalating rhetoric, activist Kimambi has pinned three particularly horrifying videos on her X account, showing the bodies of young men lying face down.

She claims the footage was taken in Mwanza -- one of the regions hard hit by violent protests -- and that the victims were attacked and killed while watching football at a cafe.

"My number is public. It is available on my Instagram and X accounts," she told AFP in a short message.

"Most Tanzanians have my number and send me their photos individually."