Mama Samia Suluhu Biography: From A Soft-Spoken Motherly Figure To A Merciless And Brutal Administrator

Age and Background

Saluhu was born on 27th January 1960. She was born in the sultanate of Zanzibar.

Education

Upon completing her secondary education in 1977, she was employed as a clerk by the Ministry of Planning and Development.

In 1986, she graduated from the Institute of Development Management with an advanced diploma in public administration.

She then proceeded to the University of Manchester where she left with a postgraduate diploma in Economics.

In 2015, she got an MSc in Community Economic Development through a joint program between the open University of Tanzania and the Southern New Hampshire University.

Career

After graduating with an advanced diploma in 1986, she was employed on a project funded by the World Food Programme.

Politics

Saluhu ventured into politics in 2000. President Amani Karume appointed her minister and she was also elected as special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives. At the time, she was the only high ranking female in cabinet. This made her male colleagues despise her.

Nonetheless, she was elected once again in 2005 and was also appointed minister.

In 2010, she decided to join the National Assembly, hence vied for the parliamentary seat of Makunduchi constituency. She won having received more than 80% of the total votes casted. She was appointed Minister of State for Union Affairs by president Jakaya Kikwete.

In 2014, she was elected as the Vice Chairperson to  the Constituent Assembly in charge of drafting the country’s new Constitution.

In July 2015, the presidential nominee of Chama Cha Mapinduzi chose her as his running mate for the 2015 general election. This was a historical moment as she became the first female running mate in the party’s history. When Magufuli won the election, she became the first female vice president in Tanzania.

The death of Magufuli in 2021 meant that she was going to take over as president for the remainder of the term. Initially seen as an accommodative leader, Samia Suluhu has ferociously dealt with her critics especially in the days leading to the 2025 general elections.

Her government has been accused of enforced disappearances, killings and suppression of freedom. In June 2025, activists Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Ugandan Atuhaire Agather were reported to be missing after being arrested and detained in Tanzania. They had visited Tanzania to show solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

The activists alleged they were subjected to sexual torture in Tanzania where they were detained for several days. Due to this, Suluhu’s administration found itself on the radar of UN experts who warned against enforced disappearances of activists and journalists.

Her main rival in the elections, Tundu Lissu of Chadema party was in April 2025 arrested and charged with treason and cybercrime offenses. Lissu was later disqualified from participating in the elections. The October 2025 elections was mired with deadly violence with hundreds reported to have lost lives. Suluhu’s government had disconnected electricity and shut down the internet. She went on to win the controversial polls with approximately 98% of the votes cast.

Marriage

The president of Tanzania got married to Hafidh Ameir in 1978. Hafidh is a retired Agricultural Officer. The two have four children with their second born, Wanu Hafidh Ameir (born in 1982), working as a special seat member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives.