The sun-drenched grounds of Chamwino State House in Dodoma, where the acacia trees cast dappled shadows over the vast savanna stretching toward the horizon, became a stage of solemn transition on the morning of November 14, 2025. As a light breeze stirred the Tanzanian flags fluttering from flagpoles lining the ceremonial avenue, Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba, the 50-year-old economist and longtime Chama Cha Mapinduzi stalwart, raised his right hand and took the oath of office as the United Republic's 12th Prime Minister since independence. Flanked by a cadre of cabinet colleagues and parliamentary peers, Nchemba recited the pledge with measured gravitas, his voice carrying across the assembled dignitaries under a sky unmarred by the monsoon clouds that often blanket the capital. Moments later, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, her navy blue kitenge embroidered with subtle motifs of unity baobabs, placed a steadying hand on his shoulder and issued a directive that encapsulated the weight of her expectations: serve the country, its citizens, and institute the necessary changes for the nation's betterment. "You have a significant responsibility ahead as you work to deliver the promises outlined in the Chama Cha Mapinduzi 2025–2030 manifesto," Hassan stated, her tone a blend of maternal encouragement and presidential command, her eyes locking with Nchemba's as the cameras clicked in rhythmic approval. "Implement the party's commitments in line with the national Vision 2050 agenda—let this be the era of accountability, integrity, and results that our people deserve."
Nchemba's ascension, the culmination of a swift parliamentary endorsement on November 13 that saw 380 of 393 MPs vote in near-unanimous favor, marks a pivotal reconfiguration of Tanzania's executive machinery following Hassan's landslide re-election on October 29, 2025. The former Minister of Finance and Planning, who had navigated the economy through the turbulence of the COVID-19 recovery and the 2023 Tegeta Escrow scandal's aftershocks, replaces Kassim Majaliwa, the steady hand who had steered the premiership for a decade under both John Pombe Magufuli and Hassan. Majaliwa's departure, announced in a low-key cabinet reshuffle on November 10 amid whispers of health concerns and a desire for backbench repose, had paved the way for Nchemba, a Singida native whose unblemished cabinet record—spanning agriculture, home affairs, and finance—had shielded him from the purges that felled predecessors. "I am humbled by the trust placed in me by His Excellency the President and the august House," Nchemba responded to Hassan's charge, his words delivered from a podium overlooking the state house lawns where a small orchestra played the national anthem softly in the background. "I pledge to work diligently, with no room for laziness or corruption, to restore accountability in public service and ensure that every Tanzanian feels the dividends of our shared vision."
The swearing-in, a compact affair attended by 200 guests including opposition ACT-Wazalendo's Tundu Lissu and CCM elders like Philip Mpango, unfolded against the backdrop of a nation still digesting the October 29 polls' aftertaste—a victory for Hassan declared at 98 percent that had sparked protests in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, quelled by curfews and 200 arrests. Nchemba, who had served as deputy CCM secretary-general before his 2010 entry to parliament representing Iramba West, emerged as Hassan's trusted lieutenant through the reshuffles that followed Magufuli's 2021 death. Appointed agriculture minister in 2015, he had championed the 2016 National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan, boosting stunting reductions from 34 percent to 25 percent by 2020. As home affairs minister in 2017, he oversaw the 2019 census that mapped 61 million Tanzanians with 98 percent accuracy. His finance helm from 2021 onward stabilized the shilling at 2,700 to the dollar, growing GDP 5.4 percent amid $3.5 billion FDI inflows for Rovuma gas fields. "Mwigulu's track record is our testament—he's approachable, hardworking, a leader who listens," praised CCM MP Anne Malecela from Same East during the November 13 parliamentary vote, her endorsement drawing nods from the cross-aisle chamber where even Lissu's ACT contingent abstained from opposition. "In a time of transition, he is the continuity we need."
Hassan's nomination, revealed in a November 13 decree read in parliament by Speaker Tulia Ackson, had been met with rare cross-party acclaim. Opposition MP Ado Shaibu from ACT-Wazalendo's Tunduru North, a vocal critic of the October polls, offered bipartisan backing: "It is true that Hon. Mwigulu Nchemba is a hardworking individual—we support his nomination for the sake of our nation." The vote, 380-0 with 13 abstentions, reflected CCM's 85 percent parliamentary dominance post-election, but also Hassan's consensus-building ethos that had seen her pardon 5,000 inmates in 2022 and host EAC summits in Arusha. Nchemba's vetting, a two-hour parliamentary grilling on November 13, focused on his escrow scandal non-implication and Vision 2050 blueprint: "Implementation begins now—unfinished 2025 goals like universal secondary education by 2030 will be my north star," he affirmed, fielding questions on poverty's 26 percent rate with pledges for Sh10 trillion in agricultural tech over five years.
The swearing-in's intimacy belied the stakes: Nchemba inherits a premiership tasked with Hassan's second-term agenda, a five-year manifesto pledging 7 percent GDP growth, 90 percent electrification, and Sh50 trillion in FDI for industrialization. As economic cluster head, he oversees finance, planning, industry, and trade—portfolios pivotal to the $100 billion economy goal by 2030. "You must ensure policy coherence across ministries, responding to citizens' needs with urgency," Hassan reiterated, her directive a roadmap for reforms: digital economy act for 80 percent service digitization, anti-corruption edicts with 10 percent bounties, and youth innovation funds seeding 50,000 startups. Nchemba, in his oath response, vowed ethical governance: "No room for laziness or corruption—public service demands diligence, integrity, results."
Tanzania's premiership, since 1961's Rashidi Kawawa, has been the executive's engine, coordinating cabinet and parliament. Nchemba, the 12th incumbent, succeeds Majaliwa's steady tenure that navigated COVID's 3.5 percent contraction to 5.9 percent rebound. "Mwigulu's experience—agriculture to finance—equips him for this," analyst Richard Mbunda from the University of Dar es Salaam noted at a November 14 panel. "Hassan's trust, shown in his reshuffle survival, signals stability post-polls."
The ceremony, broadcast on TBC, drew 10 million viewers, its simplicity a contrast to Magufuli's 2015 pomp. Opposition Lissu, attending despite ACT's boycott: "Nchemba's hardworking; may he serve all, not the few." Hassan, in a post-oath address: "This term is yours—double down on education, green economy, women's empowerment." Nchemba's first act: convening a November 15 economic council with PSs and private sector, prioritizing Sh5 trillion infrastructure bonds.
For Tanzanians, Nchemba embodies promise: poverty's 26 percent scourge met with microfinance for 2 million women, unemployment's 4 percent with vocational hubs training 500,000 youth. "From Singida's fields to Dodoma's desk—he knows our struggles," said farmer Aisha Juma from Iramba West, Nchemba's constituency. As November's Nile winds stir, Nchemba's mandate endures: serve citizens, spark changes—a premiership where directives dawn development, and Hassan's vision vitalizes the nation.
Nchemba's cabinet: Philip Mpango as VP, Anne Malecela in planning. First council: Sh10 trillion green agenda, solar farms in Singida. Lissu's ACT: "Monitor, not mock." Hassan's manifesto: 90% electrification by 2028, Sh50 trillion FDI. Juma's farm: "Mwigulu's from us—may he water our fields." In Tanzania's unyielding rhythm, the oath opens opportunity—a prime minister's pledge where betterment blooms from bold beginnings.
