Intelligence Insight | Is There a 'Deep State' in Tanzania? Examining the 'MTANDAO' Phenomenon
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | 22 August 2025 | 0525 BST
A "deep state" typically refers to a secretive, unelected group of elites who influence a country’s political decisions, often in defiance of democratic institutions. In Tanzania, the alleged deep state is believed to have originated with the formation of a political syndicate known as Mtandao in the 1980s. [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] reportedly initiated this network after they were blocked from pursuing the presidency by the Father of the Nation, Julius Nyerere.