Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Demotes Personal Secretary Waziri Salum, Removes TPDF Personnel Chief Maj Gen Gaguti as ICC Investigation Looms
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | 07 February 2026 | 0345 GMT
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan's reassignment of her most trusted personal secretary, Ambassador Wazir Rajabu Salum, to Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Trade represents a calculated political distancing operation as Tanzania faces International Criminal Court scrutiny over post-election violence that killed approximately 10,000 people according to Intelwatch's ICC submission. Announced on 6 February 2026, the reshuffle also saw Major General Marco Elisha Gaguti, Tanzania People's Defence Forces Chief of Personnel, appointed as ambassador—the second senior TPDF officer removed within 30 days following Major General Mbaraka Naziad Mkeremy's appointment on 8 January 2026. Salum, who intelligence sources indicate refused a prior ambassadorial posting to China, occupies a unique position as both alleged architect of repressive policies and potential ICC witness with intimate knowledge of executive decision-making during the October 2025 election crisis.