Overview: Tanzania has not experienced a large-scale terrorist act conclusively linked to an international terrorist organization since the U.S. Embassy bombing in July 1998. Smaller instances of alleged domestic terrorism, however, continued to concern government officials. Several bombings targeting religious leaders or institutions occurred in 2014, although at year's end officials were still investigating whether the perpetrators were members of an organized terrorist group. Police, working with various security elements – including Tanzania's interagency National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the Immigration Services Department (ISD), and the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) – made several arrests of alleged terrorists in 2014, and officials were prosecuting these cases at year's end. NCTC reported concerns over escalating radicalism and inadequate border security.

2014 Terrorist Incidents: Tanzanian authorities reported two incidents:

  • On April 13, 15 people were injured when a homemade bomb exploded at the crowded Arusha Night Park bar, where customers were watching an English Premier League match on television. Arusha is a popular destination for Western tourists in northern Tanzania, although this bar is generally only frequented by local residents. Police arrested the perpetrators and said that the assailants were members of a small group dedicated to the imposition of sharia law in Tanzania who wanted to attack Christians and westerners. Court cases against the perpetrators were continuing at year's end.

  • On September 6, two Tanzanian policemen were killed and another two were injured when assailants raided a police station in Bukombe district, Geita region. Police arrested suspects and said they were members of a small group dedicated to the introduction of sharia law in Tanzania who wanted to raid the police station to steal weapons to use in future attacks against Christians.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Tanzania's legal counterterrorism framework is governed by the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. The implementing regulations for the Act were published in 2012. In January 2014, a further amendment to the Act was implemented that strengthened Tanzania's ability to respond to terrorist financing challenges, particularly with regards to UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1267 and 1373.

Tanzania continued its interagency coordination efforts in 2014, mainly through NCTC, but it had not used advanced investigative forensic techniques and streamlined prosecutions 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 continued to lack specialized equipment, especially for border security, and NCTC officers lacked advanced training on intelligence analysis and crime scene investigation. When terrorist incidents occur, the police generally lead the investigation – although officials from the ISD and TISS also participate. Once the investigation is completed, the case goes to the Director of Public Prosecutions before being brought to court.

Border security in Tanzania remained a challenge for a variety of reasons, including problems of corruption and vast, porous borders. All major airports and border crossings screened for weapons, drugs, explosives, and other contraband; and continued the use of the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System border management system. NCTC and the ISD generally worked together to ensure that all border posts had updated terrorist watchlists, although smaller border posts often have to check passports against paper copies of the list.

Significant law enforcement actions related to terrorist activity included:

  • In May, police arrested 16 people suspected of participating in various terrorist incidents in Tanzania over the last several years. Eight of the suspects were suspected of recruiting young people for terrorist activity. Seven others were suspected to be involved in several bombing incidents in Arusha while another, Jaffar Hassan Mondo, was arrested for attempting to apply for a Tanzanian passport using false names. All suspects were charged with various offenses including murder and attempted murder.

  • On July 17, 17 suspects appeared before Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es-Salaam to face terrorism charges, 16 of whom were charged with conspiracy and recruitment of people to commit terrorist acts throughout Tanzania between January 2013 and June 2014. One suspect, Jihad Swalehe, was charged separately with seeking financial support to facilitate terrorist attacks; conspiracy, promotion, and facilitation of the commission of terrorist acts; and the use of Facebook to coordinate attacks between March 21, 2013 and June 2, 2014. The prosecution said Swalehe communicated with individuals through Facebook, seeking material, financial, and technical support to plant explosives in undisclosed locations in Kenya.

  • On July 21, in Arusha, police searched the house of and arrested Yusufu Hussein Ally, also known as Huta, and his wife Sumaiya Juma, for possession of seven Russian-made bombs and a German grenade. Ally was investigated by police in connection with several terrorist attacks in Arusha.

  • On October 6, police arrested Yahaya Hassan Omari Hella – also known as "Sensei" – who police say admitted to being the leader behind several terrorist attacks in Arusha, Zanzibar, Mwanza, and Dar es Salaam over the past two years. He died on October 19, en route to the hospital after being shot by the police while allegedly attempting to escape from custody.

  • Police in Somalia notified the NCTC in 2014 that three teenage boys from Zanzibar were arrested after attempting to join the al-Shabaab terrorist group. At year's end, the court case remained ongoing in Somalia.

Through the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program, Tanzanian law enforcement officials received technical training in the areas of strengthening border security capacity, enhancing investigative capacity, and building response capacity to a critical incident.

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. In June, the FATF noted Tanzania's significant progress in improving anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, as well as improving its legal and regulatory framework in this regard. As a result, FATF removed Tanzania from a list of countries subject to a monitoring process due to AML/CFT deficiencies. In 2014, Tanzania became a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. Tanzania's Financial Intelligence Unit received 65 suspicious transaction reports related to money laundering in 2014, a slight decrease from the 68 received in 2013.

In January, Tanzania passed implementing regulations which assign specific responsibilities to various government entities in order to implement UNSCRs 1267 and 1373.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Tanzania is a member of the AU, the Southern African Development Community, and the East African Community, all of which implement counterterrorism initiatives. In addition, Tanzania participated in counterterrorism training programs sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – even though Tanzania is not a full member. The NCTC continued to coordinate with partner organizations although the East African Police Chiefs' Organization and the Southern African Police Chief's Organization. Police officials also continued to work closely with Interpol. Tanzania is a member of the Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism and participates in the Global Counterterrorism Forum. Tanzania has especially close relationships with police and counterterrorism officials in Kenya and Uganda, although these were hindered at times from a lack of effective mechanisms to share information electronically.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The current focal point of NCTC's counter-radicalization strategy is its community policing program. Through this initiative, which has been active in many perceived counterterrorism hot spots for several years, officials aim to build better relationships within key communities and are better able to detect threats tied to radicalization.

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