Samia Suluhu Hassan makes history, becomes Tanzania's first woman president
- 19 Mar 2021
Gulf Today Report
Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as President of Tanzania on Friday, becoming the first female head of state in the east African country following the death of president John Magufuli.
Hassan, 61, was sworn in at State House in the country's commercial capital Dar es Salaam. She assumes the presidency following Wednesday's announcement of the death of Magufuli, after a more than a two-week absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.
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Hassan is a soft-spoken, Muslim woman thrust from the obscure role of vice president to become Tanzania's first female leader after John Magufuli's sudden death.
Wearing a hijab and holding up a copy of the Holy Quran with her right hand, Hassan took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Ibrahim Jumavowing, in which she vowed to uphold the East African country's constitution.
The inauguration was witnessed by cabinet members and Tanzania’s former presidents Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Jakaya Kikwete and Abeid Karume. The former heads of state were among the few people in the room wearing facemasks to protect against COVID-19.
Hassan's inauguration comes two days after she announced the death of President John Magufuli, after he had not been seen in public for more than two weeks. Magufuli had denied that COVID-19 was a problem in Tanzania, saying that national prayer had eradicated the disease from the country. But weeks before his death, Magufuli acknowledged that the virus was a danger.
A major test of Hassan’s new presidency will be how she deals with COVID-19. Under Magufuli, Tanzania, one of Africa’s most populous countries with 60 million people, made no efforts to obtain vaccines or promote the use of masks and social distancing to combat the virus. This policy of ignoring the disease endangers neighbouring countries, warn Africa health officials.
Although Hassan announced that Magufuli died of heart failure, exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu says the president died of COVID-19.
Suluhu Hassan said on Friday the country should unite and avoid pointing fingers after the death of John Magufuli.
"This is a time to bury our differences, and be one as a nation," she said. "This is not a time for finger pointing, but it is a time to hold hands and move forward together."
The remarks appeared aimed at dispelling a mood of uncertainty that developed after Magufuli, criticised by opponents as a divisive and authoritarian figure, disappeared from public view for 18 days before his death was announced.
Samia Suluhu Hassan (right) speaks during a tour of the Tanga region of Tanzania. File/AP
A former office clerk and development worker, Hassan began her political career in 2000 in her native Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago, before being elected to the national assembly on mainland Tanzania and assigned a senior ministry.
A ruling party stalwart, she rose through the ranks until being picked by Magufuli as his running mate in his first presidential election campaign in 2015.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) comfortably won and Hassan made history when sworn-in as the country's first-ever female vice president.
A portrait of Tanzania's former President John Magufuli is placed next to a book of condolences inside Tanzania's High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday. AP
The pair were re-elected last October in a disputed poll the opposition and independent observers said was marred by irregularities.
She would sometimes represent Magufuli on trips abroad but many outside Tanzania had not heard of Hassan until she appeared on national television wearing a black headscarf to announce that Magufuli had died at 61 following a short illness.
In a slow and softly spoken address — a stark contrast to the thundering rhetoric favoured by her predecessor -- Hassan solemnly declared 14 days of mourning.
She will consult the CCM over the appointing of a new vice president.