Is it right time to probe Mkapa and is government serious?

No joke. Former president, Benajmin Mkapa is in hot soup. His dirty linens are on the agora for every eye to see and assess!

When we wrote agitating that Mkapa be prosecuted, his whiz kids and sympathizers especially his party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, despised us as being jealous and myopic.

This kit and caboodle of swindlers has been issuing threats that if we bring the former head of state to books, our country will cascade into witch-hunt and anarchy! Shall we foolishly create argle-bargle and white wash matters pertaining to the rights of our people so as to protect an individual really? Are we going to be the first? Big nope.

Now the heat is on. The Member of Parliament for Vunjo (CCM), Hon. Aloyce Kimaro, decided to take a bull by its horns. Fortunately Kimaro is a CCM member per se and MP altogether.

What does this mean really? Corruption does not pay.

If you ask me the above question whether in bed or in bibs, I shall reply proudly and loudly, yap. The time is very right to do so urgently.

We used to laugh at Zambians when they were prosecuting their corrupt rulers-cum-looters. Now look! The same shame-cum-imbroglio is amidst us testing our tenacity and accountability regarding our mumbo-jumbos.

Though president Jakaya Kikwete has been feeding us with some ballyhoos and ballycraps, that he shall never probe his predecessor just because he is on retirement that we should not disturb.

The president goes a mile ahead that Mkapa enjoys immunity. But again, this badly construed and abusevely used immunity does not provide or cover Kiwira, Mkapa’s wife, son, in-laws and friends. Because they were not president. So in a simple logical parlance, these can be brought to books without breaking any law. Kiwira was not the part of Mkapa’s presidency and Mkapa was not even the minister responsible for business. After all, we elected Mkapa to rule our country not to ruin and loot it. This is why we would like to see Mkapa and his associates behind the bars shall they be found guilty.


Accountability and rule of law Mkapa used to sing day in day out, require us: to do so for the good of our country and future. What a nice precedent that will save our sickened economy!

Let’s face it point blank. Mkapa abused and misused the office of president and the country altogether. Refer to how we suffer from the anathema of hiked powers simply because Mkapa and his cronies brought a bogus company in which they had their vested personal interests as opposed to all codes of conduct.

My major questions today are, what precedent we are setting for current and future heads of state shall we let Mkapa off-the hook and let him get away with it? I am not intending to get a dig on him or his family. But do his wife, son and friends as well deserve and enjoy immunity? Let me emphasize. They were not president of Tanzania.


Apart from being unpardonable, sacrilegious things Mkapa did can not be treated just like common managerial slip-ups. Nay. They are serious offense involving sabotaging the nation.

Hither is where slapping Mkapa on the face so as to send clear signals to all those contemplating to commit the same buffoonery, is sine qua non.



Silence is gold. But this is relative. There are issue that do not need silence. Mkapa has arrogantly and shamelessly maintained silence! Phew! Why shouldn’t he be presumed guilty because of his silence? I know Mkapa very well. He is an orator, tough and argumentative. If what is alleged would have been mere lies and jealous as he would put it, he would have not maintained such unreasonable silence. He would have called people names and what not.

The urgently right thing for Kikwete to do is to distance himself and let Mkapa face the music as a reciprocation for abuse of power. I strongly urge Kikwete to back off from Mkapa.

On the same footing even the parliament should strike off the much touted immunity that Mkapa has so as to let the judicial process take its course.

As for Anna Mkapa, their son Nicholas, daughter-in law, Foster, former minister and associate, Daniel Yona and others, must be brought to books as soon as possible. They must be separated from Mkapa so as to easily and expediently deal with them.

Better with the nation that lives on the spirit of the law than the one fears to do justice just because it fears some bigwigs.

Tanzanians have proved to be tough when it comes to corruption. It has caused them a lot of miseries. They are not mincing words. They are saying it loudly: we want Mkapa and his company before the court. They want their Kiwira back. They want their country back as well. They, too, would like Kikwete to expediently and transparently set records straight in that shall he stay put to see to it that his friend-cum predecessor is not brought to books, he’ll be sending mixing signals that he aims at what Mkapa committed. Will he allow such wrong perception of himself just to spare his friend-cum predecessor? Time is there to rightly tell. What a baptismal by fire and a test to his seriousness and cleanliness!

Though prime minister, Mizengwe Pinda told the nation that Mkapa will be probed, he must mean this not mizengwe we are tired of.

To cut a story short, let the nation stand together in the war against corruption. Let us face whoever take part in corruption be he big or otherwise. Indeed the time is very ripe for Mkapa to come clean on the allegations. Failure to this, he should be brought to books even today.
The wisdom of today is Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it but there it is – Winston Churchill.

This will sufficiently help Daniel Yona who ranted and raved at those agitating that he should be prosecuted. He challenged anybody with the gut to take on him to do so. Let us do so by telling the people that this case is theirs and they are the highest court on the land.
Let us face the moment of truth as far as Mkapa's legacy and deeds are concerned.

Source: The Thisday April 30, 2008