President Samia Suluhu Hassan has announced her fourth cabinet reshuffle this year, marking the fourteenth such change since March 2021. The latest reshuffle sees the return of former ministers Palamagamba Kabudi and William Lukuvi to the cabinet, while two other ministers, Angela Kairuki and Ummy Mwalimu, have been removed.

Kabudi and Lukuvi were initially dropped from the cabinet on January 8, 2022, when President Samia cited concerns that some ministers were overly focused on the 2025 election.

Kabudi, who has now been reappointed as the Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, joins a completely revamped leadership team at the ministry. This includes Deputy Minister Jumanne Sagini, who was reassigned to the ministry in March 2024, and Permanent Secretary Eliakim Maswi, who was appointed on July 21, 2024. Additionally, Dr. Franklin Jasson Rwezimula was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary on August 14, 2024.

One of the major challenges facing Kabudi’s ministry is the handling of recent international arbitration cases that have cost the country millions of dollars. The most recent case resulted in Tanzania paying USD 90 million to the Australian-based company Indiana Resources Limited.

Kabudi, previously credited with introducing new changes in the mining sector, including the renegotiation of contracts and the introduction of a policy requiring the government to hold a 16% non-dilutable stake in all large mining projects, now faces the task of addressing these legal setbacks, which some of them have emanated from the changes he supervised under President Magufuli.

READ: Analysts Warn: Frequent Government Reshuffling Could Undermine Efficiency

William Lukuvi, a long-serving member of parliament and the President’s political advisor since his removal from the cabinet in January 2022, has been appointed as State Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, overseeing Policy, Parliament, and Coordination. This role effectively makes him the Chief Whip in Parliament. Lukuvi’s appointment reflects the deep trust President Samia places in him, as evidenced by his frequent involvement in cabinet meetings and other official capacities.

Jenista Mhagama, who was replaced by Lukuvi, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Health, where she takes over from Ummy Mwalimu, who has been completely removed from the cabinet. Mwalimu’s departure is widely attributed to recent challenges at the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), including the decision by Aga Khan Hospital, one of the country’s largest hospitals, to stop accepting NHIF patients. In the same announcement, the Director of NHIF, Bernard Konga, was replaced by Irene Isaka, the current Director of Social Sectors at the East African Community.

Pindi Hazara Chana has also been reappointed to the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources, replacing Angela Kairuki, who has been made an advisor to the President. Chana, who was removed from the Ministry of Tourism in February 2023 and later served in the Ministry of Sport and Culture and then Constitutional Affair Minister, now returns to her former role.

During her previous tenure, Chana was heavily involved in the controversial creation of the Pololeti Game Controlled Area, a decision that has sparked legal battles and widespread opposition from local communities in Loliondo dependent on the land for grazing during the dry season. Relocation of Maasai communities from Ngorongoro, an exercise that has continued to receive criticism from human rights body started during her tenure. 

On June 22, 2022, Pindi Chana shared plans to draw a new law that will make it illegal to have residents inside Ngorongoro. Masai community activists have started to show concerns on social media over her re-appointment.

READ: Samia Reveals Motivation Behind Recent Govt Shake-up: Putting It Closer to People As Elections Near

President Samia also announced the appointment of Hamza Johari as the new Attorney General succeeding Dr Eliezer Feleshi who has been appointed as a Justice at the court of appeal. Johari, who previously served as the Director General of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, played a key role in negotiating the Dubai-Tanzania port agreement, which granted multinational DP World a 30-year contract to run, operate, and develop Dar es Salaam port.This deal has faced criticism from various groups, including religious leaders, who argue that the terms were exploitative.

Johari holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Master’s Degree in International Law from the University of Kiev, Ukraine. However, his appointment has started to spark debate on social media, with some questioning whether he meets the constitutional requirement of having practiced law for at least 10 years, an issue that also arose during the appointment of his predecessor, Adelardus Kilangi, under former President John Magufuli.

Article 59(2) of the constitution provides that, “Attorney General shall be appointed from amongst public officers qualified to perform functions of advocate or, persons who are qualified to be registered as advocates and, has continuously held those qualification for not less than ten years.”

 In 2019, Ado Shaibu took President Magufuli to court against the appointment of Adelardus Kilangi, a petition that ended with the disbarment of his lawyer Fatma Karume with the court saying she acted unprofessionally and disrespectfully due to her comment in the proceedings were she said: ‘This Attorney General is far too junior to garner that kind of respect from the Bar; Given his lack of experience and junior position Adelardus Kilangi has been a woefully disappointing legal advisor to the Government at cost of the rule of law and Constitution supremacy’.

READ MORE: Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Remains a Hot Seat but Stability Matters

In other appointments, Samwel Maneno, formerly a legal advisor at the President’s Office, has been named Deputy Attorney General, replacing Professor Kennedy Gaston, who will now serve as a legal and contracts advisor at the President’s Office. Ally Salehe Posi, the current Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, has been appointed as Solicitor General, replacing Dr. Boniphace Naija. Posi was also part of the team that negotiated the DP World port contract.

The President has also continued to appoint various roles to senior officers from her office where Abdul Rajab Mhite was appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary Ministry of Livestock. Also, Methusela Stephen Ntonda was appointed as a deputy permanent secretary Ministry of Culture, Arts and Sport.

Finally, the Director of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), CP Salum Hamduni, has been appointed as the Regional Administrative Secretary for the Shinyanga Region. Hamduni, who was appointed as PCCB Director on May 15, 2021, leaves the organization amid an ongoing public awareness campaign against election-related corruption. Crispin Chalamila, a senior official from the President’s Office, has been appointed as the new Director of PCCB.