Salima Kitwana, a resident of Dar es Salaam, holds her head in anguish as she speaks about the disappearance of her son Hemedi, a moment that captures the deep uncertainty and pain endured by families still searching for answers. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Jul 13 2026 (IPS) - Every evening just before sunset, Salima Kitwana hobbles into her backyard holding a photograph.
In the picture, her son Hemedi, wearing a green football jersey, smiles awkwardly into the camera, unaware that his fate would soon be engulfed in one of Tanzania’s darkest political chapters.
At 57, Kitwana has lived with diabetes for nine years, but she says the illness has worsened since her son’s disappearance after the disputed 2025 elections and the violent crackdown that followed.
Her gnarled toes, wrapped in iodine-stained gauze, bear the marks of chronic ulcers. Some days she sits silently for hours. On others, she writhes in pain, whispering his name as if repetition might bring him back.
“Since Hemedi disappeared, my body has changed. I do not eat or sleep properly. My illness has worsened because my mind is not at peace,” she tells IPS.
“My neighbours tell me to move on. Honestly, how do I move on when I don’t know whether my son is alive or dead?” she says.
Like Kitwana, hundreds of families across Tanzania are still searching for answers after post-election violence that officials say left 518 people dead. Rights groups say the toll may be higher, with dozens still missing.
Her grief, private and intimate, is now part of a wider political reckoning that is beginning to reverberate far beyond Tanzania’s borders.
Activists have accused President Samia Suluhu Hassan of using excessive force to tighten her grip on power — allegations authorities reject, insisting security operations were necessary to restore order.
But as pressure for accountability mounts, Tanzania’s internal crisis is increasingly drawing international scrutiny, raising tougher questions in European capitals over whether development aid can remain insulated from governance concerns.
For families like Kitwana’s, those debates don’t matter. Yet they are now tied to these decisions being made thousands of kilometres away.
Salome Makamba, deputy minister for energy, cooks lunch on a clean-energy stove installed through the EU-funded CookFund programme in Tanzania. The initiative has equipped more than 45 public institutions with modern cooking technologies, benefiting over 62,000 students while reducing reliance on firewood and charcoal. As the European Parliament questions aspects of future EU engagement with Tanzania, projects such as CookFund have become a reminder of the development gains at stake, including improved health, reduced deforestation and expanded access to clean energy for schools and communities. Credit: UNCDF/CookFund
Last month, the European Parliament moved to block the proposed disbursement of a 156-million-euro (USD 168 million) development package for Tanzania’s 2026 cooperation programme, citing concerns over post-election violence and democratic backsliding.
The vote does not automatically suspend assistance. Under EU fiduciary rules, final decisions rest with the European Commission and subsequent negotiations with Tanzanian authorities.
European funding has long been embedded in Tanzania’s development architecture, supporting education, infrastructure, governance reforms, and social services.
Like Kitwana’s loss, “This vote is about trust being broken – between partners that once shared development priorities,” said a Dar es Salaam-based political commentator, Joseph Ngwegwe.
He blamed the government for underestimating the diplomatic cost of the post-election crackdown.
“Our reputation has taken a serious hit because those in power operated under the illusion that post-election violence could be treated as a purely internal security matter and quietly fade away,” he told IPS.
Ngwegwe warned that Tanzania may now be entering a period where incremental reforms are no longer sufficient.
