Tanzania has arrested a WhatsApp group admin while his co-admins are being sought on claims that the group was discussing plans for a fresh round of protests.
Ambrose Leonce Dede, who is a security guard and a registered member of the opposition party Chadema, was apprehended yesterday and taken itto custody.
According to a Tanzania police statement issued on Thursday morning, Dede and seven of his group members are admins of the SAUTI YA WATANZANIA WhatsApp group. He was arrested in Makiungu town, Ikiungi district, Singida province.
“The evidence gathered before his arrest indicate that in the said WhatsApp group along Ise his co-Admins, they are engaged alongside other members, some who are outside the country,” Tanzania Police Force Spokesman David Misime said while releasing the phone numbers of other admins.
In the statement issued from the administrative capital Dodoma, Misime added, “Investigations are near completion as efforts are being made to arrest his accomplices and suspects whose numbers haven’t been disclosed due to investigations and impending arrests. Once that is over, other legal steps will follow.”
The Tanzanian police have warned members of the public to stay away from participating in group chats with individuals who are planning what they call chaos disguised as peaceful protests, saying that no one will be spared.
“The Police Force is urging citizens to avoid engaging in group chats being run by persons who are planning and continue causing chaos through peaceful protests or due to any other means, as that is a violation of the law and we will not hesitate to take action in accordance with the law on anyone found culpable.”
The statement added, “Equally, it’s important for our people to identify individuals seeking to destroy peace since it's the citizens who suffer while their families are not afflicted, as they benefit from funds, they are paid for running such groups online.”
There have been widely shared reports that Tanzanians are planning a large-scale protest on December 9th, to coincide with the country’s Independence Day.
This has brought fears that the protests may turn bloody with demands for the removal of President Samia Suluhu in response to mass killings and arrests following the disputed October 29, 2025, elections.
Although Tanzanian authorities have refused to release data on the number of casualties, there have been claims of over 1000 killed as international human rights groups press for accountability.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk on 11 November called for an investigation into the killings, and into further allegations that the police had moved bodies from the streets “to undisclosed locations” to conceal evidence.
Tanzania has blamed the election chaos on foreigners and commenced a crackdown that saw many opposition supporters arrested.
On Wednesday, Tanzanian authorities released several senior opposition leaders detained following the deadly protests that followed the disputed elections, according to Chadema.
Chadema vice chairman John Heche and deputy secretary-general Amani Golugwa, Godbless Lema, a member of Chadema’s central committee, and Boniface Jacob, chairman of the party’s coastal region branch, were among those released.
More than 170 people have already been charged with treason over the violence that gripped Tanzania from election day last month.
