Mkapa: Better keep your mouth shut

            Ben Mkapa, former president notorious for engineering toxic investment, is at it again.  Mkapa abhorrently pontificated that President John Magufuli’s critics are fools. For him, nobody is entitled to airing one’s grievances even when the opposition has been banned from conducting political rallies! Mkapa fired salvos in Chato he went to handover 50 houses his Foundation built; the opportunity he seized to bootlick Magufuli. Considering the hot soup Mkapa is supposed to be in with regarding graft committed in office, I wonder why he’s attempting such a suicide unnecessarily, especially as we recently evidenced former presidents in South Korea and Brazil being brought to book.  Again, why Mkapa is behaving irresponsibly and eccentrically knowingly; his dirty linens are on the agora?  Had Tanzania been truly ethical; and not selective in war on graft, Mkapa wouldn’t have jabbered like he did or been receiving retirement perks. What for; while his mess is now making everybody woozy? Mkapa is lucky. Magufuli chose to crucify monkeys and spare the hippos in the case of vandalising a farm.

            Has Mkapa forgotten? Tanzanians know to well; he made use their highest office. Is it because Mkapa’s always played holier than thou; or he just wanted to entice Magufuli so that he can spare him from criminal liability, particularly his involvement in obtaining Kiwira Coal Mine illegally; and illegally doing business in the state house? The bottom line is simple. If Mkapa thinks Tanzanians are fools, any gorilla can abuse, he better keep mum. To help Mkapa and the likes, as a nation, we better get to the bottom of their netherworld. The bible’s it: The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name; and behaves with insolent fury.

            Knowing Mkapa well, he said what he said not just because he willed to. It is out of necessity resulting from Magufuli’s pace of cleansing the boils. For, if you revisit Mkapa’s history, you wonder where Mkapa gets the guts to affront Tanzanians. Has he forgotten?  Tanzanians still vividly remember his wheels and deals i.e. how he felled the then lucrative National Bank of Commerce (NBC); and how his relatives and friends made a killing out of it? Further, Tanzanians still remember Mkapa’s illegal companies such as Anna and Ben (ANBEN) TanPower Resources Company Limited he jointly owned with his former minister and consigliore Daniel Yona who has already been convicted, with the aim of plundering energy sector not to mention the felling of Tanesco whereby Mkapa’s Tanpower Company schemed to get US$ 3.65M monthly.

            There’s still more vis-à-vis Mkapa’s netherworld.  Tanzanians still remember. Mkapa allowed his family to rob their country? Refer to his Son and Daughter-in-law Nicholas and Forster Enterprises (Fosnik); not to mention doing business while in the office of president implying the conflict of interests? Refer to how Tanpower secured Tshs. 17.7 from the CRDB using presidential powers.  Has Mkapa forgotten? He allowed his wife to form a shoddy NGO, Mfuko wa Fursa Sawa kwa Wote (EOTF) as a conduit by which to mint and print quick bucks? Are Tanzanians, mainly critics, fools for making do with such rot, especially when Magufuli openly said that they must leave Mkapa to retire peacefully after ruining and vending their resources? Who’s a fool; the one that vended others or those he vended? Will Mkapa succeed in enticing Magufuli so that he can protect him while openly knowing that Tanzania belongs to Tanzanians but not to Magufuli? Will Tanzanians allow themselves to be taken for a ride and end up in sheepishness?

            Furthermore, Mkapa’s implicated in BOT’s External Payment Arrears account (EPA) scam involving billions of shillings.  Refer to revelations by Bhindika Michael Sanze who handled EPA documents who named Mkapa and other top dogs to be the architects of the scam.  Neither Mkapa nor his accomplices refuted such allegations. People know more than Mkapa thinks.  Has Mkapa forgotten about inflating the price of purchasing two military radars that ended up sinking billions of shillings before the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) unearthed and found that Mkapa’s government conspired with BAE systems to rob  Tanzanians? Tanzanians still vividly remember.  He wrapped public houses they divided among bigwigs.  Ironically, Mkapa is now proud of building a handful of houses in various regions. Does their value equal the ones they stole in Dar’s posh areas and elsewhere? Again, Mkapa company, sorry, foundation doesn’t spend any coin from its pocket. The houses Mkapa was bloviating about were financed by the government of Japan. Barack Obama isn’t in such dressing down business after exiting power. His is to offer ideas on how to make the world better but not to waste time in petit business like Mkapa. This is the biggest sitting-duck like African rulers’ anomaly. You wonder; a person who abused his office by entering bogus and thievish contracts to have the guts of going cap in hand; and astonishingly still is proud of it. I wrote in my scholarly book Africa Reunite or Perish that a beggar is a beggar even if he or she’s in expensive suits or answers to the title president and whatnots.

            In sum, Mwl Julius Nyerere, our founder, didn’t build even a single house. Yet, thanks to his probity, he protected our resources. He who lives in a glass house shouldn’t throw stones at others. Mr. Mkapa, you better keep your mouth shut rather than borrowing troubles.

Source: Citizen Sunday today.