Today, on 17th June 2025, during President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to the Kisesa constituency, the bad blood among top CCM officials and Mpina vividly spiked over. Mpina was given five minute to speak, and he used them to lament and praise a number of issues.
After his speech, Bashe hurriedly took the podium and wasted no time to mincemeat the record of Mpina from when he was the minister for Livestock and Fisheries during the Magufuli era, blaming him for misleading President Magufuli and that Bashe’s office will not repeat the same mistakes! Remember both are CCM leaders. It was unthinkable a few years ago!
President Samia in what now looks like a well planned m andorchestrated “ambush” on Mpina took no time to address Mpina’s requests as “showboating” since he could have addressed them in Parliament. She watered down Mpina’s chances of returning to Parliament to represent the people of Kisesa, concluding that Mpina was more suited as a “national MP” but not to represent a mere constituency. Mpina’s requests were mostly national, she observed, and not constituency, albeit the other MP in a neighbouring constituency had echoed parts of requests and encomiums that mirrored Mpina’s! The difference was that Mpina was deemed a threat, and the other MP wasn’t.
This article investigates what has permanently disqualified Mpina from seeking the Kisesa constituency through CCM. It is now most unlikely to wait patiently for an olive branch that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had promised him: one of the ten presidential appointees to represent the whole nation in the Parliament. So Mpina though he will fill the CCM forms seeking the Kisesa’s parliamentary seat, his name is already in the chopping block: CCM politburo is already decided his services are no longer needed.
What did Luhaga Mpina say in those meetings?
If I overlook what has been boiling over in the Parliament and outside the Parliament, Hon. Mpina didn’t do anything wrong. He spoke the way I have seen most MPs speak during similar occasions.
He began by outlining the need for Kisesa to be upgraded into a district. He continued to remind the need of tarmacking some of the roads inside Kisesa. He then shifted gears to placate his boss for achievements. He lauded the Nyerere Dam and infrastructural feats across the country and inside his own constituency. I thought he did himself a huge service.
What did Hussein Bashe said?
Bashe seemed to nurse a huge grudge. He began with personal attacks against Mpina. He blamed him for a number of messy during the Magufuli reign. He accused Mpina of misleading Magufuli on a number of issues which are irrelevant in this discussion.
I had issues with Bashe’s tone which was hostile and disrespectful. Out of sheer anger, he didn’t refer to president Magufuli as “Hayati Rais Magufuli…” but called him just Magufuli! It isn’t lost Magufuli was the one who appointed Bashe to a junior minister docket, and that wasn’t even honoured as Bashe was determined to end the career of his political nemesis Mpina.
Mpina was not given an opportunity to defend himself against a barrage of allegations thrown at him. It strike me the whole rendition was not for Mpina but for his electorate. It is important that I mention that like Mpina or not he received more applause than all when he was making his case about everything he chose to speak. But regrettably, CCM isn’t a mass party anymore, and the true wishes of the Kisesa constituency no longer matters as CCM these days pick whomsoever on behalf of the electorate.
What did president Samia Suluhu Hassan said?
She slowly started acknowledging participants of the meeting but was notable she didn’t acknowledge the presence of Mpina! The only time she mentioned Mpina was when she castigated him for his speech despite being well received by the voters.
She accused Mpina of harbouring national ambitions amd was unsuitable for constituency politics. She lambasted his requests for being misplaced. All of his requests were meant to deceive his voters that he was capable while it was just show off, and no substance. Some of his complaints had already been addressed in the Parliament or by her own ministers repeating them had ulterior motives.
She, however, had warm heart for Mpina: “..although he was damaged goods but she will retain him in Parliament through her ten Parliament nominations.” I find that a bit unusual but still possible.
How I wished president Samia Suluhu Hassan had risen above the fray, and ignore the two matadors who intensely despise each other. By taking sides, she left us with many unanswered questions about the graft war Mpina was waging against. Which side really is she? The less I write on it for now the better for all if us.
What went wrong for Mpina?
There is really nothing wrong with Mpina I happen to like the bloke albeit I don’t subscribe to his belligerent style. He is a bit too confrontational and may have rubbed the wrong way the shoulders of many. It is more of a style than substance that is weakening his political future.
Bashe, understandably, is bitter with Mpina for calling him names in Parliament concerning the sugar export permits. Mpina won the argument but lost a point in process. For president Samia, an attack in Parliament over his appointee looked personal too. Mpina was also questioning her judgement of picking lousy ministers like Bashe.
It narrates why Samia didn’t find even a single point raised by Mpina worthwhile. She had issues with all of his dissemination. She doesn’t hate him as Bashe does but feels Mpina is undermining her administration.
Mpina being once in cabinet during Magufuli reign has weaponized his political enemies to argue he is bitter after being left out in the government. That too augments what this group is saying: Mpina attacks almost every minister to make a point he is best suited to be in the cabinet.
Mpina had pillow fights with Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba and others and were very personal too. With Mpina running against many cabinet ministers the vortex that was foaming against him was too much, and although president Samia has promised to appoint him back to parliament, I find that is not gonna happen.
She may probably be appointed to be an ambassador next year like comrade Polepole who was also doing his part to educate us about “good governance”. I pray she proves me wrong, at least this rime around.
I wish the matter was resolved quietly but the egos, grudge and getting even at the hour of reckoning sometimes take the better of us. And, this was no different. What is deeply disturbing is CCM MPs will be cowered to criticize their own government knowing critics such as Mpina and Tarime Rural MP Waitara Mwita have been kicked out of Parliament.
With dissent muzzled, then expect more blunders committed than more ponderous decision making.
