Tanzania’s newly sworn-in President Samia Suluhu Hassan taken over as the country’s first female president from her predecessor John Magufuli who died on Wednesday of an alleged heart condition.
During her inaugural speech she urged the country to be United during this mourning period calling for an end to finger pointing and assuring the stability of the country.
Addressing a packed hall at State House in Dar es Salaam, the new president described her predecessor as a patriot who had been committed to transforming Tanzania.
She said she had been sufficiently prepared for the role by the late John Magufuli with whom she worked alongside serving as vice-president from 2015 until his death.
The 61-year-old Samia Suluhu Hassan becomes Africa’s only current female political leader and joins a short list of women on the continent to have run their countries.
First elected to a public office in 2000, she came to national prominence in 2014 as the vice-chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, created to draft a new constitution.
But she was a surprise choice for a running mate in 2015, leaping over several other more prominent politicians in the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power in one form or another since independence in 1961.
According to analysts, it is hard to place her yet in terms of policy however significantly people will be interested to see her own approach in dealing with coronavirus.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
