On Saturday and Sunday, anyone stepping outside faced possible reprisals from patrolling army and police. In some areas, young men are in hiding in the bush, fearful of nearing the main roads or of going home, as they are the most likely to be beaten and arrested. Other families are doing all they can to send their young women out to rural areas, away from the heaviest military patrolling, fearing the possibility of rape. No foodstuffs have been available since Friday, and Wete's main market has been ransacked by police. The police have also broken open and looted many of the larger shops in town.
People report dwindling food stocks and fear hunger in the coming days.
Telephone communications to Pemba are audibly monitored by third parties, and connections are often cut if a discussion turns to details. It has been reported that at least one person has been arrested as a result of having discussed the situation over the telephone. Almost all of the opposition leadership has been imprisoned. As the excesses of the Tanzanian security forces in the islands become the subject of international news reports, readers might ask how this crisis has come about, and why Zanzibar has not been garnered greater international interest and concern. The situation has not come about suddenly and without cause.