Kujenga gained semi-independence fifty-six years ago under a post-colonial United Nations mandated trusteeship. Three years later, Kujenga gained full independence, establishing a constitution built on a single political party system.

Working under the UN mandate, the outgoing colonial power lent support to the group of elites who had made up the bureaucracy under colonial rule. These elites united under the political party People of Change (POC). They have since maintained control of the government through successive elections, except for a brief experiment with multi-party rule seven years ago that ended five years later with the subsequent election. Kujenga established diplomatic relations with the United States when it gained independence fifty-three years ago. Relations between the two countries have been strained at various times because of Kujenga’s tight-knit oligarchic political structure and its repressive tendencies. Ongoing tensions and violence between the Kujengan government and the Tanga region brought US condemnation. The Kujengan government is focused on addressing rampant corruption and government inaction, but the country has also experienced a shrinking of democratic space.