Former President Benjamin
Mkapa’s autobiography titled
“My Life, My
Purpose: A Tanzanian
President Remembers”, is,
indeed, an eye-opener.
In his candid
assessment of his
stewardship of our
country, he talks
about his ‘highs’
and ‘lows’ as
Tanzania’s Head of
State for ten
years, 1995 to 2005. Oh, how
I wish I
could write Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere’s biography,
which would similarly
reveal the founder -President’s ‘highs’ and ‘lows’, some
of which I happen
to know pretty
well, because of
having had the
rare opportunity of
working closely with
him in different
capacities, continuously
for up to two
decades.
There
is an English
proverb which says: “If wishes
were horses, beggars
would ride”.
I do fervently wish
I could write
the biography of Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere. However,
as the Holy
Bible says, “the
spirit is willing,
but the body
is weak”. The
writing of such
monumental works like
former President Mkapa’s
tome (which task, we are
told, was supervised and
coordinated by the
professional Uongozi
Institute; that it took
four years of hard
work to complete, and at
a high cost
of Tshs 230
million)! It
is, quite obviously,
an unbearable task
for a single
individual like myself,
working alone.
Nevertheless,
through the medium
of this column,
it is possible
to share the
little that I know
about some of
Mwalimu Nyerere’s ‘highs’
and ‘lows’, when
he was in charge
of the country’s
welfare, and the
well-being of its people.
What I
would include in President
Nyerere’s biography.If
I were to
write the biography
of Tanzania’s founder-President Julius
Nyerere, I would
talk candidly about some
of his ‘highs’ and
‘lows’; staring with
the ‘lows’, i.e.
those events which
caused him agony ,
or pain, or
frustration and anger;
such as the
following:-
(i)
His forced resignation
by the colonial
Administration, from his
teaching job at
Pugu Secondary School. Mwalimu Nyerere started
his public service
career as a
teacher at a
School operated by
the Catholic Church,
then known as
St. Francis College,
Pugu, in 1953,
on his return
to Tanganyika soon
after his graduation
with a Master’s
Degree, at Edinburgh
University in Scotland. By
the beginning of
1954; he started
engaging himself in
political activities, with
a group of
fellow political activists
based in Dar es Salaam; aimed
at securing the independence
of the country
in due course.
The colonial
Authorities soon got
that information, and
conspired with the Headmaster of
the said School,
to ask him
to choose between
teaching at that
School, and undertaking
his political activities
away from that
secure job). It
pained him, but he boldly
chose to resign
from the teaching
job, being fully
aware of the
associated economic risks
to himself and
his young family.
It
was a huge
personal sacrifice on his
part, undertaken solely
in order to
work for the
country’s liberation from colonial rule.
(ii)
The Army mutiny
of January 1964.
In
the early hours
of January 20th, 1964;
a group of
non-commissioned African officers
of the Tanganyika
African Rifles (which
was the Tanganyika army’s
official designation) , staged
a mutiny against
their commissioned British
officers. For his
personal safety, President Nyerere
had to be
whisked away in
the middle of
the night, from
State House to
a safe location
in nearby Kigamboni. The
Mutineers were soon
subdued and arrested.
but the
event pained him
greatly, as evidenced
by his radio
broadcast to the
nation the next
day, wherein he said: “Yesterday
was a day
of great shame
and disgrace to
our nation. I
thank all the
people who helped to keep
this disgrace from
getting out of
hand. I hope
that our country
will never again
witness a repetition
of such disgrace”.
Thereafter, President
Nyerere announced the
disbanding of the
Tanganyika Rifles, and
its replacement by
an entirely new
army, which was appropriately
named “the Tanzania
Peoples’ Defense Forces”
(TPDF).
(iii)
The suffocation and
death of persons for
failure to pay
poll-tax.
Poll - tax had
been introduced during
the colonial administration of
Tanganyika. It imposed
an obligation on
every male adult
to pay that
tax, as a normal
Government tax collection
strategy. But the problem
arose in respect
of its administration. In
early 1963, A
large number of
male adults were
rounded up for
the crime of
failing to pay
that tax, and
detained in an
over- crowded cell, situated
in Ilemela area
of Mwanza District.
They were left
there, unattended, for
several days. As a
result of this
negligence , a number
of them, reportedly
forty-six, died from
suffocation.
On hearing
this, President
Nyerere was greatly
distressed and annoyed.
He angrily responded
by abolishing the
said tax, in
addition to other measures
which he took to
punish the negligent
officials who caused
these unnecessary deaths.
“The lives
of citizens cannot
be treated like a
pawn in the
payment of a
Government tax” he
declared.
(iv) The
torture and killing
of a person by
the Security Apparatus
in Shinyanga, 1976.
In
the course of
the year 1976,
a major security
operation was carried
out in Shinyanga
and Mwanza Regions , as
a result of
a large number
of people being
killed mysteriously by
unknown people, allegedly
because the victims were
suspected to be
practicing witchcraft. In
the course of
that operation, many
people were tortured,
and at least one
person was killed.
This information
made President Nyerere
furious, and he
immediately took such
measures as were
necessary to demonstrate
his anger and
disappointment. They included
the dismissal from
office of the
two Ministers responsible for
the Security Organs,
namely the Home
Affairs Minister Ali
Hassan Mwinyi, and
the Minister responsible
for Security, Peter
Siyovelwa.; plus the
Regional Commissioners of
Shinyanga and Mwanza.
(v)
The military invasion
of Tanzania by
Iddi Amin, then
President of Uganda.
General
Iddi Amin Dada’s
military coup which
ousted President Milton
Obote in January
1971, had created
sufficient reason for
President Nyerere to
hate, nay abhor,
Iddi Amin.
The idea
of a forceful
removal of a
democratically elected Government
from office, was
anathema to Mwalimu
Nyerere; and so was the
culprit who did
it. That is what
accounts for President
Nyerere’s extreme abhorrence
of Iddi Amin
Dada.
Thus his
sudden invasion of
Tanzanian Territory in
Kagera Region, was
just like rubbing
salt into the
wound. President
Nyerere was
justifiably pained and
angered; and his
response was immediate
and furious. “TUTAMPIGA”! Mwalimu
Nyerere declared, and
continued thus: “Uwezo
wa kumpiga tunao;
sababu ya kumpiga
tunayo; na nia
ya kumpiga tunayo”.
Historic words that
created a popular
new entry into the
Kiswahili vocabulary. No
wonder he did
not stop at
only chasing the
invader from Tanzanian
soil, but went
on to chase
Iddi Amin out
of Uganda as
well.
Some of
President Nyerere’s ‘highs’.
If I
were to write
former President Nyerere’s
biography, I would
include the following
pleasant events, each of which,
to the best
of my knowledge
and recollection, literally
“made his day”.
For he was seen showing,
or heard expressing, genuine
feelings of happiness and
joy at
the time of
their respective occurrences.
Some of
which are the
following:-
The achievement
of the country’s
independence in December
1961.
The
achievement of independence
was, of course,
a cause for celebration
and joy for everyone who
had sound health
of the body
and mind. But
it was more
so for Mwalimu Nyerere,
the person who
worked so hard
for it, and
even made some
personal sacrifices in pursuit
of its achievement.
On the eve
of independence, Mwalimu
Nyerere penned some beautiful
Kiswahili verses of
poetry, urging the
people to be thankful
to the Lord
God. (Mwalimu was
an accomplished Kiswahili
linguist). Its first
four- line stanza reads
as follows:- “kumekucha kuchele,
na kulala kukomele. Kupata kwakaribia, na
kupata ni kwa
Mungu, Tutakaposhangilia, wanachi
ndugu zangu, Na sala pia
tusali, tuepushwe na
uchungu, Kumekucha kuchele, na
kullala kukomele.”
The creation of
the political Union
between Tanganyika and
Zanzibar in 1964,
was one of
Mwalimu Nyerere’s happiest
moments. When, after
the successful Zanzibar
revolution which put
President Karume at the helm
of the Zanzibar
Government, and President
Karume quickly indicated
that he was
willing and ready
to form a political
union with Tanganyika,
the opportunity had presented
itself for this
union to be
created. The deed
was done, and
the Union between
Tanganyika and Zanzibar
came bouncing into
existence on 26th April,
1964.
But President
Nyerere’s moment of
merriment came after the
legislative process for
the ratification of
the Union Agreement
had been completed.
I was Katibu
wa Bunge at
that time. He
had earlier instructed
me to deliver
the ratification Bill
promptly to him
at State House,
immediately after its
endorsement by Bunge, for
he wanted to
sign it into
law on that
same day. I did as
instructed, and thus became
witness to his boundless happiness.
For, before signing
the Bill, he poured
for himself a
glass of champagne,
and offered the
same to me , to Vice-President Rashidi Kawawa,
and to a couple
of Ministers who
had informally assembled
there to share
the joy that
evening . Clear evidence
that this was,
no doubt, Mwalimu Nyerere’s
moment of happiness.
The
merger of TANU
with ASP in February
1977.
The
merger of the Tanganyika African
National Union (TANU), with the
Zanzibar Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP); was yet another
moment of extreme
happiness for Mwalimu
Nyerere.
The
decision to merge
the two political
parties was taken
in May 1976, by
the relevant decision-making organs
of the two
parties. Thereafter, a
20-member Commission was appointed,
and tasked to
make all the necessary
preparations for the proposed
merger. Lucky me, I was
appointed one
of its members,
and also Secretary to
that Commission. The omnibus
expression “all that was
necessary”, included making
recommendations for the
Constitution of the
proposed new political
party (which would also
specify its name),
plus the associated
Rules and Regulations
thereof; recommendations for its
symbols, namely, the party flag
and emblem; and
any other relevant
items. I
believe we did
a really magnificent
job.
Then
came the climax
of that long
process, namely, the
inauguration of the
new political party,
on 5th February,
1977. Since I
am recounting President
Nyerere’s ‘highs’, I must describe
the moment when
he demonstrated his
genuine happiness.
It
came after both
President Jumbe and
himself, had
delivered their speeches
for the occasion
at the Aman
Stadium in Zanzibar,
which was the venue of
this grand event.
The climax was the ceremonial flag
raising ceremony, i.e. the
solemn act of
hoisting the
new party’s flag
on its majestic mast.
That is when
the excitement around
the stadium reached
fever pitch.
At the
VIP podium, the jubilant 20-member
Commission suddenly engaged
themselves in an
impromptu dancing spree.
And that is
when President Nyerere,
in an unprecedented
mood of happiness,
showed clear signs of
wanting to join
the dancing group;
but he was,
for reasons of
protocol, restrained
by his security
personnel. The
occasion was, undoubtedly, another
of Mwalimu happiest
moments. There are
other such stories
that could be
told, but my
editorial space is
exhausted.
Oh,
how I wish
I could write
Mwalimu Nyerere’s biography. But wishes
are not horses.
piomsekwa@gmail.co/0754767576.
Source: Daily News and Cde Msekwa himself.
