Tanzanian Lecturer Arrested By Police Over Classroom Remarks As Academics Decry President Suluhu’s Administration
Tanzanian Lecturer Arrested By Police Over Classroom Remarks As Academics Decry President Suluhu’s Administration
University staff described the incident as an evidence of increasing state surveillance and repression under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
Concerns over academic freedom and civil liberties have intensified in Tanzania following the arrest of a senior lecturer at the University of Dodoma.
University staff described the incident as an evidence of increasing state surveillance and repression under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
According to the University of Dodoma Academic Staff Association (UDOMASA), armed police officers raided the lecturer’s residence on the night of December 9, 2025, searched his home, seized personal belongings and took him into custody.
The arrest reportedly followed comments he made during a lecture the previous day.
In a statement circulated to its members, UDOMASA alleged that the lecturer’s classroom remarks were secretly recorded by an informer planted among students and forwarded to “higher authorities,” who ordered his arrest within hours.
The lecturer was later released on bail after interrogation at a police station.
A letter titled “Urgent Alert to All Members,” dated December 12 and signed by UDOMASA General Secretary, Isaac Mahenge, warned academic staff of what the association described as a “new reality” of surveillance within university classrooms.
“On 9 December, a fellow staff member was arrested, his home searched and interrogated at a police station before he was released on bail,” the letter stated. “He was accused of allegedly making remarks in his 8 December lecture that incited students to participate in demonstrations on 9 December.”
The association said the alleged remarks were “purportedly secretly recorded by an informer in the class and sent to high authorities,” prompting swift police action.
Human rights advocate Gavriel E. Toviel, who shared the letter on X, said the incident marked a dangerous escalation in state interference in academic spaces. “The incident indicates a ‘new reality’ where lectures may be under surveillance,” the letter cautioned, urging staff to exercise “extreme caution in classrooms” while the matter is investigated.
https://x.com/i/status/1999690360822337754
UDOMASA strongly condemned the arrest, describing it as an attack on academic freedom and freedom of expression.
The association accused the government of violating both domestic and international legal protections, including Article 18 of the Tanzanian Constitution, provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and UNESCO standards on academic freedom.
In a sharply worded statement, the association warned against what it described as the transformation of universities into “spy chambers” and students into informants. “This is no longer reform; this is repression,” the statement said.
UDOMASA demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the lecturer, the dropping of all charges, an end to classroom surveillance, and accountability for officers involved in the raid. The group also called for a public apology from President Samia Suluhu Hassan to the academic community.
“Until these demands are met, we call on every lecturer, every student, and every Tanzanian who still believes in freedom to refuse to be gagged,” the statement read. “They can jail one of you today, but they will never jail the truth.”
The incident has, however, sparked renewed debate about shrinking civic space in Tanzania and the safety of scholars whose teaching or research touches on politically sensitive issues.
