Suluhu: The lady who contested against and beat her own shadow
Africa
By
Maryann Muganda
| Nov 02, 2025
There is a saying that “What a man can do, a woman can do better.” Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan seems to have taken that quite literally, including the bits best left undone.
When she rose to power in March 2021 after the sudden death of John Pombe Magufuli, Tanzania and the rest of the world celebrated. Here was a woman soft-spoken, motherly, modestly dressed, with her scarf neatly tied, stepping into one of the region’s toughest political seats. She was hailed as a symbol of hope, the woman who would soften the sharp edges of Tanzanian politics.
The assumption was simple: a woman’s touch would bring compassion, reconciliation, and democracy.
Then came the plot twist.
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What Tanzanians got, instead, was a continuity project. Samia Suluhu did not just inherit Magufuli’s presidential seat, she seemed to have inherited his entire manual on repression, only with better PR and softer tone.
Her early days promised reform through her famous “Four Rs”, Reconciliation, Resilience, Reform, and Rebuilding. Today, critics joke that she has added a fifth: Repression.
Opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who miraculously survived an assassination attempt during Magufuli’s reign, has faced constant persecution under Suluhu. Court cases, arrests, and threats have become part of his political routine. Under Samia, dissent is not just discouraged, it is criminalised.
Tanzania plunged into chaos this week following Wednesday’s general election, where President Samia was declared the winner with a jaw-dropping 98 per cent of the vote, a figure so generous it could make even Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni blush.
On election day, however, many Tanzanians were not exactly queuing up to vote. Instead, they poured into the streets, torching polling stations and rejecting what they called a sham election. Reports from across the country indicated an unusually low voter turnout.
Nevertheless, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wasted no time in presenting President Samia with her certificate of victory for the 2025 election held on October 29.
During the ceremony, the INEC Chairman reminded citizens that, under Tanzania’s Constitution, a winner simply needs more votes than the rest no matter how suspiciously high the margin. He also noted that once INEC declares a result, it is final: no court, no tribunal, no appeal.
Would you like me to extend this section to flow directly into the next part about the protests and rising death toll? It would make the tone transition seamless from sarcasm to serious reportage.
Hundreds of people have been killed in protests that have rocked the nation for three straight days. Opposition leaders claim the government rigged the election and disqualified key candidates, one imprisoned and another conveniently barred on technical grounds, leaving voters with little choice but to endorse Samia’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.
As the streets of Dar es Salaam filled with tear gas and bodies, President Suluhu was reportedly on the phone, not with Tanzanians pleading for peace, but with her fellow “strongmen” in the region.
According to some reports, Suluhu called two of her colleagues from neighbouring states to advice how to “manage” protestors. If true, it is an ironic circle: three leaders whose countries have each been accused of democratic backsliding comparing notes while their citizens cry for justice.
Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Kenya’s William Ruto, and Suluhu form what many East Africans now call the “Coalition of the Unbothered.” Each has perfected the art of defending “sovereignty” while crushing dissent at home.