Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently stated that she has information indicating youth were paid to participate in protests that erupted during the country's local civic elections on October 29, 2025, particularly in semi-autonomous Zanzibar. This claim appears to have been made during an address to parliament, where she also urged leniency for arrested young people and announced an investigation into the post-election violence, which resulted in numerous arrests on treason charges and unconfirmed reports of hundreds of deaths. She has further alleged that some protesters were foreigners from neighboring countries, vowing to take strong action against those inciting disorder. The opposition has denounced the election results as fraudulent and accused the government of suppressing dissent, while the protests have been described as youth-led, drawing inspiration from global Gen Z movements against governance issues.Kenyan media outlets have widely shared clips and images of her remarks, possibly due to the regional implications and past cross-border tensions. The full quote circulating is: "I have information that the youth were paid to participate in the protests." No independent verification of her claims about payments has been reported as of November 20, 2025.