President Samia sacks envoy to UN, appoints new spy chief

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday, January 3 revoked the appointment of Tanzania’s permanent representative to the United Nations Prof Kennedy Gastorn, over a corruption scandal whose details were not disclosed.

In his place, the President appointed Chief Secretary Hussein Katanga, her closest aide at State House, to take over as envoy to the UN in New York and ambassador in Washington DC, and promoted Moses Kusiluka from permanent secretary in the President's Office to Chief Secretary, to replace Mr Katanga.

The Director General of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS), Diwani Athumani, has been moved to replace Mr Kusiluka.

Mr Athumani’s former deputy at TISS, Said Masoro, will now head the spy agency.

According to a statement from presidential spokesperson Zuhura Yunus, the new appointments take effect immediately.

Announcing the changes herself in a televised address from State House Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night, President Hassan said Prof Gastorn’s recall had been prompted by general concerns raised in parliament last November over “funds misuse and abuse of power” in Tanzania's foreign embassies.

She did not give details of the specific allegations against the 46-year-old lawyer and diplomat who had held the dual positions since March 2020, but said his sacking marked the “start of government efforts to clean house and restore proper status in all its diplomatic offices abroad.“

The decision to revoke Prof Gastorn’s appointment came several months after President Samia Suluhu Hassan fired Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula over alleged “overstepping” while in a delegation led by Vice President Philip Mpango during a tour of the US for the UN General Assembly last year.

With the latest appointments, President Hassan appears to be consolidating her power base ahead of the 2025 elections when she will be seeking elective presidency for the first time.