Tanzania swears in East Africa’s first woman president, Samia Suluhu Hassan

Tanzania has a new president in the person of Samia Suluhu Hassan, who two days ago was vice president of the East African country.

She has made history becoming the first female president of the United Republic of Tanzania. Suluhu was, this morning, sworn in by the Chief Justice Ibrahim Juma at State House in Dar es Salaam.

She becomes the sixth president of the country taking over from deceased former boss President John Pombe Magufuli who died on Wednesday, from heart-related complications.

The 61-year-old has been Magufuli’s deputy since 2015.

Her swearing in is in line with the Tanzanian constitution which stipulates that a vice president subject to some conditions should serve the remaining tenure of an incapacitated president.