CNN expose reveals Suluhu’s police forces killed and buried protesters in mass graves

A chilling CNN exposé has blown the lid off the shocking violence that erupted across Tanzania after election day — a brutal crackdown so deadly that its true scale is only now coming to light.

In a hard-hitting investigation led by Larry Madowo, CNN uncovered harrowing scenes of chaos as security forces unleashed terror on protesters furious with President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government, which they accused of stealing the election.

What unfolded on Tanzania’s streets was nothing short of a manhunt.

‘Too Scared to Talk’: Witnesses Silenced by Fear

Three weeks after the bloodshed, CNN and famed open-source investigator Benjamin Strick pieced together the horror from dozens of videos and digital clues.

Their forensic analysis confirmed deaths across multiple cities — including Arusha, where two people were gunned down at the same intersection.

One victim, a woman carrying only a stick and a rock, was shot in the back as police advanced. She collapsed immediately. She was three months pregnant and the sole provider for her family.

Audio forensics traced the fatal gunshots directly to police positions.

And investigators say these confirmed deaths represent only a tiny glimpse of what truly happened.

Bodies Everywhere: Morgues Overflowing, Streets Turned Into Graveyards

Between late October and early November, the violence intensified. In Mwanza, the country’s second-largest city, the carnage was unmistakable.

Bodies piled up outside the regional hospital.

A doctor — too afraid to reveal his identity — described a nightmare scene:

“Four trips with piles of dead bodies were taken to the mortuary until it was full — then more were dumped outside.”

Doctors claim police blocked access to the wounded, dragging some victims straight to the mortuary, “so they could die there.”

In Dar es Salaam, the story was the same. A woman told CNN she found her missing brother among dozens of corpses lying on the morgue floor.

Mass Graves Allegedly Dug to Hide the Dead

CNN’s investigation uncovered claims that authorities tried to hide the bodies by dumping them in mass graves.

Videos showed large patches of freshly dug earth. Testimonies said young men were ordered to dig burial pits for the many dead.

CNN could not independently verify the graves, but satellite images showed clear signs of disturbed soil before and after the protests — consistent with mass burials.

Tanzania’s main opposition party believes at least 2,000 people were killed in just one week.