Mother’s anguish as missing ex-diplomat’s fate unknown
Troubled official stripped of diplomatic post
The mother of missing former Tanzanian diplomat Humphrey Polepole has made an impassioned plea to authorities to help bring her son home, as concerns mount over the country’s political climate ahead of the upcoming general election.
“If he is alive, return him to me. If he is not, bring his body and let me bury my child myself. They should not go and throw him into the sea,” said Annamary Polepole in a tearful interview with the BBC, pleading for answers in the wake of her son’s disappearance.
The former ambassador to Cuba, who had become an outspoken critic of the Tanzanian government, was allegedly abducted from his home in Dar es Salaam in the early hours of Monday, according to family members.
Local police confirmed on Tuesday that an investigation had been opened. However, confusion deepened when the city’s police chief, Jumanne Muliro, appeared to question the validity of the reported attack, telling the BBC that the former ambassador “often claimed to be out of the country”. “So how could this happen at his home in Tanzania?” he asked.
According to Polepole’s brother Godfrey, the family discovered the door to the house broken and found a large amount of blood on the floor, raising fears that the former diplomat may have been seriously injured.
Annamary said the kidnapping of her son, coming just months after her daughter’s reported abduction in July, had left her deeply distressed and fearful for the state of the nation. “As a woman who struggled to raise children as a widow, it is very painful for such things to happen,” she said. “They are hurting people as if they were hurting buffaloes or elephants. It is very sad for our country. [The] founding father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, never raised us that way.”
Her son, a former ruling-party loyalist, had dramatically fallen out with the government earlier this year. He resigned from his diplomatic post, declaring that he could no longer be part of an administration that, in his view, “disrespects justice, the rule of law, and constitutional principles.” Shortly after his resignation, President Samia Suluhu Hassan formally stripped him of his diplomatic status.
Reflecting on her son’s life, Annamary described him as a determined and principled man who had faced many hardships but remained driven by a deep sense of purpose.
“He was a very special child,” she said. “He once dreamed of becoming a pastor or a pilot, but our financial situation did not allow it. Imagine seeing someone you raised from infancy, someone who had reached a stage where he could support the family, and now he is suddenly taken away. It is painful indeed.”
Meanwhile, in a statement issued Tuesday, Tanzanian police said they were also seeking another of Polepole’s brothers, Augustino, for clarification regarding allegations he made on social media suggesting that a police officer may have been involved in the abduction.
The disappearance has gripped the nation at a politically sensitive moment. Tanzania is set to hold a general election on 29 October, with President Samia seeking a second term after first taking office in 2021 following the death of former president John Magufuli.
Initially lauded for loosening the political atmosphere and allowing greater freedom of expression, President Samia has since faced mounting criticism over a renewed crackdown on opposition parties, civil society, and outspoken government critics.
Before his disappearance, Humphrey Polepole had increasingly distanced himself from the ruling CCM party, questioning the process by which Samia was nominated as its presidential candidate. He also publicly accused government officials and institutions of corruption, abuse of power, and misuse of public resources.
In recent months, Polepole said he had been harassed by armed individuals loitering near his home and claimed his residence had been raided twice. Police, he said, took statements on both occasions but made no progress in their investigations.
Last month, authorities opened a criminal case against him, stating that his public allegations could amount to criminal offences, though they did not specify what those offences were. He was subsequently ordered to report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to assist with inquiries.
While many Tanzanians praised his boldness in speaking out against the system he once served, others accused him of hypocrisy for criticizing a government that he himself had helped represent abroad.
But to his mother, her son remains a man of integrity and compassion. “He was full of great love,” she said softly. “Even if he didn’t know you, he would greet you kindly, full of warmth and affection.”
For now, the family’s questions remain unanswered, and a grieving mother’s voice continues to echo across Tanzania: a plea for truth, justice, and the safe return of her child.
“If he is alive, return him to me. If he is not, bring his body and let me bury my child myself. They should not go and throw him into the sea,” said Annamary Polepole in a tearful interview with the BBC, pleading for answers in the wake of her son’s disappearance.
The former ambassador to Cuba, who had become an outspoken critic of the Tanzanian government, was allegedly abducted from his home in Dar es Salaam in the early hours of Monday, according to family members.
Local police confirmed on Tuesday that an investigation had been opened. However, confusion deepened when the city’s police chief, Jumanne Muliro, appeared to question the validity of the reported attack, telling the BBC that the former ambassador “often claimed to be out of the country”. “So how could this happen at his home in Tanzania?” he asked.
According to Polepole’s brother Godfrey, the family discovered the door to the house broken and found a large amount of blood on the floor, raising fears that the former diplomat may have been seriously injured.
Annamary said the kidnapping of her son, coming just months after her daughter’s reported abduction in July, had left her deeply distressed and fearful for the state of the nation. “As a woman who struggled to raise children as a widow, it is very painful for such things to happen,” she said. “They are hurting people as if they were hurting buffaloes or elephants. It is very sad for our country. [The] founding father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, never raised us that way.”
Her son, a former ruling-party loyalist, had dramatically fallen out with the government earlier this year. He resigned from his diplomatic post, declaring that he could no longer be part of an administration that, in his view, “disrespects justice, the rule of law, and constitutional principles.” Shortly after his resignation, President Samia Suluhu Hassan formally stripped him of his diplomatic status.
Reflecting on her son’s life, Annamary described him as a determined and principled man who had faced many hardships but remained driven by a deep sense of purpose.
“He was a very special child,” she said. “He once dreamed of becoming a pastor or a pilot, but our financial situation did not allow it. Imagine seeing someone you raised from infancy, someone who had reached a stage where he could support the family, and now he is suddenly taken away. It is painful indeed.”
Meanwhile, in a statement issued Tuesday, Tanzanian police said they were also seeking another of Polepole’s brothers, Augustino, for clarification regarding allegations he made on social media suggesting that a police officer may have been involved in the abduction.
The disappearance has gripped the nation at a politically sensitive moment. Tanzania is set to hold a general election on 29 October, with President Samia seeking a second term after first taking office in 2021 following the death of former president John Magufuli.
Initially lauded for loosening the political atmosphere and allowing greater freedom of expression, President Samia has since faced mounting criticism over a renewed crackdown on opposition parties, civil society, and outspoken government critics.
Before his disappearance, Humphrey Polepole had increasingly distanced himself from the ruling CCM party, questioning the process by which Samia was nominated as its presidential candidate. He also publicly accused government officials and institutions of corruption, abuse of power, and misuse of public resources.
In recent months, Polepole said he had been harassed by armed individuals loitering near his home and claimed his residence had been raided twice. Police, he said, took statements on both occasions but made no progress in their investigations.
Last month, authorities opened a criminal case against him, stating that his public allegations could amount to criminal offences, though they did not specify what those offences were. He was subsequently ordered to report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to assist with inquiries.
While many Tanzanians praised his boldness in speaking out against the system he once served, others accused him of hypocrisy for criticizing a government that he himself had helped represent abroad.
But to his mother, her son remains a man of integrity and compassion. “He was full of great love,” she said softly. “Even if he didn’t know you, he would greet you kindly, full of warmth and affection.”
For now, the family’s questions remain unanswered, and a grieving mother’s voice continues to echo across Tanzania: a plea for truth, justice, and the safe return of her child.
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