Tanzania's President Appoints Daughter, Son-In-Law To Cabinet

Tanzania’s President Appoints Daughter, Son-In-Law To Cabinet

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed her own daughter to the Cabinet, along with her husband.

Samia nominated 27 ministers and 29 deputy ministers in a televised presentation on Monday from Chamwino State House in Dodoma, selecting his daughter Wanu Hafidh Ameir as Deputy Minister of Education.

Mohamed Mchengerwa, Wanu’s spouse, was named the new Minister of Health as part of the reshuffle that saw seven top officials from the previous cabinet lose their positions.

Wanu, 43, is a Member of Parliament for the Makunduchi Constituency in Zanzibar’s semi-autonomous island, while her husband, 46, represents Rufiji Constituency in the country’s Pwani Region.

Ridhwani Kikwete, the son of Tanzania’s former President Jakaya Kikwete, has also been appointed Minister in Charge of Public Service Management and Good Governance in the President’s Office.

Ridhwani Kikwete, 46, is a CCM party lawmaker who represents the seaside constituency of Chalinze in the Pwani region.

His father, Jakaya, Tanzania’s fourth president, is credited for promoting Samia to the leadership of CCM and, subsequently, the presidency.

Khamis Mussa Omar was appointed as the new finance minister, succeeding Mwigulu Nchemba, who took over as Prime Minister last week.

Meanwhile, Hassan announced that Mahmoud Thabit Kombo will continue to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.

The new Cabinet will be sworn in on Tuesday morning.

Samia’s latest appointments reflect a similar trend in the continent where presidents chose to fill close family members and relatives of key backers in their cabinet.

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Yoweri Museveni’s Cabinet in adjacent Uganda includes various family members and relatives.

Janet Museveni, the First Lady, serves as Minister of Education, while their daughter Natasha works as a Private Secretary at the State House.

General Muhoozi Kainerugab, the president’s son, leads the country’s defense forces, and Odrek Rwabogo, Museveni’s son-in-law, works as a presidential advisor. Rabwogo is married to Patience Museveni.

In nearby Rwanda, President Paul Kagame has been compelled to clarify that he is not grooming his daughter, Ange Ingabire Kagame, to succeed him.

Tanzania’s President Appoints Daughter, Son-In-Law To Cabinet