DR John Magufuli will today be sworn in as the fifth President of the United Republic of Tanzania at a ceremony to be held at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam. It is a public holiday today following a government announcement to that effect issued in the city yesterday.
Dr Magufuli, who vied for the Union presidency on CCM ticket, garnered 8,882,935 or 58.46 per cent of the total votes against his close opponent, Mr Edward Lowassa of CHADEMA, who got 6,072,848 or 39.97 per cent of the vote.
He is assuming the presidency from Mr Jakaya Kikwete whose 10-year tenure expires today. Dr Magufuli, former secondary schoolchemistry teacher and longserving cabinet minister, his last portfolio being works; earned widespread repute for his corruption-busting initiatives, industriousness, commitment to duty, integrity, innovation – and for being an advocate for work discipline and ethics.
The Chief Secretary, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, said in a statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communications in the city yesterday that President Kikwete has decided to declare today a public holiday to enable Tanzanians to celebrate the historic event. “President Kikwete has reached the decision to enable Tanzanians to take part in the event, which also signals the end of his term in office,” read part of the statement.
Ambassador Sefue pointed out that the president has made the decision in accordance with the constitution, which gives the head of state mandate to announce public holidays. However, candidates for the National Form Four Examinations, which have started, will today continue with their exams. According to the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Saidi Meck Sadiki, the swearing-in ceremony will kick off at 6am and ends at around 12 noon.
“All invited guests should take the seats designated for them. There will be seats for all members of the public and invited guests,” said the RC. Mr Sadiki assured the people that security has been beefed up in Dar es Salaam to ensure peace and security during the swearing-in ceremony to take place peacefully, noting that those who will attend the event should turn out early as they will have to undergo security screening.
“Those who will miss out the chance to enter the stadium should not be worried as the event will be beamed live on TV stations and huge screens to be installed at grounds outside the Uhuru Stadium,” Mr Sadiki, who doubles as the Regional Chairman of the Security and Defence Committee, told reporters.
He pointed out that scores of invited guests had arrived in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night while the Speaker of the National Assembly of Comoro arrived yesterday afternoon.
Other invited guests were due to arrive last night, including South African President Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, DRC President Joseph Kabila, Zambian President Edgar Lungu, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputy prime ministers for Namibia and Mozambique.
Other presidents on the list are Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique). The famous Prophet of The Synagogue Church Of All Nations, based in Nigeria, TB Joshua, is also in the country to attend the ceremony.
TB Joshua is well known for his prophecies and recently he made the shocking prophecy that an elderly leader in Africa would die. It was during the same time of his prophecy that former Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika suddenly succumbed to a heart attack.
He is renowned for his accurate prophecies in which he had been reported to have ‘seen’ the death of pop king Michael Jackson, the resignation of Pakistan’s ex-president Pervez Musharraf and also the rise of the current Ghanaian President John Drahama Mahama, a few weeks before the events took place, among other things.
Meanwhile, CCM members and supporters from Zanzibar will join their colleagues on the Mainland to celebrate the swearing-in of the newlyelected President of the United Republic of Tanzania. “We are happy to have Dr Magufuli as our next president. He is the man to unite us.
He has also promised to solve the Union’s problems. Let us all support him,” said the Deputy CCM Secretary General (Zanzibar), Mr Vuai Ali Vuai. He said CCM members and followers in Zanzibar have planned big celebration possibly after the polls re-run on the date to be announced by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC).
“The nullified elections were full of fraud. The Civic United Front (CUF) is reluctant to go for fresh polls because they cheated in the first place. CCM is already preparing for fresh elections in the Isles,” Mr Vuai said.
Veteran politician, CCM leader and cabinet minister, Mr Ali Ameir Mohammed said in Zanzibar yesterday that Tanzanians should be happy to have Dr Magufuli as president because he is a committed and honest man. “We should all have trust in him,” he quipped.
Dr Magufuli has departed from the tradition whereby his two immediate predecessors had been foreign affairs and international cooperation ministers before assuming the presidency.
Daily News
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