Sanjay Tanna named minister: See other Ugandans of foreign descent who served in Cabinet before him

Sanjay Tanna, a Ugandan of Indian descent from Tororo district has been named by President Yoweri Museveni in his new cabinet.

He is to serve as Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.

He became the first Ugandan of foreign defence to serve in President Yoweri Museveni’s cabinet since 1986.

Tanna, a businessman and former Tororo Municipality MP, is widely known as one of Uganda’s most prominent politicians from the Indian-Ugandan community. 

While he retired from elective politics, his son Shyam Tanna was recently elected MP for Tororo Municipality.

His return to public office as a full Cabinet minister would place him in a small but important group of Ugandan leaders of foreign descent who have held Cabinet or Cabinet-level positions since 1962.

Patel was elected to Parliament in 1962 to represent Mbale under the Uganda People’s Congress. After independence, Milton Obote appointed him Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs in Uganda’s first 17-member Cabinet. The same account described him as the only Ugandan of Indian origin on that Cabinet list. 

Patel later made history as Uganda’s first non-British Speaker of Parliament. He served as Speaker after independence and died in India in December 2012. 

Another major name is Shafiq Arain, a Ugandan politician of Indian origin.

Historical Cabinet records list Shafiq Arain as Indian and Muslim among ministers under the Obote governments. 

Biographical records also describe Arain as a Ugandan politician and diplomat who served as Minister for East African Community Affairs. He later served as Uganda’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. 

Arain’s rise showed the role some Asian-Ugandans played in Uganda’s politics before Idi Amin’s expulsion of Asians in 1972 disrupted the community’s place in public life and business.

Uganda’s first post-independence government also included Sir James Joseph Trevor Simpson, a politician of British origin.

Simpson served as Minister of Economic Affairs in Uganda’s first Cabinet from 1962 to 1963. Biographical records say he was originally of British nationality and later served as MP for North East Kyagwe after independence. 

Tanna’s appointment carries historical weight

Tanna’s elevation to cabinet comes at a time when Uganda’s Asian community continues to play a major role in trade, manufacturing, real estate and services, but remains less visible in national politics.

For Tanna, the Trade ministry would be a fitting but demanding docket. It covers industry, cooperatives, investment climate, exports, local manufacturing and Uganda’s place in regional commerce.