Tanzania's President Kikwete Photo: Reuters

Tanzania's president Jakaya Kikwete says: I can't wait to step down

The East African country's outgoing president says that two terms are more than enough for him, despite the tendency of some of his neighbours to stay on longer

By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg

7:57PM BST 07 Apr 2015

Tanzania’s outgoing president Jakaya Kikwete has told how he is looking forward to stepping down in October this year, describing the job of leading his country as “stressful and thankless”.

Two terms in high office were more than enough for him, Mr Kikwete added during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington DC.

“After 10 years, you need to move on. It’s been 10 years since I came to this high profile office,” he said.

“I was very young, just 55. But what I can tell you about this job is that it is stressful and thankless.” His comments might furrow some brows among his neighbours, who have been accused of overstaying their welcome in office.

To the north, Yoweri Museveni has been in office in Uganda since 1986 when he helped to topple dictators Idi Amin and Milton Obote, and is now serving his fourth term amid accusations of electoral fraud and opposition intimidation.

To the west, there were deadly clashes in January after it was suggested that Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, might try to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term.
Both Malawi and Zambia are beacons in the region for power having changed hands peacefully several times in recent years, but further south in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, the president, has clung on to high office, allegedly using voter intimidation, violence and poll manipulation, since 1980.
Further west, Angola’s Eduardo dos Santos has been in power since 1979.
None the less, Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan set a strong example for the region last week when he conceded defeat to his presidential rival Muhammadu Buhari in crunch elections.
Asked at the Washington event why he believed African leaders had a tendency to cling to power, Mr Kikwete took a diplomatic approach. “I should not speak on their behalf,” he said.
“You need to invite them and get their opinions.”