I. SUMMARY

II. RECOMMENDATIONS 

To the Tanzanian Government and the Zanzibar Government
To Donor Governments and Commonwealth Members 
To the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

IV. THE LEAD-UP: INTENT TO USE EXCESSIVE FORCE

The Security Forces Deployed 
Government Orders to Use Force 
An Intimidation Campaign Begins 
Shooting Worshippers at Mwembe Tanga Mosque on January 26, 2001 

Wete, Pemba Island 
Approaching Wete Town 
Wete Town: The Fourways Roundabout 
Abuses to Police and Government Property 
The Government Response 
Micheweni, Pemba Island 
Gathering at the Turn Off for Micheweni 
Police Abuses in Micheweni 
Beating and Arrests of Fleeing Demonstrators 
Chake Chake, Pemba Island
Zanzibar Town, Unguja Island 

Assaults on the Wounded and Those Assisting the Wounded 
Denial of Medical Care to Wounded 
Round ups and Arbitrary Arrests 
Rape and Sexual Abuse 
House Searches, Looting and Destruction of Property 
Mistreatment in Police Custody 
Lack of Due Process 

Local Militia (Wanagambo) 
Local authorities (Shehas) 
CCM youth supporters (Maskans) 

IX. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE 

X. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE 

The Responsibility of the Tanzanian Government 
The Role of the International Community 

This report is based on testimonies collected by the Africa division of Human Rights Watch in Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam during July and August 2001. The report also draws on material gathered from interviews with refugees in Shimoni, Kenya, conducted in February 2001. The findings are based on some 160 interviews with victims and witnesses, as well as government officials (including police officers), aid workers, and ruling and opposition party members. Human Rights Watch also obtained several minutes of video footage showing police shooting into the crowd and beating unarmed civilians in Wete. Witnesses confirmed the footage as being from January 27, 2001. Additionally, the location was identifiable as Wete town, which has never been subject to police shootings except on that day. The names of most of those interviewed, and in some instances the exact locations, are being withheld to safeguard their security.

In January 2002, Human Rights Watch returned to Tanzania for meetings with government officials to discuss our findings and recommendations prior to the publication of this report. We met with Ministry of Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Bernard Mchomvu, along with Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Shafi, and Senior Superintendent of Police King'wai. The Ministry of Defense declined to meet with us. 

The exact numbers of those killed and injured in the violence remain unknown, and the numbers provided by the government and opposition differ. The government claims that twenty-three persons were killed, eighty-two injured (including ten police officers), and 352 arrested, while CUF claims that sixty-seven people were killed. Human Rights Watch was able to verify at least thirty-five dead, and more than six hundred injured. The figures used by Human Rights Watch in this report are an approximation based on government and press figures as a starting point, and have been cross-checked with witnesses.