Former African Intelligence Chiefs in Politics: Tanzania's ex-spymaster Late Cornel Apson as Case Study Extraordinaire
Former intelligence chiefs in Africa rarely step into the limelight of partisan politics — a domain often dominated by career politicians, party loyalists, and populist voices. The late Cornel Apson Mwang'onda, a former Director-General of the Tanzanian Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), broke this mould in 2015 during one of Tanzania's most consequential general elections. His dramatic re-emergence from retirement to join the opposition campaign of the late Edward Lowassa under the UKAWA coalition shocked political observers and redefined the perceived boundaries of intelligence neutrality.