By Josephine Agbonkhese

It’s official! 22 women now currently sit as Heads of State/Government in 193 countries around the world.

The initial figure of 21 was, last Thursday, altered by the Republic of Tanzania, following the sudden demise of its erstwhile president, John Magufuli, who was elected in 2015 alongside Samia Hassan Suluhu, his vice.

Suluhu, who was sworn-in Friday, therefore becomes the first female president of the nearly 60-year-old East African nation, as well as the first in East Africa.

She will be covering the unexpired period of late Magufuli’s five-year term as per Tanzania’s constitution.