Silenced by the State: Tanzanian Doctor’s Murder Exposes Samia’s War on Critics

On April 22, 2025, Dr. Hashim Titho Kilosa, a young and promising Tanzanian doctor, mysteriously disappeared. His family initially believed he was simply busy with work, unaware that his disappearance coincided with a brutal government crackdown during the court appearance of opposition leader Tundu Lissu on April 24.

That day, numerous opposition supporters and innocent bystanders were abducted near the court premises in Dar es Salaam.

Eyewitnesses reported that some of those taken were beaten, raped, and left with broken limbs.
One individual was allegedly beaten unconscious, and a suspicious vehicle believed to be carrying a dead body was seen fleeing from Mwananyamala under intense scrutiny from bystanders.

Police claims a body washed up on the shore at Coco Beach on the same day of crackdown , a place historically linked to extrajudicial operations like MKIRU in 2017, where bodies were secretly dumped.
Tanzanian police spokesperson David Misime Muliro quickly declared that the body was unrelated to the court events and claimed an investigation was ongoing.

Dr. Titho’s family only discovered his disappearance much later, after hearing whispers of the April 24 crackdown. When they began inquiring, they were informed that a body—matching his description had already been buried, and they would now have to follow formal procedures to exhume it for confirmation.

Crucially, it remains unclear whether Dr. Titho had a broken arm at the time of his disappearance. The original missing person reports made no mention of a cast or injury, raising questions about when and how he may have sustained such an injury possibly during the violent crackdown.

This incident has cast a dark shadow over the Tanzanian government, especially as it comes in the lead-up to the October 28 general elections. Activists and human rights organizations have long documented patterns of disappearances, torture, and intimidation, often targeting critics of the state.

The swift burial, the lack of public transparency, and the rushed denial by police only deepen suspicions. Was Dr. Hashim Titho another casualty in a systematic campaign to silence dissent?

What happened to Dr. Titho is not an isolated incident—it is part of a wider narrative of repression in Tanzania.
His death is symbolic of a system where young, educated, outspoken citizens can vanish without trace, only to reappear lifeless, and without justice.