With the post-election crisis that has engulfed Tanzania, protesters have rechristen President Samia Suluhu Hassan “Idi Amin Mama”, likening her to Uganda’s bloodthirsty dictator, Idi Amin Dada, following an election soaked in violence and blood.
For three straight days, streets across the country have erupted in flames after a controversial general election that shut out key opposition figures and left hundreds dead.
The Chadema opposition party claims more than 700 people have been killed as security forces clash with angry demonstrators.
Viral photos of President Hassan in full military fatigue have only fanned the outrage, with social media flooded by posts mocking her as a female despot.
@mutumaoNkanata sneered, “The late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was not only the founding father of Tanzania but also a seer. He could see Idi Amin Mama coming. He dissociated himself from a country made up of cowards. Suluhu si uoga. No retreat no Surrender, Africa!”
Another user, @Siatabo, posted, “Idi Amin Mama ran against herself and lost. Don’t joke with THE PEOPLE. No matter how powerless the people appear, they hold the real power. Samia sio Suluhu.”
@comradesprezo01 fumed, “What Idi Amin Mama, Samia Suluhu forget is that Power borrowed from silence is returned in Noise.”
The outrage has spilled beyond social media, with the United Nations saying it is “alarmed” by the bloodshed.
“Reports we have received indicate that at least 10 people were killed,” UN spokesperson Seif Magango said.
Amnesty International also blasted the Hassan administration, accusing it of unleashing “an unchecked wave of terror” ahead of the polls, adding that Tanzanian authorities have “intensified the use of repressive laws to silence dissent.”
Tanzania’s electoral commission had earlier cleared 17 candidates but later disqualified the major opposition challengers, effectively handing Hassan an unchallenged run, in what critics now call the “Suluhu dictatorship.”
From admiration as Africa’s first elected female president to being branded “Idi Amin Mama,” Samia Hassan’s rule has taken a dark and bloody turn.
