Samia 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.
The constitution states “the office of the president becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation, loss of electoral qualifications or inability to perform his functions due to physical infirmity or failure to discharge the duties and functions of the office of the president, then the vice president shall be sworn in and become the president for the expired period of the term of five years and in accordance with the conditions set in article 40”.
As president, she will consult with the ruling party to decide the appointment of the next vice-president. 50 percent of the members of parliament must be in agreement with the decision.
Hassan took the journey from being a clerk after her O-level to becoming vice-president of Tanzania in 2015 under the recently deceased Magufuli.
