As Donald Trump takes over office again, our staff writer glimpses back to time time when American Presidents visited Tanzania.
So. How many U.S Presidents have so far visited Tanzania?
The first U.S President to visit Tanzania while in office was Bill Clinton; he landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport aboard the Air Force One Jet on August 28th in 2000 and stayed in Arusha until the 29th of August 2000.
His mission was to witness the Burundi Peace accord being signed in Arusha by conflicting parties after a series of peace talks led by the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela who had succeeded the former President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in the mediation process, following the latter’s death in 1999.
Clinton also held talks with the former Tanzanian President, Benjamin William Mkapa, in Arusha.
Clinton’s visit to Tanzania was preceded by the U.S First Lady’s trip to Arusha made in 1997. Mrs Hillary Clinton was accompanied by her daughter Chelsea, who would return again into the country with his father four years later.
Bill Clinton visited other African countries such as Ghana, Rwanda, Botswana, South Africa, Uganda, Senegal and Nigeria.
The second American President to visit Tanzania was George W. Bush who replaced Bill Clinton at the white House.
President Bush visited both Dar-es-salaam and Arusha Cities during his four-day stay in the country between February 16 and 19 in the year 2008. He met with former President Jakaya Kikwete and the two signed the Millennium Challenge agreement.
Bush visited a total of ten African countries during his tenure. He also managed to land in Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda. Bush is so far the U.S President who visited the most African countries.
When President Barrack Obama took over the American Presidency in 2009, his first tour of the African Continent in his capacity as the head of state was to visit Tanzania between the First of July and the 2nd of July, 2023.
During his itinerary, President Obama laid a wreath at the memorial to the 1998 United States embassy bombing in Dar-es-salaam and later on took part in a trade and investment forum.
After Tanzania, President Obama also visited Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, never visited any country in Africa during his entire first tenure in the State House.
Joe Biden also managed to visit only two African countries, Angola and Cabo Verde.
However the US Vice President, Kamala Harris visited Tanzania in March 2023 during the African tour which also took her to Ghana and Zambia.
On the other hand, the former U.S President, Jimmy Carter eventually visited Tanzania and attempted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 1988 after retiring from leadership.
Both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also returned to Tanzania at different times after retiring from office. This time they did it for leisure.
What about Donald Trump then?
The only time Trump was seen in Africa is probably during his cameo appearance in John Hughes’ Christmas classic, ‘Home Alone – Lost in New York!’ starring Macaulay Culkin.