The third day of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s working tour of Simiyu and Mwanza took a heated turn on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, after a provocative speech by Kisesa Member of Parliament Luhaga Mpina during her rally in Meatu.

In her concluding remarks, President Samia directly addressed Mpina’s speech, urging citizens to elect MPs who are serious about delivering development.

Mpina, known for his frequent clashes with ministers both in and outside parliament, enjoys popularity among the public and his constituents but remains largely unpopular among ministers. What stood out most in his speech was his claim that the President still owes development to the Kisesa constituency. This challenged a common narrative among CCM MPs, who often assert that the population owes gratitude to President Samia for everything that has already been implemented.

“Your Excellency, the President, we in Kisesa believe you still owe us. And as for those in other areas who say they don’t, we ask that the funds be redirected to Kisesa, because we still have many development plans in our region,” Mpina said.

In a speech repeatedly interrupted by cheers from the crowd, Mpina requested the construction of several roads and bridges, pointing out that the President would be traveling on a dusty road throughout her visit to the area.

“Madam President, in the health sector, your fellow women and all Tanzanians will remember you for the way you have championed the issue of health. You have continued to improve hospitals, and many good things have been accomplished,” he said, concluding with mentions of strategic national projects such as the SGR railway and the Mwalimu Nyerere Dam.

“If you look at Mpina’s constituency from the helicopter, it looks like the head of a woman who has braided her hair in cornrows style; there is ongoing road construction everywhere,” Mpina added, drawing cheers from the audience.

President Samia, in Meatu to inaugurate a cotton processing plant, started her speech with general remarks but used the final five minutes to directly rebut Mpina.

“He [Mpina] has also requested bridges and roads. My brothers and sisters, requests like these—Leah [Komanya] had submitted in parliament, and the Ministers went on and implemented,” she said, referencing Meatu MP Leah Komanya, who spoke before Mpina.

“Now, bringing these requests here in the meeting of the President is just to seek popularity, and it proves that the MP did not do justice to his constituency. If the MP had said this in Parliament, the work would have been done, but this shows the MP did not do justice to their constituency,” she added, as the crowd listened attentively.

President Samia went on to underscore that Mpina is not fit to be a constituency member of parliament, highlighting his failure to mention key developments done at the constituent level by her government.

“But secondly, based on the praises and explanations he gave about the SGR, Mwalimu Nyerere, the Busisi bridge, and the MV Mwanza, this person is not a constituency MP but a national MP. Therefore, I think as we go forward, let me take him in my 10 MPs appointment,” she said, referring to the ten parliamentary appointments granted to the President under the constitution.

“His colleague, Leah, said everything that has been done in the constituency and even mentioned the amount of money off the top of her head, but the MP for Kisesa is just jumping up and down, making claims that Kisesa is still owed [development],” she continued.

“However, if you follow the documents and government records, we have done a lot in Kisesa. I was surprised when he said Kisesa is like a woman with braided hair, meaning he despises his constituency. If he had said the roads have been constructed and development is visible, that would be different. But my brothers and sisters, I think you should be serious in bringing MPs who can provide services in your constituencies; you should be serious about that.”

The Meatu rally drew even more attention when Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe also criticized Mpina’s comments, particularly those concerning the cotton business in the area.

“On the issue of cotton, I agree in principle that the issue of having a single buyer removes us from the free market. Any system that is introduced must not compromise competition in a free market,” Mpina stated, receiving loud cheers from the crowd.

Bashe countered sharply, warning Mpina against politicizing serious economic issues:

“Politicians from the Simiyu region have used cotton as a political tool rather than as an economic crop to lift people out of poverty. Firstly, no one can determine the price of cotton except the government. Even if there are 500 buyers in a village, the price of cotton is set by the government.”

“I will not allow anyone to break this system that we have just started to build. The government will set the price based on global prices. In 2019 and 2020, he was part of the government, and he was among the people who misled President Magufuli by telling him that the global price of cotton was high. The president then announced a price. As a result, cotton farming collapsed, and these citizens ended up selling cotton at 500 shillings — it became a complete disaster.”

This is not the first clash between Bashe and Mpina. In a previous parliamentary session in June 2024, Mpina accused Bashe of violating procedures related to sugar importation and misleading Parliament. The matter led to Mpina’s suspension for 15 sessions for despising the parliament, after he called a press conference and presented evidence he had submitted to the Speaker.

Lake Zone Politicking

President Samia’s decision to tour the Lake Zone days before the campaign appears to be a strategic move to lay the groundwork ahead of what is expected to be a highly contentious election. The main opposition party is anticipated to be barred from the ballot, with the leader of the party in prison, charged with treason.

The Lake Zone is a strategic voting bloc, not only because of its large population and strong cultural cohesion, but also because it is considered the political base of the late President John Magufuli. President Samia’s tour, including the launch of the Kigongo–Busisi Bridge—one of Magufuli’s legacy projects—appears aimed at securing this base of support in the region.

Mpina, for a while, has been considered an outcast among CCM members of parliament; his popularity among voters has soured, as he is considered one of the CCM members of parliament who stood on business to demand accountability. To his constituents and a large cross-section of lake zone constituents, and even beyond, he has re-branded himself and is considered somebody who closely mirrors the most-liked side of the late president Magufuli, especially on dealing with corruption and demanding accountability.

He is also the only CCM MP who openly supported Josephat Gwajima after he had spoken out and criticized the increasing trend of abductions in the country. Gwajima, also from the Lake Zone, transformed into a close Magufuli ally in 2020 and sought to rally the region behind the former president’s vision. Following his remarks on abduction, his church has been deregistered, and President Samia has urged her party not to put somebody like him on the ballot.

Together, Mpina and Gwajima present a new headache to CCM’s leadership. Both have appealed to a demographic in the Lake Zone, a place which has another problem of strong patriarchal tendencies; both have managed to convince a large section of constituents that they are people who stand on business and demand accountability. This is also appealing to some supporters of the late president Magufuli, who are also a significant number in the region.

The existing trend from CCM so far has been escalation with little course correction. Many analysts anticipate that fellow members of parliament and the party will hit hard at Mpina, as was the case for Gwajima. However, such moves risk provoking backlash from Lake Zone constituents and shifting public perceptions in unpredictable ways.