anzanian authorities have denied a Kenyan corporate manager, Sylvia Mulinge, a work permit to head the country’s biggest telecom company.

Vodacom Tanzania, which is a subsidiary of UK’s Vodafone, appointed Ms Mulinge as CEO five months ago but she had to apply for a permit to work in the country.

After months of silence and speculation, Vodacom Tanzania announced today that Ms Mulinge was denied the permit by the country’s labour commissioner.

“Naturally we are disappointed and regret the labour commissioner’s decision and we will be engaging with the authorities. We are confident that Vodacom Tanzania has a strong management team in place to lead the company effectively until the search for a suitable candidate is finalised,” Vodacom Tanzania chairman was quoted as saying in the statement.

Ms Mulinge was on Thursday reemployed at Kenya’s largest telecommunication company Safaricom.

This incident comes in the middle of a trade war between Kenya and Tanzania, the two biggest economies of the East African Community (EAC).

The neighbouring countries are hitting each other with tariffs on a select number of goods, Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper reported on Friday.

Last year, Tanzania seized and auctioned cattle from Kenya with the country’s President John Magufuli saying Tanzania was not Kenya’s grazing ground.

In 2015, Kenya banned Tanzanian vehicles from accessing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and Tanzania hit back by cutting the frequency of Kenya Airways' flights to the country by 60%.

The spat was resolved by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and the Tanzania’s former President Jakaya Kikwete.