Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as President behind closed doors on November 3, 2025. His inauguration as President of Tanzania came after opposition leaders rejected the outcome of the election, where he was ousted and Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with 98% of the vote. The election was overshadowed by unrest in neighboring Kenya, including internet shutdowns and reports of deaths in protests.
President Suluhu Hassan and his ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party faced heavy international scrutiny.
Who is Samia Suluhu Hassan?
Suluhu Hassan assumed the presidency in 2021 following the death of John Magufuli. She served as his deputy. The new role made her both the first woman and the first person from semi-autonomous Zanzibar to lead Tanzania.
She joined the CCM party in the 1980s and entered politics in Zanzibar in the 1990s, serving in its House of Representatives and Minister of Youth Employment, Women and Children and later Minister of Tourism and Trade under President Amani Karume of Zanzibar from 2000–2010.
Jakaya Kikwete, the Tanzanian president at the time, reportedly cleared the way for Suluhu Hassan to enter politics Mainland Tanzania, where he won over 80% of the votes in the race to go to the National Assembly. She went on to serve as Minister of State for Union Affairs and was elected Deputy Speaker of the Constitutional Assembly, which was tasked with drafting the new Constitution of Tanzania.
In 2015, Magufuli chose Suluhu Hassan as his running mate and the two led the country.
Suluhu Hassan praised in the beginning
When Suluhu Hassan rose to the highest levels of political power in East Africa she was widely regarded as a patriot and trailblazer for family values and women’s empowerment.
In the region and around the world, women’s groups and governments hailed the appointment of the veteran politician, a mother of four and wife of a retired civil servant.
Suluhu Hassan won many hearts in Tanzania with his “4R” philosophy: Reconciliation, Resilience, Reform and Reconstruction.
“She started involving key stakeholders and political parties. At that time, political rallies and demonstrations were banned, she reinstated them. Some media, both mainstream media and online media, were banned, but she came and reinstated them,” human rights expert William Maduhu told DW.
In a 2021 interview with DW, Dorothy Semu, leader of the opposition ACP Wazalendo party, said: “We’ve seen them extend that olive branch and we think we’re going to go to the discussion table and have a good discussion about the future of our country.”
Maduhu said that when it came to promoting national unity, Suluhu Hassan had, in a very short period of time, brought the country to a better position than before.
Tanzania is moving towards authoritarianism under the leadership of Suluhu Hassan
But in recent years, human rights groups and opposition figures began speaking out about what they say was Suluhu Hassan’s slide toward authoritarianism. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Expressed concern over arbitrary arrests and crackdown on the opposition.
Growing concerns over Tanzania under the leadership of Suluhu Hassan turned into shock with the arrest and torture of Kenyan human rights activists ahead of October 2025 elections.
Amnesty International He said that under Suluhu Hassan’s watch, the government has intensified its repression of dissent to seize power. Amnesty said, since January 2024, it has documented “widespread and systematic violations, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and severe restrictions on freedom of movement, expression and peaceful assembly.”
Amnesty said it believed the system of repression that existed in the Magufuli era “has worsened.” As fear spread among journalists, civil society and human rights activists, criticism against Suluhu Hassan began on social media, where some users called him a dictator or referred to him as “Idi Amin Mama”.
“Suddenly, in a year, she turned against everything she had started to build well. Even in diplomacy, her regime kidnapped many activists in Kenya.” Frederick Mbwambo Justina former parliamentary candidate for the center-right Chadema party told DW.
He believes that Suluhu Hassan’s slide towards authoritarianism may be due to the politics of the ruling party.
Justin said, “I think CCM is stronger than his personality.” “The people she’s surrounded by may have other motives. When she entered the office, she thought she could make some improvements and suddenly, the system probably told her that’s not the way to go. And the system was stronger than that.”
Some analysts have also suggested that she was forced to take action against the opposition in order to prove to the CCM that she was a worthy presidential candidate.
Is there any hope?
“The protests that took place, especially in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya and Songwe city, were neither noble nor patriotic,” Suluhu Hassan said after the vote. “A true patriot builds the country, not destroys it.”
Maduhu hopes that repression “will end or at least be reduced” during Suluhu Hassan’s first elected term. He has promised to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the complaints within 100 days of his presidency.
Maduhu is doubtful whether this will yield any results.
“Tanzania is good at setting up commissions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chadema party believes that constitutional and electoral reforms will mark the beginning of meaningful change in Tanzania.
Justin said, “I can’t say there’s a 100% chance of it happening, but I think there’s a lot of potential for it to happen.”
Edited by: Benita Van Eysen