🇻🇦 Intelligence Briefing: Tanzania’s Vatican Diplomatic Gambit Amid Post-Election Crisis
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | 29 January 2026 | 2340 GMT
In Brief
Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo met Pope Leo XIV on 28 January 2026, delivering President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s message as part of a systematic diplomatic offensive to manage international fallout from October 2025 election violence that killed approximately 10,000 civilians. The Vatican engagement represents reputation management amid mounting ICC pressure, Catholic Church condemnation, and evidence collection of alleged crimes against humanity by Hassan’s administration.