Country Reports on Terrorism 2015 - Tanzania

Overview: In 2015, Tanzania's security services were involved in investigations and active operations against alleged violent extremists who conducted numerous attacks on police and police installations. Security services made multiple arrests of alleged violent extremists and officials were prosecuting these cases at year's end. Tanzania's National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) reported concerns over escalating radicalism and inadequate border security. While Tanzanian government officials have expressed support for the efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Tanzania is not a coalition partner.

2015 Terrorist Incidents: In July, an al-Shabaab attack on the Stakishari police station near the Dar es Salaam airport resulted in the deaths of seven people. Press reports indicated that four police officers, two civilians, and one attacker were killed. The assailants stole a number of weapons from the police station during the attack.

In several other instances, police on patrol and police stations have been attacked. During these incidents, attackers stole weapons from police stations and injured or killed police officers.

Several IEDs were found in Zanzibar after the October 25 elections. No serious injuries were reported, and authorities were able to conduct a controlled detonation on two of the devices. The explosives were not publicly linked to any specific group, although the motivation was widely believed to be political.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Tanzania's counterterrorism legal framework is governed by the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002. The implementing regulations for the Act were published in 2012. The only major effort to strengthen criminal justice institutions undertaken in 2015 was the National Counterterrorism Strategy process, which remained under discussion at year's end.

Tanzanian officials continued interagency coordination efforts in 2015, and the government sought to use investigative forensic techniques to detect, investigate, and fully prosecute suspected terrorists. NCTC is an interagency unit composed of officers from the Intelligence, Police, Defense, Immigration, and Prison sectors who worked collectively on counterterrorism issues. The organization lacks specialized equipment and basic infrastructure, especially for border security, and NCTC officers need training on intelligence analysis and crime scene investigation. The Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service worked in conjunction with the police and other security services on investigations. Once an investigation is completed, the case goes to the Director of Public Prosecutions before being brought to court. Government agencies have demonstrated an ability to coordinate in a crisis, but lack the ability to implement a comprehensive plan of action on counterterrorism that formalizes interagency cooperation.

Tanzanian law enforcement officials participated in the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program to strengthen capacity in the areas of crisis response, border operations, and counterterrorism investigations. Notable among these activities was the Department of State's second-annual East Africa Joint Operations Capstone exercise, a month-long training series hosted in Kenya for Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan law enforcement personnel. The exercise culminated in a large-scale simulation of a response to a terrorist incident, including a cross-border pursuit that also focused on community engagement and human rights-related issues.

Border security in Tanzania remained a challenge for a variety of reasons, including problems of corruption; the lack of a dedicated border security unit in the Tanzania Police Force; and vast, porous borders. All major airports and border crossings used the PISCES border management system. Tanzania's NCTC and Immigration Service generally worked to ensure that all border posts had updated terrorist watchlists, although smaller border posts often must check passports against paper copies of the list. There were several media reports of Tanzanians engaging in violence as foreign terrorist fighters, particularly with regard to al-Shaabab operations in Kenya and Somalia. Tanzanian authorities liaised with Kenyan counterparts to share information and discussed how to more effectively counter violent extremist recruitment efforts and track returned foreign terrorist fighters.

In February, police and military units worked collaboratively to corner suspects of a police attack near the town of Tanga, which is located close to the Kenyan border. Security services engaged in a days-long siege, but some suspects eventually escaped.

Tanzania was constrained from greater action on counterterrorism efforts by a lack of financial resources, capacity, and interagency cooperation, as well as having no national counterterrorism strategy.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Tanzania is a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Its financial intelligence unit is a member of the Egmont Group. There were no known prosecutions or asset freezes related to counterterrorism finance in 2015. Tanzania continued to work in accordance with the 2014 implementing regulations that assigned specific responsibilities to various government entities to implement the UN 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Countering Violent Extremism: The current focal point of NCTC's countering violent extremism strategy is its community policing program. Through this initiative, which has been active in many perceived radicalization hot spots for several years, officials believe they are building better relations with key communities and have been better able to detect threats tied to radicalization. In addition, police enforced laws against spreading messages advocating violence by confiscating cassettes containing violent extremist messaging that are sold on the streets. NCTC would also like to implement community awareness programs with a counter-radicalization focus, but it lacked the funds to develop such an initiative.

Tanzania's nascent efforts at counter-messaging included outreach to religious leaders to encourage moderate voices and to discourage guest preachers who might seek to spread extremist ideologies in houses of worship. Some sectors of the government have discussed the need for a counterterrorism public relations campaign, although such an effort was not funded or implemented in 2015.

International and Regional Cooperation: Tanzania is a member of the AU, the Southern African Development Community, and the East African Community, all of which implemented counterterrorism initiatives. In addition, Tanzania participated in counterterrorism training programs sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development even although Tanzania is not a full member of the group. Tanzania is an active member of the Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism and participated in the Global Counterterrorism Forum.

Tanzania's NCTC coordinated with partner organizations although the East African Police Chiefs' Organization and the Southern African Police Chiefs' Organization. Police officials also worked closely with INTERPOL. Tanzania had close relations with police and counterterrorism officials in Kenya and Uganda, although they would benefit from better mechanisms to share information electronically.