Tanzania will soon have a president. Following the announcement of the death of President John Magufuli at the age of 61, officially due to heart problems, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan must take the reins in the country and secure the transition. John Magufuli, who was elected for the first time in 2015, then re-elected at the end of 2020 in a controversial vote, is known for his policy for larger works, but also accused of authoritarian operation. Can this change at the head of the country reverse the trend?
The Tanzanian opposition is already calling for change. Tundu Lissu, vice president of the main opposition party Chadema, told Kenyan television on Thursday that the vice president is heading for a dead end if she takes the same path as John Magufuli, while emphasizing that Samia Suluhu Hassan does not have the same temperament as him.
Researcher Fergus Kell, an analyst at the think tank Chatham House, also notes that the country’s future president has a different personality than her predecessor. He rates his approach “less confrontational” and “more open from the outside”. She “also expressed her disagreement with some of her controversial statements,” Fergus Kell points out. However, he believes a change of person will not be “necessarily enough to reverse the trend.” Especially since many prominent public figures were in line with President Magufuli.
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“I think it is important to remember that this is also an institutional challenge for Tanzania,” said researcher Fergus Kell. Many prominent public figures, such as the Speaker of Parliament or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, were very much in line with the President. So it is not certain that the new head of state can assert his authority on this point and drive a significant change in the more authoritarian path that Tanzania has taken. ”
In addition, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who does not seem to enjoy great popularity among the relatives of the late president, after consulting his party, will appoint a vice president, and his election will be validated by the National Assembly. . For Tanzanian analyst Thabit Jacob, the current vice president will have to rule with a weaker base, which will be controlled by the Magufuli clan and intelligence and will fight to build his own base.
Samia Hassan is from the Zanzibar archipelago. Of Muslim faith, she comes from a modest family. Following a flawless academic career, she joined several government positions in Zanzibar. Then Samia Hassan addressed the humanitarian community: she headed the WFP office in Zanzibar for nine years.
Her political career began in 2000: she was appointed a member of the Zanzibar Parliament by the Tanzanian Presidential Party. Between 2000 and 2010, she assumed several ministerial portfolios. Discreetly and calmly as vice president, she had until then taken on a role in the shadows with an achievement in her honor: the ban on plastic bags.
According to the constitution, Samia Hassan must end the term of the late president and assume functions as head of state for five years, ie. until 2025.
It was a good President Magufuli. He did everything, roads, electricity, access to water, everything! He did a lot of good things during his period. There will be no other presidents like Magufuli!
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