🚨 BREAKING: Former Senior Minister Arrested in Tanzania as Samia’s ICC-Driven Purge Intensifies
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | 01 February 2026 | 0100 GMT
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🚨 Breaking Intelligence: Senior Minister Arrested
Ujasusi Blog has learned from credible intelligence sources that a former senior minister—widely regarded as a potential future president of Tanzania—has been arrested under direct orders from President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The arrest follows a large withdrawal of funds from a local bank, after which Samia was immediately alerted. The money was allegedly confiscated, and the minister’s current whereabouts remain unknown.
Intelligence indicates that Paul Makonda, recently promoted to full Information Minister (after serving as Deputy Minister for less than two months) and one of Samia’s longest-serving and most trusted enforcers, played a key operational role in the arrest. Makonda is reportedly in “bad blood” with the detained minister, raising questions about whether Samia is reviving the extrajudicial tactics Makonda allegedly pioneered during the Magufuli regime.
This arrest follows the detention of former minister Geofrey Mwambe and underscores a systematic pattern of purges as Samia consolidates power amid mounting pressure from International Criminal Court (ICC) submissions alleging 5,000-10,000 deaths from post-election violence in October 2025.
🔍 Source Credibility: Why You Can Trust This Intelligence
This breaking intelligence comes exclusively from Ujasusi Blog’s independent network of credible sources within Tanzania’s security and political apparatus. Ujasusi Blog does not report unverified rumours. Every detail in this brief has been cross-referenced with multiple independent sources embedded in Tanzania’s intelligence and political networks. This is premium intelligence analysis for serious readers, not speculation.
📋 Full Intelligence Brief Includes:
✅ The Minister’s Profile – Why this individual poses an existential threat to Samia (and previously to John Magufuli). Analysis of presidential potential and political base.
✅ The Financial Trigger – Exact details of the bank withdrawal that prompted Samia’s intervention. How much was withdrawn, which institution, and what intelligence suggests the minister intended to do with the funds.
✅ Paul Makonda’s Operational Role – Specific intelligence on how Makonda facilitated the arrest, his decade-long alliance with Samia, his rapid promotion from Deputy Minister to full Minister in less than two months, the origins of his conflict with the detained minister, and allegations linking him to the “Watu Wasiojulikana” (Unknown Assailants) phenomenon during the Magufuli regime.
✅ Pattern of Purges – How this arrest fits into Samia’s broader strategy of neutralising internal rivals. Comparison to the Mwambe case and other recent detentions.
✅ ICC Pressure as Strategic Driver – Why mounting international accountability makes targeting “future president” types a rational pre-emptive move for Samia.
✅ Intelligence Assessment – What this signals about Samia’s dual personality (public calm vs. behind-scenes repression), who might be targeted next, and the implications for Tanzania’s democratic trajectory.
✅ Why the Name is Withheld – Ujasusi Blog’s editorial rationale for not publicly naming the minister at this stage.