Tanzania President Samia Suluhu has ordered all police officers with big bellies to undergo fresh training so that they lose the excess fat and improve their fitness.

Suluhu made the order during the conclusion of the training of officers in Boma Kichaka Miba, in Tanga.

She said she was unimpressed with the way long-serving police officers with pot bellies marched. Said Suluhu:

I’ve been observing you at the parade, those leading the march are veteran officers and some of them have big bellies.

I have seen the big bellies. I believe we should not have officers with big bellies.

They should come back here (for training) so that they can be light and effectively execute their duties.

Suluhu, who became Tanzania’s first female president, recently sacked the country’s Inspector General of Police, at midnight, and redeployed him as an ambassador to Zimbabwe.

Suluhu, of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, took over the country’s presidency following the sudden death of president John Pombe Magufuli in March 2021.

She is set to serve as Head of State until 2025 and the country’s constitution allows her to contest for a second term.