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Elder Lister
Kenya's National Intelligence Service (NIS) is projecting that East Africa is set to get its first female president, Zanzibar's Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is any time now expected to replace Tanzania's President John Pombe Magufuli. President Magufuli has been made vegetative by a devastating Covid attack, which complicated a long-standing heart condition.
Ms Suluhu, a relative political greenhorn, is currently Magufuli's deputy, and is favoured by the Tanzanian Intelligence & Security Services (TISS) head, Diwani Athumani, and some influential members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to take over from President Magufuli.
A top Kenyan intelligence official however cautioned that it was not a done deal for Ms Suluhu.
"Tanzania is an interesting country where the ruling party often has more power than the national constitution, and it is not unlikely that elements of President Magufuli's Sukuma tribe - who he has put in prominent positions in government, the intelligence services and the military - will want to influence the transition."
MORE TO FOLLOW.
Ms Suluhu, a relative political greenhorn, is currently Magufuli's deputy, and is favoured by the Tanzanian Intelligence & Security Services (TISS) head, Diwani Athumani, and some influential members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to take over from President Magufuli.
A top Kenyan intelligence official however cautioned that it was not a done deal for Ms Suluhu.
"Tanzania is an interesting country where the ruling party often has more power than the national constitution, and it is not unlikely that elements of President Magufuli's Sukuma tribe - who he has put in prominent positions in government, the intelligence services and the military - will want to influence the transition."
MORE TO FOLLOW.
