Former Chief Justice and Presidential hopeful David Maraga has taken a swipe at Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, accusing her of reportedly forcing her way to the top seat.
During an interview on TV47 on Tuesday evening, Maraga claimed that Suluhu's rise to power was facilitated by glaring weaknesses in the country's constitution.
While comparing the Kenyan constitution, which permits challenges to presidential election outcomes in court, with the Tanzanian constitution, which does not, the former Chief Justice noted that this restricted meaningful elections.
He described the failure of the Tanzanian constitution to permit courts to hear presidential petitions as a democratic flaw that prevented the electoral commission from being held accountable.
"If the Tanzanian Constitution had allowed presidential court cases like Kenya, the elections would easily have been declared illegitimate. Their constitution does not allow a petition challenging the presidential election, and that is a big mistake," Maraga said.
He added, "If the people have not been given the chance to choose who they want, like Mama Suluhu has not obtained the legitimacy of the Tanzanian people."
While labelling Suluhu as an illegitimate Head of State, Maraga also accused the Tanzanian President of reportedly living in denial by attributing the recent protests in the country to foreigners.
He noted that the Tanzanian government's decision to silence those protesting through murders and arrests presented an outdated form of leadership, particularly with the growing level of awareness among citizens.
Maraga noted that the calls for fair elections in Tanzania should not be underestimated, drawing comparisons to similar incidents in Kenya, Madagascar and Nepal.
"Samia Suluhu is living in denial. If it were foreigners protesting and Tanzanians denying it, it would be something different. She is just slandering us," Maraga reiterated.
"Even in Kenya, when we had protests, there were foreigners here, but we did not say that they were the ones who brought violence. The things we see in Tanzania are not new; we have also seen them in Madagascar and even Nepal," he added.
Suluhu was sworn in as Tanzania's new president on Monday, November 3, after winning in an election that was marred by allegations of rigging coupled with violence that resulted in the death of several people.
