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Tanzania’s developmental strides are impossible to ignore—but neither are the civil liberties suppressed along the way. As the 2025 election cycle gains momentum, President Samia Suluhu’s dual legacy is up for national and continental judgment.
It is difficult to dismiss the tangible changes President Samia Suluhu Hassan has made since taking over Tanzania’s highest office. Infrastructure expansion, sweeping health reforms, increased education access, and rising GDP numbers are shaping her administration’s narrative of progress.
Supporters point to a transformative period marked by results. Under her watch, over 1,060 health facilities have been built, contributing to an 80% drop in maternal mortality, according to public commentary from local accounts like @MrOnsase.
The education sector has also seen a leap—higher education loan beneficiaries rose from 142,000 to over 210,000, improving opportunity and reducing inequality across regions.
Massive infrastructure investments—including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), expanded road networks, and electrification of every Tanzanian village—are being touted as blueprints for sustainable development. Commentator @Poison_king_1 declared:
“Electricity now reaches every village in Tanzania! With TZS 9.8 trillion invested, Five More ForMama has lit up rural areas, boosting development and powering dreams.”
Such efforts are backed by economic data. The country’s GDP is reportedly USD 85.4 billion, while exports have topped TZS 30 trillion, driving optimism among local and international observers.
It’s no surprise that the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), is riding this momentum into the next election cycle with the slogan #SamiaSuluhuDelivers and the rallying cry of Five More ForMama. The party claims to have 13 million active members, a voter base that dwarfs most in the region.
Yet while progress headlines dominate state-aligned platforms, civil society voices a more troubling concern: Tanzania’s democratic space is shrinking.
The detention of prominent Kenyan political and civil society figures, including Martha Karua, Boniface Mwangi, and Agather, during their visit to observe the trial of Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, revealed cracks in the image of inclusivity and regional diplomacy that the administration promotes.
These detentions, which drew concern across borders, were widely seen as retaliatory and heavy-handed. They contradicted the very image President Suluhu has carefully curated—one of a moderate, peaceful reformer bridging the gap between authoritarian legacies and democratic promise.
That contradiction was echoed subtly but pointedly by a Kenyan commentator, @PeteroMaina, who asked in another context:
“But why did she have to wait for so long despite the raging debate? Something is not adding up.”
Suluhu’s government, much like others balancing economic development with internal control, appears to be walking a precarious line. Her administration has shown little tolerance for political dissent, especially when it challenges CCM’s entrenched dominance or invites foreign scrutiny.
For a leader once praised for reversing some of the autocratic tendencies of her predecessor, John Magufuli, her increasing tendency to consolidate power has not gone unnoticed. What began as a hopeful pivot to openness now risks becoming a rebranding of the same restrictive governance under a softer tone.
Despite these concerns, the CCM machine continues to command loyalty. Digital campaigns highlight Suluhu as a unifier, a visionary, a modern African stateswoman. Tweets like this from @Amazingmaasai_ typify the sentiment:
“Samia Suluhu Hassan is not just leading—she’s redefining what leadership looks like in Africa. Five More ForMama.”
But democracy is not built on slogans alone.
The Tanzanian electorate now stands before a pivotal question. Should it extend Suluhu’s mandate based on the concrete gains in infrastructure and economic metrics? Or should it weigh those achievements against growing fears about shrinking civic space, political intolerance, and diplomatic friction?
For Tanzania to truly rise—beyond hashtags, party numbers, or GDP milestones—it must reconcile its developmental ambitions with the constitutional principles of justice, transparency, and human dignity. The detentions of Karua, Mwangi, and others may have faded from headlines, but their implications remain active in the public conscience.
Samia Suluhu’s place in history is not yet cemented. It is being written in real time—between new hospitals and crowded courtrooms, between train stations and Twitter threads. It will not be determined solely by how loudly “Five More ForMama” is chanted, but by whether her leadership embodies the democratic ideals Tanzania claims to champion.
Editor’s Note:
This editorial invites responses from Tanzanian civil society, regional observers, and CCM representatives. Letters to the editor may be submitted for potential publication.
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