The ongoing online feud between Kenya and Tanzania has taken an intriguing twist, particularly after it emerged that Tanzanian Member of Parliament Joseph Kasheku Musukuma, who has been leading the pushback against Kenyans, possesses only a primary-level education.
The MP, who represents Geita Constituency, went viral on Monday, May 26, for branding Kenyans uneducated and politically inferior in the wake of the drama surrounding Kenyan activists and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu.
“We as Tanzanians have nothing to learn from Kenya," Musukuma said during a recent Parliamentary session. "We're better than they are at politics; we are more intelligent and everything else. English is not a problem; we have our own culture.”
The comments did not augur well with Kenyans, whose attention briefly shifted from President Suluhu to the Geita MP.
In his comments, Musukuma was adamant that he had no issue with ordinary Kenyans but was critical of activists who he claimed were intent on destabilising the neighbouring Tanzania.
This clarification was not enough to appease the Kenyan online community, who have developed a knack for digging through personal information of political figures they deem offensive, and Musukuma was no exception.
A quick spot check into the lawmaker's academic background led to some interesting findings, as publicly available records show that Musukuma has only completed primary education. According to records from the Tanzanian Parliament website, the MP studied for his Country Program Evaluation (CPE), equivalent to the KCPE, between 1979 and 1986.
From the data on Tanzania's official parliament website, there is no indication that Musukuma, who belongs to Suluhu's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), pursued any further studies beyond 1986.
Expectedly, this small detail in the MP's education led to online criticism and ridicule from Kenyan netizens, many of whom saw the irony of being labelled uneducated by a politician with questionable academic credentials.
Qualifications to vie for a Member of Parliament seat in Tanzania are quite different from Kenya's qualifications as one simply needs to be over 21 years of age and able to read and write in Swahili and English to be elligile
Article 67(1)(b) of the Tanzanian Constitution states that “A person shall be qualified to be elected or appointed a Member of Parliament only if he is able to read and write in the Kiswahili or English language.”
Meanwhile, Tanzania is keen on safeguarding Suluhu's name, with the country's Home Affairs Minister Innocent Bashungwa asking police officers to weed out Tanzanians peddling content produced outside the country on social media, particularly those painting the president in a bad light.
Speaking on Monday, May 26, when presenting his ministry's 2025/26 budget, the minister urged the police to collaborate with the Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to weed out Tanzanians sharing foreign activist content and have them face the full force of the law.
According to the minister, the Members of Parliament he was speaking to have witnessed President Suluhu's development, and the country would not take lightly any efforts to cyberbully the Head of State.
