Meta accounts of Tanzanian activist Mange Kimambi suspended over election-related posts

Meta suspended the Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of Tanzanian activist Mange Kimambi on Thursday after she posted images related to election protests.

Tanzania held its general election in October 29, with protests witnessed on election day and the subsequent days after some opposition parties were barred from running.

Tanzanian opposition claims hundreds of people lost their lives in the protests, though the government states the said-figure is "exaggerated."

Kimambi, who has more than 2.5 million Instagram followers, had been posting photos of people said to have died in the late October, early November Tanzanian protests.

Meta responds

Kimambi said the photos were sent to her via WhatsApp.

On Thursday, Kimambi, in a letter to US President Donald Trump published on X, complained that her Instagram accounts and WhatsApp number had been deactivated after she "raised awareness" about the Tanzania happenings.

Contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for Meta justified the action against Kimambi in the name of its "policy against recidivism", implying she had created new accounts after others were suspended.

In early November, Tanzania's attorney-general, Hamza Johari, called for Kimambi to be arrested and threatened to try to have her extradited from the United States, where she lives.