Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed Machibya Masanja as the new director general of the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC), replacing Masanja Kungu Kadogosa in a reshuffle that has also seen changes in other senior government positions.
According to a statement issued by the Presidential Communications Directorate on Monday June 23, Mr Machibya’s appointment is part of a broader leadership overhaul involving permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries, regional and district commissioners, regional administrative secretaries, district executive directors and district administrative secretaries.
Until his new appointment, Mr Machibya served as deputy director general for Infrastructure at TRC.
He brings with him nearly 15 years of experience within the country’s rail sector, having risen through the ranks at TRV from engineer to director of Infrastructure and deputy director general Infrastructure.
A graduate of the University of Dar es Salaam with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Engineer Machibya furthered his studies in China, earning a Master’s degree in Traffic and Transportation Engineering from Beijing Jiaotong University.
During his time at TRC, he was instrumental in overseeing infrastructure development projects, including the modern Tanzanite Station in Dar es Salaam, which serves the country’s electric Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Mr Kadogosa, his predecessor, has led TRC since July 2016, when he was appointed director general of the then Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL).
Prior to that, he served in an acting capacity from February 2016.
Mr Kadogosa, a finance and banking professional by training, previously served as director of Loans at TIB Development Bank and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Umea University in Sweden.
Under his stewardship, TRC recorded major milestones in the SGR project.
The State House announcement of leadership change did not provide reasons for the replacement of Mr Kadogosa, who has led the TRC since July 2016, first in acting capacity and later substantively.
Under his stewardship, Mr Kadogosa played a critical role in transitioning Tanzania’s rail system to modern electric operations, overseeing the SGR project from its design phase to the commencement of commercial operations along the Dar es Salaam – Dodoma route.
His contribution to the modernisation of the country’s railway infrastructure is widely recognised as a milestone in Tanzania’s transport history.
In addition to the TRC leadership change, President Samia also relieved five regional commissioners of their duties. These include Paul Makonda (Arusha), Peter Serukamba (Iringa), Thobias Andengenye (Kigoma), Dr Juma Homera (Mbeya), and Daniel Chongolo (Songwe).
The leadership changes come just days after President Samia issued a directive urging public officials with political ambitions ahead of the 2025 General Election to formally resign from their current posts.
Although no explicit link has been made between this directive and the new appointments, political analysts suggest that the reshuffle may be aimed at creating administrative clarity ahead of the electoral cycle.
Engineer Machibya now takes over the leadership of TRC at a crucial juncture when the government is preparing to extend SGR operations from Dodoma to Tabora and eventually to the shores of Lake Victoria and the western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
