Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan Names Mwigulu Nchemba as New Prime Minister

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday nominated former Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba as the country’s new Prime Minister, following last month’s disputed national election.

The nomination comes after Hassan’s landslide victory in the October 29 vote, which opposition parties have denounced as rigged. Parliament is widely expected to approve Nchemba’s appointment in a vote later on Thursday.

The election aftermath has been marred by violent protests and allegations of mass killings. Opposition groups claim that security forces killed over 1,000 people during demonstrations, while the United Nations human rights office has said it believes the number of deaths is in the hundreds.

The Tanzanian government has rejected those figures, accusing the opposition of exaggeration, though it has not released its own casualty count.

President Hassan, who has been in office since 2021, has defended the fairness of the election and dismissed criticism of her human rights record, saying her administration remains committed to stability and democratic governance.