Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Monday, February 9, 2026 that she appointed colonels as regional commissioners in two border regions due to security and strategic considerations.
On February 6, 2026, President Hassan named Colonel Yahya Ramadhani Kido as Regional Commissioner for Kagera, replacing Ms Fatma Mwassa, and Colonel Donald William Msengi as Regional Commissioner for Mtwara, taking over from Colonel Patrick Kenan Sawala, who will be assigned other duties.
The appointments were announced by the Chief Secretary, Ambassador Dr Moses Kusiluka, as part of a wider reshuffle that also affected key ministries.
Kagera shares borders with Rwanda to the west, Uganda to the north and Burundi to the south-west, while Mtwara borders Mozambique to the south.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony at State House on Monday, February 9, 2026, President Hassan said the two regions were strategically important for the country’s security.
“These regions are vital for defence and are strategic to us. They are crucial for the country’s security and that is why I have appointed colonels there,” she said, urging them to work closely with the officials they will find there or those who will be posted.
Although no major security threat has been reported in Kagera, Mozambique’s gas-rich Cabo Delgado Province, which borders Mtwara, has experienced repeated skirmishes linked to an Islamist insurgency since 2017.
The attacks have caused a humanitarian crisis and disrupted Mozambique’s multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.
The $20 billion LNG project near the Tanzanian border—one of the largest in Africa—was suspended after a 2021 jihadist attack on the town of Palma killed an estimated 800 people.
French energy giant TotalEnergies however relaunched the construction last month (January, 2026).
Tanzania, which has also discovered commercially viable natural gas reserves in Mtwara and Lindi regions, is finalising negotiations with investors for a $42 billion LNG plant.
