Had John Pombe Magufuli lived beyond 2021, he would have been in his last days in office. Possibly on the campaign trail rallying Tanzanians to elect a woman as their President.
Hard luck did him in. Covid-19 claimed the affable, flamboyant Tanzanian President in 2021. The jury is still out on whether he died in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi or elsewhere.
Place and cause of death is not the story; but the incarnation of Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan is.
She ascended to office and transitioned into one of the most ruthless leaders East Africa has ever witnessed.
Suluhu dealt firmly with dissent from within, jailing opposition leader Tundu Lissu and any other men who attempted to oppose her policies.
She did not stop in Tanzania. Kenyans, considered by Tanzania as noisy neighbours, were not spared.
Former CJ Willy Mutunga and opposition leader Martha Karua were deported from Tanzania for attempting to defend Lissu.
President Suluhu has literally closed the Kenyan border with Tanzania in the last two days to deter Gen Z from inciting Kenyan youth.
Suluhu has made history; she becomes the first Tanzanian President to be elected unopposed, with her main competitors in jail.
Of course, she will be declared President and sworn in for a second time. But she will have to deal with youth insurgency in Tanzania.
The Gen Z movement around the world has not spared Tanzania; it’s percolating nicely into the country’s political strata.
This certainly is the biggest threat to CCM, the party that has ruled Tanzania since independence.
The high-handed tactics of Suluhu will certainly not do future lady presidents any political favours.
