Magufuli commissions 165 new army officers

Dar es Salaam. The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, President John Magufuli, yesterday commissioned 165 army officers to the rank of second lieutenant at the State House in Dar es Salaam.

The commissioning was done for the second time at the State House instead of the habitual venue - the Tanzania Military Academy (TMA) - in Monduli District, Arusha Region.

Again, the event was the fourth to be hosted at the State House since Dr Magufuli assumed power in 2015. Those commissioned include 143 men and 22 women. They had been under intensive training since February 15 last year.

The event included also 15 soldiers from neighbouring countries under an exchange programme. Out of them, five were from Burundi, five from Kenya, three from Rwanda and two from Uganda.

Before he commissioned the new officers, the President presented awards to five outstanding trainees namely, Said Iddy, who emerged the best overall soldier, and Shahari Ndabei who was awarded for outstanding academic performance.

The award for the best trainee went to Hassan Mbaga, and Kenyan Lucas Kisau was awarded the best soldier from foreign country, while Mariam Kayanda emerged the best female trainee.

The event was also attended by Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, Chief Secretary John Kijazi, Minister for Defence and National Service Dr Hussein Mwinyi and Chief of Defence Forces General Venance Mabeyo.

The TMA Principal, Maj Gen Paul Masao, said the course started on February 15, last year, with a total of 220 trainees - 172 male and 28 females. “But, 56 of them were dropped due to various reasons and thus they couldn’t complete the course,” he said adding that academic qualifications of the commissioned officers ranges from Form Six and Master’s degree. According to him, one of the graduates has a Master’s degree, one has a post graduate diploma, and 86 are degree holders.