AfricaPress-Tanzania: President Magufuli yesterday swore in Tanzania’s new High Commissioner to Kenya John Simbachawene who replaced Dr Pindi Chana.
Others who were sworn in by the President included Dr Jacob Kingu who is going to Algeria and Phaustine Kasike who is headed to Mozambique in a similar role.
It was however the appointment of Mr Simbachawene as the new envoy to Kenya that left unanswered questions regarding the fate of Dr Pindi Chana.
The government’s statement announcing the appointments did not mention her new status.
During the swearing in President Magufuli poured praise on Kenya’s High Commissioner to Tanzania Dan Kazungu for the manner in which he had taken the border crossing tiff between his country and Tanzania.
He said Mr Kazungu had put his country’s interests first and sought a quick solution.
“I like the way Mr Kazungu reacted to champion his country’s interest. He held a press conference and reached out. This is the spirit and I wish he was a Tanzanian so that I could appoint him as our ambassador,” said President Magufuli.
It was, however, not immediately clear if Dr Chana’s removal from her posting in Nairobi had anything related to the truckers’ crisis along the border brought by disputes in testing the drivers for Covid-19.
Kenya last week closed its borders with Tanzania and Somalia for 30 days; only drivers from these countries who tested negative of the disease are allowed entry.
Tanzania also took measures to restrict entry of drivers from Kenya, in a move that forced President Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and order joint talks to resolve the crisis which has seen thousands of tonnes of goods stranded along the borders of Sirari, Horohoro, Namanga and Holili
