MEET EAST AFRICA'S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

Meet Dr.Samia Suluhu, the woman steering Tanzania after President Magufuli's sudden demise.

Tanzania's Acting President
Dr.Samia Suluhu.

Dr.John Pombe Magufuli has succumbed to heart failure according to reports, despite earlier being reported that he was admitted at The Nairobi Hospital then flown to India over COVID-19 complications.

It will be remembered that Magufuli was a strong sceptic of COVID-19. He blatantly refused to lock down Tanzania when COVID-19 set in, declared Tanzania COVID-19 free in June 2020 and  banned the use of face masks. Many a critics said that he was doing that so that the planned General Elections could go on uninterrupted and see him get another term in office. 

However,just before he disappeared from the public, Magufuli accepted that the virus was still circulating after the vice president of Zanzibar was revealed to have succumbed to COVID-19.

Now that president Magufuli has passed on, his deputy, Dr.Suluhu, has taken over the office and might well be the first East Africa's female president, and the first Muslim woman to serve as a head of state.

Dr.Suluhu inspecting the parade at an earlier function.

According go Tanzania's Constitution, the vice president,Dr.Suluhu, should assume the presidency for the remainder of the five year term that Magufuli began to serve last year after winning a second term.

Dr. Samia Hassan is from the semi autonomous region of Zanzibar,a largely Muslim population. The 61-year-old has been the vice president since 2015,though rarely seen at public functions. Prior to this, she had served as the minister of state under the Vice President's Office. Samia has also served in the government of Zanzibar in different capacities.

All the best Dr.Samia.