Tulia Ackson: From humble beginnings now on the verge of the Speaker's seat

Dar es Salaam. She came from a humble background and went on to pursue an academic journey in the field of law. Her journey into politics started some eight years ago in February 2014 after an appointment by then President Jakaya Kikwete.

She was appointed a member of the Constituent Assembly of Tanzania, representing higher learning institutions.

The person I am writing about is the recently nominated candidate of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to vie the post of Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Tulia Ackson.

The position is vacant following the resignation of Job Ndugai due to pressure from within and outside the party.

Rising Woman chronicles Tulia’s journey and how she rose to where she is now.

She was born on November 23, 1976 in Mbeya Region. She attained her primary education at Mabonde Primary School.

Between 1991 and 1994 she attended Loleza Secondary School. In 1995 to 1997 she went to Zanaki Secondary School for her A-Level studies.

She later joined the University of Dar es Salaam in 1998 to 2001 to pursue a bachelor of laws (LLB). At the same university from 2001 to 2003, she did her master’s degree in law (LLM). And, from 2005 to 2007, she did her Ph.D at the University of Cape Town.

Her employment journey started back in 2001 when she worked as a postgraduate teaching assistant. She was then promoted to assistant lecturer in 2004 after completing her master’s degree in law. Another promotion came in 2007 as a lecturer after she obtained her doctorate.

In 2009, she became the associate dean of the University of Dar es Salaam’s School of Law for six years. In 2011 she was promoted to become a senior lecturer.

Her appointment by President Jakaya Kikwete as the Deputy Attorney General lasted only for three months and same year in 2015 she was nominated as a Member of Parliament by President John Magufuli.

During her first year in active politics, Tulia was bold enough to contest for position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. She emerged victorious.

The General Election in 2020 was another milestone in her political ambition as she clinched the Mbeya Urban parliamentary seat.

Looking back at some of her pensive moments as Deputy Speaker, Dr Ackson says ordering MPs out of the debating chamber was among the most difficult decisions she made during the 11th Parliament.

However, she says she had to take such measures in line with Parliamentary Standing Orders.

“It was hard to order a representative of citizens out of the debating chamber because under normal circumstances you want all MPs to participate fully in deliberations for which they were elected as people’s representatives,” Dr Ackson once said in an online interview broadcast live on Mwananchi Digital.

She now awaits the final vote by the House, in which she is likely to emerge the winner and become Speaker of the National Assembly.

If elected she will be the second woman in Tanzania to hold the highest position in the National Assembly; with the first woman being Anne Makinda who also served as Member of Parliament for Njombe.

As a lawyer, Tulia is a Member of the Tanganyika Law Society, East African Law Society, and Southern African Development Law Society.

She is an expert in social security law, labour law, wildlife management laws, trusts, probate and administration of estates law, project financing and mining law.

Her experience also includes general commercial agreements, such as joint ventures, agency agreements, distributorship agreements, service agreements, mergers and acquisitions, Initial Public Offerings, Management Buy-Outs, employment, commercial and competition law.

Dr Ackson is a practitioner with over 10 years’ experience in employment law. She regularly writes articles and discusses employment law matters and her practice covers all aspects of Tanzania employment law, from hiring, to firing, to handling disputes between employers and employees.

In 2015 she founded Tulia Trust with the vision of working alongside stakeholders and local community based organisations to empower vulnerable groups in communities in which the groups are able to live without discrimination, and in a healthy, safe and caring environment, where they are equipped with the necessary skills to realize their aspirations and potential.

Its mission is improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in Tanzania. The fund assists them to make efforts to improve their own conditions, ensuring that they have access to their entitlements, creating and providing appropriate opportunities within their communities.

The Trust is a non-governmental development organisation centered on the welfare of vulnerable groups. The Trust is geared to provide and promote care, protection and opportunities towards the girl child education, rural communities’ economic empowerment and women maternal health.