In a move aimed at directing funds toward urgent infrastructure repair, Tanzanian Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba has announced that next month’s independence day celebrations have been scrapped.

The money will instead be allocated to rebuild infrastructure damaged during incidents of post-election unrest.

Nchemba’s announcement came as opposition groups and others urged a public gathering on the 9 December, independence day, to protest the killings that followed the disputed election last month. The opposition says hundreds died in the crackdown, a figure the government has yet to confirm, though it has established a commission of inquiry.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who secured about 98% of the vote, has faced opposition criticism that labeled the elections as a “mockery of democracy.” Key challengers were unable to contest, with Tundu Lissu detained on treason charges, which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina’s candidacy rejected on technical grounds. Election observers have reported irregularities and deviations from democratic standards.

An international coalition of lawyers and human rights groups has formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate President Suluhu and her government for crimes against humanity tied to the unrest, including mass killings and the alleged disposal of more than 500 bodies.

Authorities in the country previously imposed a five-day internet blackout starting on election day, October 29, and warned against sharing protest footage, but graphic images of the violence circulated widely online, with international media confirming some of the footage, although the government has claimed such coverage tarnishes Tanzania’s image, maintaining that the country is safe.

Civil rights groups have cast doubt as to the independence of the commission of inquiry established to investigate elections related violence and at least 240 people have already been charged with treason following street protests. President Suluhu has urged prosecutors to show leniency, and many detainees have since been released.

Prime Minister Nchemba, announcing the cancellation of the independence celebrations, urged Tanzanians to avoid violence and engage in constructive political dialogue. “I urge my fellow Tanzanians to come together and discuss the issues affecting us. Let us not return to what we went through, because the consequences are irreparable,” he stated.

President Suluhu, who took office in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president after the death of John Magufuli, was initially praised praised for liberalizing political space and speech but this view is changing.