Examining Rising Repression in East Africa - Tanzania: Perfected Brutality

Are All African Autocratic Leaders in the Same WhatsApp Group? Examining Rising Repression in East Africa

The political landscape in East Africa has undergone a dramatic shift. Once considered leaders in driving regional stability and democratic reform, the region’s founding countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) are now experiencing an upsurge of state-led repression. Rising disappearances, state-sponsored abduction, sham elections, internet shutdowns, media gags, and weaponization of the law against ordinary people and dissidents have created a borderless federation of repression. The tactics are cross-border, and the leadership support each other's efforts and protect their interests. The question for young East Africans is whether the East African autocrats are all in one WhatsApp group.

Through country-specific sessions and a culminating public conversation, this webinar series will:

• Analyze the shared rise of the authoritarian playbook across East Africa and how that mirrors other authoritarian regimes and networks globally.
• Explore how surveillance capitalism, censorship and other aspects of technology are reshaping the authoritarian landscape.
• Foster interdisciplinary discussion on the future of civic resistance, regional justice, and international accountability.
• Connect the Harvard community with leading individuals, frontline activists, legal experts, and journalists from the region.

Tanzania: Perfected Brutality

Once positioned as a reformer, President Samia’s authoritarian rule has come as a shock to the region and to the region and the world. While other East African leaders were training, Samia has perfected authoritarian craftsmanship. The sheer force that was applied to quell protesters was not meant to deter but to eliminate. She issued a shoot to kill order and justified it as ‘proportionate’ force. What fuels such a leadership style and how do those opposed to the brutality navigate the nation back to safety?

Speakers

Deus Valentine is a renowned civil society and governance practitioner in East Africa with over a decade of experience in building national and regional coalitions, advising bilateral, multilateral, and private foundation donors on human rights, governance, and democratic reforms. He currently works as the Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Strategic Litigation which he co-founded in 2019 in response to a rule of law crisis observed in the region.

Baruani Idd Mshale is Regional Head for Research and Learning at Twaweza East Africa: a regional NGO promoting democracy for inclusive development across East Africa.. Trained at the University of Michigan and Yale University, his work focuses on climate justice, inclusive development, democracy, and youth in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Boniface A.K. Mwabukusi is a seasoned legal expert with over 15 years of experience in litigation, human rights advocacy, and governance and the current President of the Tanganyika Law Society. He has been instrumental in defending human rights defenders and advancing legal reforms.  In addition, he has worked as a public interest litigator leading litigation on human rights violations and governance issues. He facilitated legal training on child rights, gender-based violence, and land law; and did contribute to the drafting the Tanzania Child Act and the SADC Gender Development Protocol among others.

Moderator

Zoe Marks is is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Harvard Center for African Studies. Her research and teaching focuses on the intersections of conflict and peacebuilding; gender and intersectional inequality; and African politics.