Sheikh Sharifu Majini, killed in Tanzania’s election unrest, has ignited fierce debate over the true toll of post-poll violence gripping the East African nation. The prominent cleric and staunch supporter of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party lost his life to gunfire on October 29, 2025, during chaotic demonstrations in the capital, Dar es Salaam.
Authorities swiftly labelled the deceased as foreign agitators infiltrating the country to sow discord, a narrative that clashes sharply with Majini’s well-documented loyalty to President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her administration.
Eyewitness accounts paint a picture of pandemonium as crowds clashed with security forces amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
Majini, revered by some as a spiritual guide and derided by others as a fiery partisan, was caught in the crossfire near a polling station where opposition supporters had gathered to protest what they called a rigged vote.
Local media reported that live rounds echoed through the streets, sending protesters scattering and leaving at least a dozen bodies in their wake by day’s end.
Videos circulating on social media captured Majini in his final moments, leading a fervent prayer just hours before the shooting, imploring divine intervention for CCM’s victory and cursing those with “evil intentions” on election day.
President Suluhu, addressing the nation from State House late that evening, doubled down on the government’s line.
“Those who perished in these senseless acts were not our citizens but thugs from neighbouring countries, hired to destabilise our hard-won peace,” she declared, urging Tanzanians to remain vigilant against external meddlers.
Her words echoed those of the local CCM chairperson in Dar es Salaam, who dismissed any link to internal party rifts or protest dynamics.
“This was chaos orchestrated from afar, not a reflection of our unity,” the chairperson insisted during a tense press briefing outside party headquarters.
The revelation that Majini himself, a card-carrying CCM member known for his unyielding defence of the party on pulpits and online forums, was among the fallen has fuelled accusations of a cover-up.
“How can a loyal son of CCM be branded a foreign thug? This is gaslighting on a national scale,” fumed one anonymous party insider speaking to reporters off the record.
The incident unfolds against a backdrop of escalating tensions following Tanzania’s contentious general elections on October 29.
The CCM, in power since the country’s independence in 1961, secured another sweeping mandate, with Suluhu claiming over 98 per cent of the presidential vote.
But the main opposition party, Chadema, led by firebrand Tundu Lissu, rejected the results outright, branding them a “coup disguised as democracy”.
Chadema spokespeople allege that security forces, bolstered by paramilitary units, did ballot stuffing. “We count over 700 souls lost in three days of bloodletting, from Dar to Arusha,” a Chadema official told international observers, a figure that dwarfs the United Nations’ verified tally of at least 10 deaths.
Majini’s death has polarised public sentiment in unexpected ways. To his devotees, he was a beacon of faith and patriotism, a self-proclaimed sheikh who blended Quranic recitations with rallying cries for CCM’s dominance.
Clips from his last sermon, shared widely on platforms like Instagram before the nationwide shutdown, show him blessing children and vowing that “those with bad hearts will vanish on polling day.”
Supporters mourn him as a martyr, with impromptu vigils lighting up mosques in coastal regions. “He prayed for our leader’s triumph, and now he’s paid the ultimate price for it,” said Aisha Mohammed, a Dar es Salaam trader who attended one such gathering.
Critics, however, view his passing through a lens of irony and retribution. Online forums buzz with schadenfreude-laced commentary, branding Majini a “chawa” or sycophant for his extreme partisanship.
“He cursed the opposition in God’s name, and now fate has turned the jinn against him,” quipped one user on JamiiForums, a popular Tanzanian discussion board, in threads dissecting his final video.