By Ghazali Ibrahim 
The government of Tanzania has blocked access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) following the hacking of the country’s police account, which was used to falsely announce the death of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
According to NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog, X became inaccessible across all major Tanzanian internet service providers on Wednesday.
The disruption occurred shortly after the compromised police account posted fake news of the president’s death, a move that reportedly enraged the country’s leadership.
“Live metrics show X (formerly Twitter) has become unreachable on major internet providers in #Tanzania; the incident comes as a compromised police account posts claims the President has died, angering the country’s leadership,” NetBlocks stated in a post.
This latest internet blackout marks the second time in less than a year that Tanzania has restricted access to X.
A similar ban occurred in August 2024, following the arrest of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Speaking in parliament, Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Communications and Technology, Jerry William Silaa, confirmed that not only was the official police account compromised, but hackers also infiltrated the YouTube account of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.
He attributed the breaches to inadequate security protocols, stating that both accounts had since been restored.
“The reason these accounts were compromised is that their security protocols were not sufficiently robust,” Silaa said.
“These accounts have since been restored.”
The hack has sparked a government crackdown on digital platforms, with President Suluhu reportedly instructing security agencies to “protect social media” as part of a broader effort to secure national interests in the digital space.
Tanzanian police have vowed to track down those responsible for the hack and have warned the public against sharing or spreading the false information.
This development comes amid rising political tensions in the country.
Tundu Lissu, a prominent opposition figure who survived an assassination attempt in 2017, was recently re-arrested and charged with treason.
His party, Chadema, has also been banned from participating in the 2025 presidential election scheduled for October.
Adding to the political unease, Tanzanian authorities recently detained Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan human rights attorney Agather Atuhaire.
The pair were reportedly in the country for civil society-related engagements.
Their exact whereabouts remain unknown, although Mwangi’s wife confirmed he had not yet been deported.
