INTRODUCTION
The writing of
this book was
basically influenced and
inspired by President
John Magufulis’s speech
which he delivered
at a ceremony
held on November
12th, 2019; for
the inauguration of former
President Benjamin Mkapa’s
Biography, or the written
account of his
own life and
experiences as President
of the United
Republic of Tanzania (1995 to
2005), which is titled
“My Life, My
Purpose: A Former
President Remembers”; when
the President delivered
a powerful speech, specifically
calling upon all national
leaders, both current
and retired (like
myself), to emulate
former President Mkapa’s
initiative by writing
their own ‘autobiographies’.
Now, there
are two ways
of writing the story
of a person’s
life. He
can either write
it himself, in
which case it
will be known
as his “autography” ; or
it can be
written by somebody
else, in which
case it will
be known as
his “biography”. In
the light of
some of the
speeches delivered at the said
event, it would
appear that former
President Mkapa’s new
book is really
not an
‘autobiography ‘ (written by
himself). It is,
instead, a “Biography”
(written by somebody
else). This is so because of the disclosure
that the task
of writing that
book “was supervised
and coordinated by Uongozi
Institute, and that
this task took four
years to complete,
at a high
cost of Tshs
230 million”.
I was immediately
persuaded, and desirous,
of writing my
own autobiography, in
positive response to
President Magufuli’s call; but these hidden
factors, namely, the lack of professional manpower
and financial support,
such as was
availed to former
President Mkapa by Uongozi
Institute, Initially, I felt severely
constrained to undertake
the said task
on my own. But,
eventually, I
received an
inspiration from a
friend, who suggested
that this task
could still be
undertaken piecemeal , through
my regular weekly
articles in my DAILY
NEWS column titled “Current Affairs
Corner” which, when eventually put
together, could constitute the
contents of my
autobiography, or the
story of my
life written by
myself. I quickly accepted his suggestion;
and, consequently,
started writing
many such weekly articles
relating to
my proposed autobiography; in which
I told the whole story
of my life; starting
from my birth
date, onward. Fortunately, this
methodology also gave
me the added
advantage of receiving
helpful comments from
friends like Joseph
Sinde Warioba, who
offered some very
useful advise that
led to substantial
improvements being made
in the final
text as it
appears in this
book.
The work
of re-editing those
articles to make them suitable
for publication in
book form, has
now been completed,
and I am
very happy that
the intended book
has now, at
last, been published. The book
also highlights some
of my “low”
points (of frustration and
disappointments); as well
as the
“”high” points (of great
satisfaction and pleasure). All such events
are recorded in the appropriate
places in the
first Six Chapters
of this book;
which are followed
by a final
Chapter Seven, which
records my activities
during my retirement, period
which I am
currently enjoying; and,
by the grace
of God, still
with the strength,
and energy, to
continue writing books
like this one. God is
indeed Great.
I must
also acknowledge my
extraordinary good fortune
of having entered
the Public Service
of my country precisely
at the time
of great political
transformation, from colonial
domination to independence.
This was
a lucky coincidence
that gave
me the rare
advantage of starting
at the top
echelons of the
Public Service pyramid;
and, by
the grace of
God, remaining there
for the rest of
my (unusually) long
Public Service career, of a
whopping five decades. As
a result of
this rare advantage,
I know nothing
about the ‘joy
of promotion’ to
a more senior
position in the
Public Service, because,
having started right
at the top,
I never experienced
any such promotion. All that
I know, is
merely changing roles,
from one top-level
appointment, to another
top-level appointment of
equivalent status. I
consider this to
have been a
manifest demonstration
of confidence in me, by the relevant
Heads of State
(who were my
appointing Authority in
each and every
case). These were: President Julius
Nyerere ( for the
variety of appointments
during the first
and second decades of
my Public Service
career, (1960 to 1980);
Followed by President
Jakaya Kikwete (for my
appointment as Vice-Chairman
of Chama cha
Mapinduzi for Tanzania
Mainland; and later as
Chancellor of the Cooperative University,
Moshi, during the
sixth decade (2000 to
2010); and, finally, President
John Pombe
Magufuli (for my appointment
as Chancellor of the University
of Science and
Technology, Mbeya, during
my retirement period
(2010 to
2020).
The book
has been written
in the format
of a historical
record, covering a
period of five
decades, from 1960
to 2020. My
use of this
methodology was influenced
by the statement
of one wise
man, who is
on record as
having said that
“History is too
important to be
left to Historians
alone”. It is, indeed,
precisely for
that reason; that
the book is dedicate to
our young generation
readers , who may
benefit from the
lessons that may
be learnt from
the experiences, and
specifically from the
rich political history,
which are succinctly
narrated herein.
A PROFILE OF
UKEREWE DISTRICT, MY
BIRTH PLACE.
I was
born of Parents
who were residents
of Ukerewe District,
Mwanza Region. Ukerewe
District is a
collection of some
38 Islands big
and small, some
of which, at
the time of
writing this book,
are still uninhabited.
The demographic profile
of Ukerewe District
demonstrates that it is a
true reflection of
the very wide
distribution of different
tribal groups within
Tanzania Mainland. And,
despite its
tiny land mass
of only 640
square kilometers, (of
the relatively larger
inhabited Islands of
Ukerewe itself; Ukara;
Bwiro; Kamasi; Sizu;
and Kweru; yet even
in those early
days when I
was growing up,
its population was
already composed of
several different tribal
groups; all of
them being immigrants
from the neighbouring
Regions surrounding Lake Victoria.
There were
the ruling “Abasilanga”
ethnic goup that
had immigrated into Ukerewe Island
from the Bukoba
side of Lake
Victoria, (but these
were subdivided into
smaller clans of
Abasumba, Abazigu Abakula,
and several others).
The other two major tribal
groups inside Ukerewe
Island, were the
Abajita; and the
Abaruri; who immigrated
from the Mara
side of the
Lake. My father’s
parents had belonged
to the Abaruri
tribal group; but
they reported entered
Ukerewe long before
my father was
born, circa the year
1890, or thereabout. When
he subsequently got
married, my father
was married to
a woman who
belonged to the
Abazinza tribal group,
which had immigrated
into Ukerewe Island from
the Biharamulo, which
was also on
the Bukoba side
of Lake Victoria.
However, the people residing
on Ukara Island, present a totally
different picture. They have their own language; through which they call their tribe “Abalegi” ;
while they are
called “Abakara” in
the language of
the ruling Abasilanga
of Ukerewe Island;
which means “ancient people”.
The place from where
they immigrated into
Ukara Island, is
not known.
The Abalegi
of Ukara had
their own Chief
(at that time
Chief Mataba); and they also
had a horrifying
tribal culture
of their own;
in which some
clans had the magical
power to be able
to domesticate crocodiles,
to which
they could assign
certain specific tasks,
such as transporting
any person wanted
by the clan
for evil purposes ,
across the waters
of the lake,
completely unharmed !
While
another clan was
reputed to possess
the magical power
of being able
to command a huge stationary granite
rock, to twist
and dance in order
to entertain visitors; by
just uttering a given
formula, in the
tribal dialect; and
the rock would
obediently respond to
that command, and
stop only when
ordered to do
so, by the
clan commander present
at the venue.
This form
of entertainment can
still be witnessed
even today,
in the
year of our Lord 2020.
Each of
the tribes in
Ukerewe Island, also
had their own
languages or dialects;
but the dominant
language was “Kikerebe”,
the language of
the ruling Abasilanga
tribe; which was
adopted by the
catholic Missionaries who
came to Ukerewe,
for use as
the only local
language of religion
in the whole
District, including Ukara
Island. Thus, all
the prayer books,
and the hymn
books, were printed in
Kikerebe, and was
the only language
used in preaching
the Holy Gospel
to their faithful;
and in teaching
all those adults
seeking to convert
to Catholicism, including
my father.
My father
was quickly attracted
by the teachings
of these Missionaries,
and was soon
converted. After he
had fulfilled all
the stringent requirements
for Baptism, he
was baptized at
Kagunguli Mission, with the
Chief of
Ukerewe himself, Chief
Gabriel Ruhumbika, as his
baptismal father, commonly
referred to as
“Godfather”.
He
was subsequently married
to a catholic
Christian woman, Philotea
Bwizula, who became
my mother, the second
born in a
family of four
children. Our last
born brother, Privatus
Bagaile, departed from
this world in
1992. But, by
the grace of
God, the three
of us are
still surviving, at
the time of
writing this book.
Learning the tribal
customs and customary
laws.
Presumably like
every other child,
when I reached
the ‘age of
learning’; my close relatives started
teaching me the most
essential, “must know”
tribal customs, starting
with how to
greet people. This
turned out to
be rather complicated;
when I discovered
that the words
to be used
in greeting people,
largely depend on
three separate factors,
all of which
you must therefore
know in advance,
before you greet
that person.
They
are the following:
One, the age
of the person
who is being
greeted ; two, the
gender of that
person; and three,
the relationship between
you and that
other person. This
last one is
exceedingly difficult for
a person like me,
who was spending
long periods away
from home pursuing
Secondary and later
University education. it
was just not
possible to know
all my clan
relatives, especially those new
relations that are
brought about by
marriages.
In addition, this
‘relationship through marriage’,
was further complicated
by the fact
that, because of
its insular nature,
plus its the
very small resident
population at the
material time, marriage
between clan members
was allowed, and
widely practiced.
This
resulted in multiple
relationships between people,
in which, for
example, one
person who was
a cousin, suddenly
became a
brother-in-law at the
same time.
But an added
complication was that, even
among relatives, the
form of greetings
differs significantly between
the different
categories of relatives.
Thus aunts, despite
their female gender,
are greeted
like male persons,
using the same
words “kampire bwacha sugu”;
while brothers-in
law and sisters-in-law, despite
the gender or
age differences, are
also greeted by
using the same single word: “suula” .
Wow !
My two sisters
were given similar
tuition with regard
to greetings. But
in addition, they
were introduced to
the strict customs
and practices, which
were applicable only
to women.
They
were told, for
example, what foods
women must not
eat; and the
forbidden items included
chicken, eggs, plus
certain selected types
of delicious fish ! Furthermore, they were
warned that they
must never, ever,
get pregnant before
they are properly
married;; plus being
informed of the
mandatory, severe punishments,
that are applicable
to such shameful
conduct.
However subsequently, through
my own observations
as I grew
up, I
came to learn
also about some criminal
customs, and
evil practices, of
killing any child
who was born
with a skin
disability (called ‘zeru
zeru’ in Kikerebe);
plus any conjoined
twins. The
place used for
carrying out this
criminal practice, was
one tiny, isolated,
uninhabited Island
named Kalita, (which
literally means “the
place that kills”);
where such unwanted
newly born children were
secretly taken, and
just abandoned for
them to die
there !
I also
came to learn
about the existence
of a strange
custom, or practice,
of assigning a male relative,
to go and
“protect” a woman
who is married
in the family
from any danger;
whenever their husbands
travelled out of
their houses. Thus, it was mandatory
for such travelling
husband to inform
his relatives in
advance of his
travel plans, so
that they could
make the necessary
arrangements for the
male relative who
would undertake such
“protection” duties during
his absence.
I came
to learn further,
that the Chiefdom
of Ukerewe was
a vast empire,
extending far beyond
the borders of
Ukerewe Island itself,
to include the whole
of the present
Mwibara parliamentary constituency in Bunda
District.
And also that
the Chief of
Ukerewe (Omukama), had
a very special,
dignified social status,
which was very
different from that
of his subjects.
And this was
manifestly demonstrated through
the use of
specially designed Kikerebe words,
to describe the
Chief’s ordinary human activities;
like eating, sleeping,
and even dying. Thus, unlike
us ordinary folks
who go to sleep, which in
ordinary Kikerebe is is “kunagila” ;
the same
activity was described
differently as “kulehya”
in
respect of the
Chief. Similarly,
when the Chief
was having his
meals, for which
the ordinary Kikerebe
word is “kulya”,
but for
the Chief, the
correct royal word
is “kuboneka”.
And when
the Chief eventually
died, for
which the ordinary
word is “kufwa, the
right word for
the Chief, is “kugaba
engoma” (to pass
on the royal
Drum).
The other customs
which were applicable
only for the
Chief, included his
hair cutting ceremony.
Thus, whenever the
Chief wanted to
have his hair
cut, he was taken
to another isolated
uninhabited Island called
“Chehumbe”, that was
rserved specifically for
that purpose. The
Chief would not
have his hair
cut in public,
where his subjects
might watch this
presumably sacred royal
action !
For most people
today, these antiquated
customs and practices
probably have no
value whatsoever., apart
from the entertainment of
reading them as
ancient stories. But
they may still have
much greater academic
value for historians
and anthropologists.
These then,
are the extraordinary
circumstances and surroundings
in which I
grew up in
Ukerewe Island. And
in addition, there
was the widespread
fear of witchcraft,
that also had
a negative influence
on many peoples’
lives.
However in my
case, it is
only fortunate that,
because of my
very early admission
into boarding Schools
at the age
of only ten
years, which necessitated
my departure from Ukerewe and
absence from there
for long periods
of time; these
general witchcraft fears,
and the other negative influences,
did not affect
me to any
damaging extent.
But there
were also other,
helpful influences, to which I
became positively exposed.
The most important
was the existence
in Ukerewe, (even in
those early times
when the educational
development initiatives were
just beginning to
be taken by
the catholic Missionaries), of
persons who were
endowed with rare
academic abilities and
talents. In that
connection, the name
of one Aniceth
Kitereza quickly comes
to mind. This man was
endowed with some
extraordinary talents.
It is reliably
reported, that he was adopted
for sponsorship
by the progressive
Chief Ruhumbika of Ukerewe,
who sent him to be
educated at a senior catholic
Seminary in Bukoba;
where Kitereza learnt
the Latin language,
and imbibed enough
of it to
be able to
translate some of
the Holy books, from
Latin into the
Kikerebe language, and successfully retaining
the sophisticated liturgical
concepts contained
therein.
But this
industrious Kitereza, did
more than that.
He also wrote, and
published a literature
novel in the
Kikerebe language, titled
“Bwana Myombekele
na Bibi Bugonoka.
Ntulanalwo na Bulihwali”;
in which
he succinctly
narrates, in very
great detail, the
cultural life of
one Mkerebe man (Bwana Myombekele),
and his family. His book is
certainly worth reading.
But the mere
presence of this highly talented
person, plus
the great enthusiasm
and immense amount
of energy
that he invested
in writing those
works , created a huge,
positive, and long
lasting impression and
influence, on
my young mind; which
has remained intact until
now.
It has
been said by
some keen observers,
that ‘compared
with the other
Districts of Tanzania
individually, Ukerewe
has produced an
unusually large number
of University professors
(reportedly over 60
at the time
of my ultimate
retirement from the
Public Service); either
whose origin is
Ukerewe District (including
the former Ukerewe
Chiefdom which extended
into the Majita
area of the
present Bunda District),
or are somehow
closely connected with
its distinctive “fish-eating
culture”.
Could perhaps
this “ Kitereza talent factor” provide
a plausible confirmation
of this rather unusual phenomenon,
which appears to
be connected with
the fish eating
culture?
CHAPTER ONE
MY EARLY
YEARS, THE LONG JOURNEY
THROUGH EDUCATION, AND INITIAL EMPLOYMENT
IN THE PUBLIC
SERVICE
The beginning
of the story of
my life.
Reliable records preserved
at the Catholic
Church establishment at Kagunguli Parish,
Ukerewe District; show
that I was
born on Saturday,
9th June, 1935, and was
baptized only three
days later on
Tuesday, 9th
June, 1935. I was the
second born in
a family of
four children of our parents:
Laurenti Chipanda
and Philotea Bwizula,
both residents of
Bugombe village; who
were then working
as ordinary peasant
farmers producing food
crops, mainly cassava
and millet, plus
cotton as a
cash crop. I
am currently a pensioner, earning
the decent, statutory
pension, of a
retired Speaker of
the Parliament of
Tanzania. I also have two retirement homes:
one in Ukerewe
(my birth place);
and the other
in Dar es
Salaam (where I
lived for most
of my working
life in the
Public Service).
My main preoccupation
in retirement , is the writing of
books, plus weekly
articles, which are
published in the
Government owned DAILY NEWS every
Thursday. These will
eventually also be
published in book
form, to join
the list of
several other books
that I have
already published. These include:
my first book
to enter the
market, which was titled “Towards Party
Supremacy”, published
by Eastern Africa
Publications, Dar es
Salaam. This was followed
by the “Education Policy
Formation Before and After
the Arusha Declaration”,
published by Black
Star Agencies, Dar
es Salaam in
1979. My next
book on the market
was “ Essays on the
transition to multi-partysm
in Tanzania” ,
published by Dar
es Salaam University
Press in 1995.
Then
came the “Reflections on
the First Multi-Party
Parliament (1995 – 2000); also
published by Dar
es Salaam University
Press in 2000.
This was followed
by “Reflections on the First
Decade of Multi-Party
Politics in
Tanzania, published by Plus
International Limited, Dar es
Salaam
in 2006, and
subsequently by Nyambari
Nyangwine Publishers, Dar
es Salaam.
The next
one wa “Uongozi
na Utawala wa
Mwalimu Julius Kambarage
Nyerere, published by
Nyambari Nyangine
Publishers, Dar es Salam in
2012. The next
one was “The Story
of the Tanzania
Parliament”, also
published by Nyambari
Nyangwine Publishers, Dar
es Salaam, in
2012. That
is the year
when I retired
from my last
public service position
as Vice-Chairman of
Chama cha Mapinduzi
for Tanzania Mainland;
and started writing
my weekly articles
for publication in the DAILY NEWS.
My early
years: the long journey
through education.
When I attained
the age of
five years in
1940, my father
sent me to a kindagarten
school operated by the missionaries
at Kagunguli Parish,
in preparation for
my entry to
the four-year primary
school education (standard
One to Four) at
the same venue,
which I commenced
in 1943, and
completed in 1946;
after which there
was a competitive
examination, which was
the qualifying test for
entry into the Missionary
operated Secondary School
(Standards Five to
Ten), located at
Nyegezi, in Mwanza
District; after which
there was yet another competitive
“Territorial Standard Ten
Examination” administered by
the Government of
Tanganyika; which was
the qualifying test
for entry into
the higher level
Secondary education
(Standards Eleven and
Twelve); after which
there was the
even more competitive
“Cambridge School leaving
Examination”, administered by
the British colonial
Authorities; which was
the qualifying test for entry
to University-level education.
By
the grace of
God, I passed
all these examinations
at each level,
and with the
highest grades, that
easily qualified me
for advancement to
the next higher
level of learning; and
eventually graduated from
Makerere College, (the
University College of
East Africa affiliated
to London University),
with Bachelor of
Arts (Honours) Degree
in History, in
March 1960.
Some memorable
events during that period.
One particular
event that directly
and effectively affected
my life at
that early stage,
was the death
of my father
Laurenti, which occurRed
in Musoma Government
Hospital, where he
had been taken
for treatment. This
happened in early January
1948, just as
the Christmas and
New Year School
holidays were coming
to an end.
I had, by
then, completed Standard
Seven at Nyegezi
Secondary School, and was anxiously
waiting for my
sick father to
come back, for
him to give
me the school
fees for the
School year that
had just started,
in which I would
enter Standard Six. Then on one cruel day, my
uncle, who had
travelled to Musoma
Hospital on hearing
that his brother’s health
had deteriorated, returned
to our house
with the bad
news of my father’s
death. We were
thus suddenly grief-stricken, and
entered the stipulated
traditional period of mourning.
That was the
first “low” point
in my point in
my life. The loss
of one’s parent
is always grievously
disconcerting. But for
me personally, I
had also lost
the sole benefactor,
who was paying
for my education fees and
other expenses. It
was a moment
of despondency and
despair. I actually gave
up hope of returning
to School, and
came to the
conclusion that the
death of my
father had also
meant the end
of my educational
career. However,
unbelievably, and indeed
most fortuitously, God’s
miracle unexpectedly occurred very
quickly thereafter, in
the form of
an unsolicited, anonymous benefactor,
who suddenly emerged
on the scene
in the most
unusual circumstances, as
detailed here below.
The appearance
of an unsolicited
benefactor.
Then, miraculously, came
the extraordinary “high”
point. By some
miraculous coincidence, it so happened
that when our
family was still
mourning the death
of my departed
father, an Indian
Merchant who was
operating a business
in Ukerewe, whose
name was Walji
Ratanji Rughani, ( he
was one of
about three hundred
or so Indians
of mainly of
Gujerati descent, then
living and working
in Ukerewe, as
traders). This
Mr. Walji one
day decided, entirely
on his own volition,
to visit the
Catholic Missionary Parish
Priest of Kagunguli
Parish, a French Canadian
whose name was Father Vachon.
Mr. Walji had
gone there, surprisingly
enough, in order
to make an
offer of scholarships
which he said he was
willing and ready, to
grant to some
deserving students of
Ukerewe. He reportedly
told the Parish
Priest that “Because he
had earned his
considerable wealth in
Ukerewe, it was
his wish and
desire, to express his
gratitude to the
people of Ukerewe,
who were his
primary customers and
had, through their
continued dedicated support, enabled
him to acquire
the wealth that
he had accumulated”. He
went on to
tell the Parish
Priest that to
start with, he
was going to
offer a total
of ten scholarships
to the students
of Kagunguli School,
but would start
immediately by offering
two scholarships, for
a boy and a
girl. He
asked the Parish
Priest to select
the two candidates,
and give them
letters of introduction,
which they should
personally bring to
him at his
shop.
Mr. Waljis’ visit
to the Parish
Priest, turned out to be my
magical “lucky charm”.
Fortunately, the Priest was
personally aware of
my plight. (I had
been a
good ‘altar boy’
prior to my
transfer to Nyegezi
Secondary School, so he
knew me personally).
He therefore immediately sent
for me , to
deliver the news that
I had been
selected as the
first recipient of Mr. Walji’s scholarships. He also gave
me the requisite introductory
letter, which I
delivered to Mr.
Walji first thing in the
morning of the
next day.
And that
is how I
found myself in
the caring hands
of this public
spirited benefactor, who
actually paid for
all my educational
requirements, all the
way until my
graduation at Makerere
University College. That
is what literally
saved my education
career, which otherwise
would have
ended at Standard
Five. In
view of my
father’s death that
had just occurred,
this was a
most appropriate, and
indeed most welcome,
condolence gift. Another event,
equally pleasant and
welcome, also occurred
in the course
of my studies at
Nyegezi Secondary
School. This was when
I was unexpectedly
declared the sole
winner of a
School Award, designated
as “Tuzo ya
Tabia Njema”. We
were subsequently informed
that the procedure
for this Award
was for each
of our Teachers,
working alone and
without consulting any
other person, to
make a candid
assessment of each
of the students
he was teaching in class,
on the basis
of certain specified benchmarks,
relating to outstanding
academic performance, plus
the general conduct
and behaviour of the
student being assessed.
In terms
of academic performance,
I had apparently
been placed
on top of
all the students
in the whole
School, for proficiency
in the English
language; apart from
scooping excellent marks
in all the
other areas that
were being assessed. News
of this
award highly impressed
my benefactor Mr.
Walji, who made
a special trip
to the School,
in order to hear it
live from the
Headmaster. And as for
myself,
this Award spurred
me to even
greater efforts, enabling
me to emerged
top of our
class in the
final Government Territorial
Standard Ten Examinations.
However, to Mr.
Waji’s great disappointment, none
of the other
recipients of
his scholarships ever
made it to
the apex of
the educational pyramid,
like myself; just because
of the very
tough competition, through
examinations, which a
student had to
pass with distinction
in order to
qualify for the
very few places
that were available
at each stage
of the educational
ladder.
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