Cherargei on Tanzania’s elections: Free, fair polls still a mirage in Africa
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has weighed in on the controversial elections in Tanzania, saying the events unfolding there demonstrate that democracy remains an elusive dream for much of Africa.
Speaking during a TV interview on Thursday, October 30, 2025, Cherargei said the political situation in Tanzania reminded him of a past remark by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who once mocked Kenya by saying, “kwa jirani kunawaka” during the Gen Z protests.
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“When I saw what happened yesterday in Tanzania, I remembered what Samia Suluhu once said, ‘kwa jirani kunawaka.’ I think in life you should be careful about what you say. She was chiding us then, but we wish her well,” Cherargei said.
Also watch: A 6 pm curfew is imposed in Dar es Salaam after protests erupt during the elections.
The senator noted that the Tanzanian election appeared predetermined, claiming that the incumbent president had no real opposition.
“I think she has already won the elections. It was about Samia versus Suluhu and Suluhu versus Hassan,” he said.
Cherargei criticised the political environment in Tanzania, where opposition figures have been arrested or barred from contesting, saying that true democracy cannot exist without an open political space.
“When you want to do democracy, open the democratic space. We don’t want to discuss the internal affairs of Tanzania, but it looks like youth implosion is across Africa, and what this means for current governance structures, we must be alive to the challenges young people face today.”
The outspoken legislator also recalled his visit to Tanzania earlier this year, noting that only Suluhu’s campaign was visible nationwide.
“I was in Tanzania early this year, and from the information we have seen, it was only the incumbent president who was campaigning. From Namanga all the way to Dodoma and Arusha, you only see posters of Suluhu,” Cherargei said.
He likened Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to China’s Communist Party, arguing that it wields overwhelming control over the country’s political affairs.
“CCM is a machinery just like the Chinese Communist Party. Sometimes, the decisions that are made are beyond President Suluhu herself; the party came out fighting for those positions,” he added.
Elsewhere, Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu has stated that Tanzania will eventually break free from political suppression, arguing that the current situation in the country reflects a growing demand for democratic freedoms.
Cherargei further linked the situation in Tanzania to broader governance issues across Africa, citing Uganda as another example of authoritarian control over political activity.
“As of now, free and fair elections is still a mirage in the African continent. We are seeing what is happening in Uganda, that a hotel in Lira, where Bobi Wine was campaigning, was surrounded by the police/military,” he stated.
“There are still challenges; free and fair elections do not begin on the ballot but with the entire process.”
