President Samia Suluhu Hassan, on Thursday, January 8, 2025, announced the appointment of Major General Mbaraka Naziad Mkeremy, the Head of Defence Intelligence in the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF), as an ambassador.
Major General Mkeremy is widely known for his public service as a former Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to both former President Jakaya Kikwete and the late President John Pombe Magufuli. In April 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, a move that saw him return to TPDF headquarters to take up other responsibilities. He was subsequently replaced as President Magufuli’s ADC by then Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Mlunga. The specific ambassadorial posting for Major General Mkeremy has not yet been announced.
In the same announcement, President Samia appointed her Private Secretary, Waziri Rajab Salum, as an ambassador. Salum has served in the role of private secretary since 2021, during which time he became one of the most visible figures within the president’s inner circle. Before this appointment, he served as the Director of Resource Mobilization at the Tanzania Education Authority.
Additionally, the Chief Secretary of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, Engineer Zena Ahmed Said, was also appointed as an ambassador.
These ambassadorial appointments come as President Samia also make first cabinet reshuffle, conducted less than three months after the cabinet was initially formed.
