Gentle Lady Samia Suluhu Hassan: Tanzania's first female president, 2023

kajembe · 2023-03-06T02:41:24+00:00

“If President Samia does what she has promised to do, she is going to be the most transformative figure in the history of Tanzania besides the founding father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere who led the struggle for the Independence of Tanganyika and led the country to be the first in East Africa to attain sovereign status. She will be remembered as the leader who gave Tanzania a new constitution, reduced the power of the presidency at the expense of her own ruling party as demanded by the opposition, established an independent electoral commission, levelled the playing field to enable opposition parties to compete fairly and effectively against the ruling party without any interference by the government to block them from doing so, and transformed the country into a full democracy. I have described her as 'The Gentle Lady' but also as someone with steely determination to get things done. She also likes to get things done on a consensus basis, an approach that has won her support in the opposition camp, a rare achievement among leaders of the ruling party who prefer to win or get things done on their own terms and often excluding the opposition. In spite of her softness, she is destined – as a steely character – to shake the country to its foundation for a complete overhaul of the system and radically transform the political landscape into one that accommodates all, if she does what she has said she is going to do, and if she works together with the opposition to achieve those goals, all of which are non-partisan, transcending narrow political interests in the best interest of the nation. She will be remembered as 'the mother of democracy' in Tanzania. But she will also need the support of political heavyweights and others in her own party to implement her decisions and fulfill her agenda and transform the country into a 'new nation' with a solid democratic foundation.” – (John Ndembwike, Gentle Lady Samia Suluhu Hassan: Tanzania's first female president, pp. 12 – 13). “Few in the annals of post-colonial Africa have been thrust into prominence the way Samia Suluhu Hassan has been. Fewer still have been women. She came from humble origins, although not quite – her father was a teacher – to become the first and most powerful woman in the history of Tanzania and one of the most powerful and influential in the entire African continent. She was eclipsed by her boss when she was the second most powerful person in Tanzania serving as vice president – also the first female to hold that position in Tanzania – and was hardly known outside the country except in some neighbouring countries where she went to represent the president who hardly travelled beyond the borders of this United Republic. Yet she was the most well-known woman in Tanzania and in the history of the country, perhaps surpassed only by Bibi Titi Mohammed, the heroine of Tanganyika's independence struggle. Little, if at all, did she know, or did anybody else know, that she would one day rise to the pinnacle of power in her country, coming from humble beginnings as many others have, a background that has functioned as a preparatory school and shaped many other leaders including the founding father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who was of peasant origin although his father was a chief, yet of little means in terms of material wealth. Even she admitted that she never thought of the possibility that she would one day become president and never even thought of becoming one. It was out of the question. And true to her character as a humble person, humility being a rare quality among leaders, she admitted she didn't do well in secondary school and sought employment when she was 17 years old.... Her humility won the hearts of many. Yet beneath her affable personality and gentle demeanour is a steely determination to get things done. As she said in a speech in 2020 when she was serving as vice president under John Magufuli: 'I may look polite, and do not shout when speaking, but the most important thing is that everyone understands what I say and things get done as I say'.... Her soft-spoken nature serves her very well as the matriarch of her family. It is also an asset for her in public life. As she said in an interview with BBC at her residence in Dar es Salaam in March 2020: 'It’s possible that some people take my soft-spoken nature as a sign of weakness, but to make them understand you doesn't mean you have to shout. I have been getting my messages across just fine with this same approach all these years. Eventually people understand very well whatever I am intending to tell them.'”.... – (Ibid., pp. 15 – 16, 18 – 19). “She has already shown determination to pursue her goals and implement her agenda without bowing to pressure from political heavyweights in the ruling party and even said she disagreed with her predecessor, President John Magufuli, and had arguments with him on a number of issues: 'Ms. Hassan, who is soft-spoken and comes across as reserved, said that as vice president, it was 'tough' working with Mr. Magufuli at times, and that she argued with him on several issues, including his Covid denialism'.”.... – (pp. 21 – 22). “In spite of the optimism and enthusiasm that greeted her when she assumed office, there have been some doubts about prospects for fundamental change under her leadership, not because she is not capable of bringing about that change and steering the country in the right direction; there are some doubts mainly because of the unwillingness of the ruling party, deeply entrenched in all fields and sectors of life including institutions of authority, to accept change, having ruled the country and dominated the political landscape for decades. According to The New York Times: 'Over the past year, activists were abducted, two newspapers were temporarily suspended by the government and the main opposition leader, Freeman Mbowe, was jailed for several months on terrorism-related charges before his release. Political rallies outside elections have been banned in the country since 2016, when the government accused the opposition of wanting to use them to cause mass civil disobedience. Activists also questioned whether Ms. Hassan was committed to reviewing the constitution, which grants vast powers to the executive and was adopted in 1977, when the country was still a one-party state.... She has also struck a conciliatory note with the political opposition and civil society. On a recent morning, she arrived at a packed hall in the capital to preside over a conference discussing how to improve the democratic space in the country. Sitting by her side onstage was one of the leaders of the country’s main opposition parties, who under her predecessor had been arrested and found guilty of sedition, and whose fellow party members were beaten, tear-gassed and denied the chance to hold rallies. 'Things have changed,' Zitto Kabwe, the opposition leader, said in an interview the next day. 'We started to breathe some fresh air from the day the new president took office'.... With three more years before the next election (in 2025), Ms. Hassan has her work cut out for her. Fatma Karume, a prominent Tanzanian lawyer who was disbarred and had her office bombed for challenging Mr. Magufuli’s government, said Ms. Hassan has the chance to restore Tanzanians’ faith in democracy and transform the country. 'She could leave behind a legacy that few other presidents have managed,' Ms. Karume said in an interview at her home in the port city of Dar es Salaam. 'And imagine doing that as a result of a historical accident. It will be amazing'.... 'Over the past year, activists were abducted, two newspapers were temporarily suspended by the government and the main opposition leader, Freeman Mbowe, was jailed for several months on terrorism-related charges before his release. Political rallies outside elections have been banned in the country since 2016, when the government accused the opposition of wanting to use them to cause mass civil disobedience. Activists also questioned whether Ms. Hassan was committed to reviewing the constitution, which grants vast powers to the executive and was adopted in 1977, when the country was still a one-party state.... She has also struck a conciliatory note with the political opposition and civil society. On a recent morning, she arrived at a packed hall in the capital to preside over a conference discussing how to improve the democratic space in the country. Sitting by her side onstage was one of the leaders of the country’s main opposition parties, who under her predecessor had been arrested and found guilty of sedition, and whose fellow party members were beaten, tear-gassed and denied the chance to hold rallies. 'Things have changed,' Zitto Kabwe, the opposition leader, said in an interview the next day. 'We started to breathe some fresh air from the day the new president took office'.... With three more years before the next election (in 2025), Ms. Hassan has her work cut out for her. Fatma Karume, a prominent Tanzanian lawyer who was disbarred and had her office bombed for challenging Mr. Magufuli’s government, said Ms. Hassan has the chance to restore Tanzanians’ faith in democracy and transform the country. 'She could leave behind a legacy that few other presidents have managed,' Ms. Karume said in an interview at her home in the port city of Dar es Salaam. 'And imagine doing that as a result of a historical accident. It will be amazing.' She will be remembered as a leader who was so committed to bringing about fundamental change in the political arena – in the socioeconomic as well – that she was prepared to lose the presidential election 2025 to achieve her goal. She said in 2022 that she was determined to level the playing field even if it cost her the presidency. Her achievement will be somewhat comparable to the achievement of the founding father of the nation Mwalimu Nyerere who led the country to independence while she will always be remembered as the leader who led the country in the quest for and achievement of true democracy. They will be the two greatest presidents in the history of Tanzania.” – (Ibid., pp. 24 – 27). “It was not until Samia Suluhu Hassan became president that hope was rekindled the country was going to have true democracy when she lifted a ban on political meetings by opposition parties – that was imposed by her predecessor Magufuli – and agreed with the opposition on the need for an independent electoral commission that will oversee and monitor elections, a role that had been monopolised by the ruling party since independence.... She also agreed with the opposition that there was a need for a constitutional review in order to make constitutional changes and give the country a new constitution. The constitutional overhaul, if carried out, will be a fundamental departure from the past, abandoning the first constitution adopted in 1965 which gave too much power to the president, established the one-party state, and did not stipulate that the country must have an independent electoral commission to oversee elections and certify results. Establishment of an independent electoral commission has been one of the biggest and consistent demands by the opposition in order for the country to have fair elections without being rigged by the ruling party in its favour. If the demand is met, and the country gets a new constitution under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the country's first female president, she will go down in history as the leader who enabled Tanzania to have true democracy which has eluded the country since independence. Nyerere united the country under one-party rule, shaped its national character and identity, and introduced socialism – known as Ujamaa, which means familyhood in Kiswahili – whose egalitarian values played a critical role in uniting the people of Tanzania by fostering a sense of equality and brotherhood. Mwinyi introduced capitalism and allowed the people to have the kind of freedom they never had before, so much so – in almost everything they did – that he was nicknamed Mzee Rukhsa, which in Swahili means 'everything goes' under him; there's nothing to worry about. The people took advantage of that and corruption became rampant, almost institutionalised. Samia gave Tanzania a new constitution and introduced true democracy the country has never had since independence, an enduring legacy for the Gentle Lady on a continent where many countries are still struggling to achieve genuine representation and freedom of expression. It is still too early to tell. But she may be vindicated by history.” – (Ibid., pp. 82 – 83).

Thread starter kajembe
Start date Mar 6, 2023
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female lady president samia samia suluhu samia suluhu hassan suluhu

kajembe

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Gentle Lady Samia Suluhu Hassan: Tanzania's first female president, 2023

kajembe

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