Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has announced a sweeping cabinet reshuffle, drawing sharp attention after naming her daughter and son-in-law to senior government posts. The appointments, revealed late Monday in Dodoma, mark the first major overhaul of her administration since her re-election in October.
Wanu Hafidh Ameir, 43, will serve as Deputy Minister of Education in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Her husband, Mohamed Mchengerwa, has been appointed Minister of Health, having previously worked in the President’s Office. Both are familiar figures in the governing CCM party, but their promotions have prompted fresh debate over political family ties in public office.
The President also introduced a new Ministry for Youth Development, signalling what State House described as an effort to place “youth empowerment at the centre of national priorities.” Joel Arthur Nanauka will lead the new docket.
The reshuffle follows President Samia’s re-election in a contest that the electoral commission declared a landslide, giving her nearly 98% of the vote. Some opposition figures and civil society groups criticised the poll as uncompetitive, a claim the government has repeatedly rejected.
Wanu Hafidh Ameir has long been active in CCM politics. She has served in the party’s national leadership since 2010 and previously sat on a parliamentary legal commission. Earlier in her career, she led the CCM youth wing in Zanzibar between 2008 and 2012. She also runs the Women’s Initiative Foundation, a charity she founded in 2022 to support children from low-income families. She has represented Makunduchi Constituency in Zanzibar’s parliament since 2005.
With 27 ministers and 29 deputy ministers now in place, the President’s new cabinet widens her political reach but also places her administration under renewed scrutiny at home and abroad.
About the Author
