Dr Bashiru Ally Kakurwa was the UDASA Vice-Chairperson and UDASA Chairperson during the 2014 to 2016 leadership. The then UDASA Chairperson Prof Kitila Mkumbo went on sabbatical leave, one year before the end of their leadership term. In observance of the requirements of the UDASA constitution, the UDASA General Assembly promoted the then UDASA Vice-Chairperson Dr Vicent Anney to be the UDASA Chairperson and elect Dr Kakurwa to be the UDASA Vice-Chairperson. In June 2016, HE Present Dr John Pombe Magufuli appointed Dr Anney to be the Musoma District Commissioner, thus he had to resign from the UDASA chairmanship. As a result, Dr Kakurwa acted as the UDASA chairperson for the remaining few months, from June 2016 to October 2016 when the new leadership was elected.

On 26th February 2021, Dr Kakurwa was appointed by the late President John Pombe Magufuli to be an Ambassador and the head of the civil service as the Chief Secretary of the United Republic of Tanzania. His position as the Chief Secretary was terminated by Her Excellency The President Samia Suluhu Hassan on 31st March 2021 after appointing him to be a member of parliament through the 10 members appointed by the President. Before joining the civil service, he was the Secretary General of the “Chama cha Mapinduzi” (CCM), the position from June 2018 to February 2021. Before that, he led the committee formed by the later President Magufuli to trace the ruling party’s assets and liabilities.

Dr Kakurwa has a PhD, MA, and BA in Political Science and Public Administration, all from the University of Dar es Salaam. Prior to his appointment to lead the CCM secretariate, he was a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. As a respected academic in his field, he researched in his field and engaged extensively with the academic community, the general public, and different organisations in areas such as the democratisation process, multipartism, constitutional reforms, civil societies, rights of small farmers, neo-colonialism and pan-Africanism. He is a strong believer and follower of Mwalimu Nyerere philosophy and ideas on liberation movements, non-alignment policies, African unit, socialism, self-reliance, and many more.

At UDSM, Dr Kakurwa was the Director of Internationalization, Convocation, and Advancement, a directorate responsible for maintaining and growing an interactive network of engaged alumni around the world as well as to harness their goodwill, love and support for UDSM. Also, the directorate acts as the Central Administrative support and front office for UDSM international collaboration and it is responsible for several other functions such as fostering international mobility opportunities for UDSM Staff and students, handling general inquiries from prospective scholars, supporting International students to register, coordinating communication between scholars and academic units, and developing relevant strategic policies, action-plans, and guidelines for international collaborations and partnership.