Tanzanian president sacks intelligence chief

MWANZA, Tanzania

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has sacked the head of the country’s intelligence service, the presidency said Thursday.

In statement issued by the presidential press unit, Magufuli appointed Diwani Athumani Msuya as the new chief of Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS), replacing Modestus Kipilimba.

The new chief has been already sworn in by the president at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's business capital.

Before his new position as spy chief, Diwani Athmani Msuya was the head of the anti-graft agency, PCCB.

The sacking of Kipilimba makes him the shortest serving security chief since Tanzania’s independence in 1961.

He was appointed as the head of TISS in 2016.

The spy chief serves for a five-year term under Tanzanian law, which can be renewed.