Samia Hassan becomes Tanzania’s first female president

Samia Hassan becomes Tanzania’s first female president after the sudden death of Magufuli

Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in as Tanzania’s president, making history as the first female president of the country.

According to the BBC, Samia was sworn in by Ibrahim Juma, the chief justice, at the state house in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government announced the death of President John Magufuli on Wednesday, two weeks after he went off the radar, fuelling speculation that he had contracted COVID-19.

Hassan has now become the sixth president of Tanzania and she is the only serving female executive president in Africa.

She is also the first female president in East Africa. According to the Tanzanian constitution, Hassan is to serve the remaining five years of Magufuli’s tenure which is to end in 2025.