Tanzania’s president warned critical members of her government on Monday not to challenge her authority after she reshuffled her cabinet again and sacked the Foreign minister.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, who has faced internal divisions within the ruling party since taking office last year, unexpectedly reshuffled her cabinet Sunday night. “Once we agree on something, you are part of it. You can’t claim that the decision was (…) not your will,” the head of state said Monday as three new ministers were sworn in.
Ms. Hassan became president in March 2021, following the death of John Magufuli. Liberata Mulamula, the foreign minister appointed in 2021 and a respected if politically inexperienced figure, was dismissed by the president, who did not give an explanation for the dismissal. Innocent Bashungwa has been appointed Minister of Defence in place of Stergomena Tax, who has taken over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Analysts say the reshuffle, the third since the beginning of the year, is a sign of dissension at the highest levels of the government and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. In January, the Speaker of Parliament resigned after referring to the country’s “excessive” foreign borrowing.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first female president of the east African country, has accused her rivals in government of trying to undermine her authority ahead of the next elections, scheduled for 2025.