A Lesson on Food Independence and Security in Africa

 

As per the Al Jazeera (11 April, 2022), the Ukraine conflict’s likely to adversely impact on African countries vis-a-vis food independence and security. I didn’t know that Africa still depends on a small country like Ukraine for its supply of wheat. This doesn’t add up for a country that covers only 603, 628 km² compared to Africa’s 30,370, 000 km² to feed Africa.  Something is wrong somewhere. What does Africa supply to Ukraine that it produces? Don’t tell me the minerals. Does Africa own its own minerals while they don’t benefit it? Does African countries with oil own it while the multinationals benefit while the so-called owners suffer? Compare the lives of citizens in oil-producing African countries with those they supply? If anything, African countries with oil and minerals own mine holes and the pangs of pollution while foreign companies enjoy the profits.
     Africa’s goofs and quandaries need profound explanations to understand. It doesn’t convince common sense for the country that’s 1/50 of Africa to feed Africa. The analogous allegory I can give here’s of a baby breastfeeding its mother.  But again, Ukraine does feed Africa. Then what’s iniquitous here? What’s the miracle here? Are Africans like elephants? Elephants are huge. They’ve huge body mass and brains. Yet, they’re destroyed by a small human to the verge of extinction. Again, elephants are beasts. They’re not human. Again, who are Africans in such an equation?
        To avoid being seen as I’m dissing my people, look at the picture of African leaders. Most of them are fatter than their donors. Their lives are posher than those of their donors. They pay themselves bigger salaries than their donors. The other day I was watching UK’s parliamentary session. What a simple affair that it is!

    Thereafter, I watched my country’s parliamentary debates, huge hall with all avantgarde gadgets and grandeur. Again, if you listen to the representatives in the two, you understand why ours are gigantic. It is because we’re reckless and selfish since we serve ourselves as opposed to our donors’ representatives who serve their countries and people.
    The other day I read somewhere that countries in West Africa were importing onions from the EU! I also read somewhere that Kenya, despite being surrounded by the mighty Lake Nyanza, was importing septic fish from China whereas some Chinese traders were exporting clean fish from Kenya to China! How do you call this folly and futility? When push comes to the shove this must be said that it is more than a shame for such a humungous country to be fed by any country while it has everything for producing for its people except a will to do so. Whom do such bestiality and comportment help dear African brethren?
            Bovines, ewes and goats can comfortably depend on one type to feed them since they’re faunae. No shame at all for such brutes to be fed by human even by another ogre but not humans. For Africa even a part of it to be fed by small countries like Ukraine is more than a disgrace for whoever whose marbles upstairs are still intact. 

    How come while African countries such as Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia, and Zimbabwe, all except Kenya, Madagascar and Botswana are bigger than Ukraine grow wheat, yet this tiny country beat them? What’s wrong? As per Gro Intelligence (16 April, 2015), the World Bank identified 3.84 million hectares of land suitable for wheat production in Sub-Saharan Africa, the vast majority of which is in East Africa. This is almost equal to the amount of land dedicated to the cultivation of wheat in Argentina, one of the world’s major producers of the crop.
    I don’t get it for a humongous country like Sudan covering the area of 1, 886,068 km² to starve simply because a country like Ukraine that’s less than 1/3 of the same’s at war and thus can’t feed it. Is the problem here natural or nurtured? What are all heads of Sudanese as a replica of Africa doing? Ironically, while Sudan’s starving and weeping for wheat from Ukraine, the same’s the guts to pointlessly lease out its land to Gulf countries to produce food for their citizens while its own people are starving to death! What are the hands of Sudanese doing? Food’s power. S/he who’s able to feed oneself is a free person. Hunger’s slavery. This has become evident to Europe whose power dependency on Russia turned it into a laughingstock when it failed to fully apply sanctions against Russia. Had it dared, its economy and posh life would become the things of the past.

    Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s founder, used to say that for the country to develop, it needs three things namely land, people and good policies. What is missing here? Sudan like Africa’s the land, people and policies. What else is missing? Are our people abnormal? Is our land barren? Are our policies wanting? The first two are Okay. 

    The third ingredient seems to be the matter. It is the missing link. Our people are normal and land productive save that our policies are abnormal so to speak. Take Sudan, for example, how’d it feed itself while it ruled instead of being led? The same applies on many African countries. Many African countries lack leaders. They’ve tons and tons of rulers but they’re bankrupt when it comes to leaders. They’ve policies. Yet they lack sound policies. When it comes to sound leadership and policies, Africa’s bankrupt. Leaders are accountable. So, too, they feel shame. What do you expect out of shameless rulers whose powers are but a private estate for them, their tick-like bloods, courtiers, and cronies? What do you expect of beggars in chief? What do you expect of such shameless men and women who take pride in aid and begging even from smaller countries by land and people than theirs? 

    When’ll Africa see the light if it can’t even learn from such a simple matter as the Ukraine conflict? Why’s Africa at home with chicken mentality. The chickens eat what they don’t produce and produced what they don’t produce. The needle sews many clothes, but it is forever naked. The spoon scoops tons and tons of food yet, it is forever hungry. Who wants such a life? These are beasts and tools. Africans, to the contrary, are humans. Again, is it the same way others understand us? Refer to the treatments of useful Ukrainians compared to Africans and others.
            In sum, there are no important lessons Africa needs to learn from the Ukraine conflict like feeling shame, starting rethinking about its future, frugality, and above all, loathing and stopping dependency and extravagance. We’ve what it takes to feed ourselves.

    Again, what’s amiss is self-worthy and sense of humanity. We’re living and thinking like animals as if we’re animals. A few examples above speak to this anomaly. Suppose––––God forbid––––the conflict in Ukraine drags in for year. You can take this to the bank. Many countries ruled by corrupt and swindling rulers will crumble since hungry people will take over.  Instead of being fired up by their humanity, deprivation and destitution will do the show. 

Source: African Executive Magazine.

RIP MUTONGOLYA AND MUTHAMAKI MWAI KIBAKI

All cartoons from the Daily Nation, Kenya.

The first 11 of the Azimio tsunami is now complete

 

April 14, 2022, Kenya made history. Through The Kenya Gazette Notice No. 4442, Ann M. Nderitu, the Registrar of Political Parties, announced the registration of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party. Ms Nderitu, a remarkably composed and iconic public servant, restored my faith in Kenya’s potential as a state. Throughout the registration process, she – and the very able staff she leads – showed a great grasp of the law. Their patience with politicians as we navigated the registration exercise was admirably boundless. The party, known simply as Azimio, is the first and the only coalition political party in Kenya. Azimio is a tsunami that’s been building for several months. I fully expect it to form the next government.

        I advise anyone who eats sausages never to visit a factory where they are made. If you don’t know why, you should read up on how that great food is made. You may never eat it again. The process sucks, but the outcome is delectable. I’ve discovered the similarities between making sausages and forming a coalition political party in Kenya are too close for comfort. I must give it up to the leading lawyers who crafted the agreement. I will not name them, but they know themselves. Kudos amigos! You remained professional, driven only by the instructions of your political clients and guided by your fidelity to the law. Like Ms Nderitu and the RPP, you blew me away.

        In 2002, I witnessed the formation and coalescence of the National Rainbow Coalition, or Narc. The key word there was “rainbow”. The party, a large tent, brought together an unlikely amalgamation of leading political figures in Kenya. They sat on an ideological canvas driven by one overarching goal – to kick President Daniel arap Moi and Kanu out of power. President Moi and Kanu represented our darkest proclivities as a nation. Kenya had hit rock bottom under Mr Moi’s nearly quarter-century  of iron-fisted rule. We clamoured for democracy and a return to decency. We sang “yote yawezekana bila Moi” (everything is possible without Moi) as we sought to upend the imperial presidency. We said we were “unbwogable” (indomitable).

Many stalwarts

Narc comprised many stalwarts of the Second Liberation, the political movement that vanquished Kanu’s political dictatorship. On the other side was Moi and the remnants of Kanu, then a dying political juggernaut. Kanu had lost the reason and logic for its existence. There are legions of similarities between Narc and Azimio. 

        For one, LDP’s Raila Odinga was the moving spirit behind Narc, which came into existence when it joined with Mwai Kibaki’s NAK. In this unlikely union were Charity Ngilu, Kalonzo Musyoka, George Saitoti, Michael Wamalwa, Mr Odinga and Mr Kibaki. Narc united the perceived kingpins of the Big Five, except the Kalenjin. Kanu’s Uhuru Kenyatta was the lone credible senior Kikuyu leader in Kanu.

        Mr Odinga put the last nail on the Kanu coffin when he said “Kibaki Tosha” at Uhuru Park. On that day, Kanu was done for. The citizens of the republic administered the last rites to Kanu on Election Day – December 27, 2002. Mr Kibaki beat Mr Kenyatta with a nearly two-thirds majority in the presidential ballot.

        Kanu has never recovered from the drubbing. Today, Mr Odinga leads another Narc-sized tsunami against a breakaway faction of Jubilee – known as UDA – grouped under DP William Ruto. But Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta are now on the same side. Many of the key leaders on Narc’s side – Martha Karua, Ms Ngilu, Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi and Mr Musyoka are solidly in Azimio.

        Mr Ruto has assembled many of the “leftovers” from Mr Moi’s Kanu of yore. This is true in Kanu’s historical stronghold of Rift Valley, except now they are under UDA, not Kanu. Curiously, Mr Ruto has penetrated parts of Mt Kenya in an eerie rendition of 2002. Then Mr Kenyatta was supported by parts of Gema and most of the Kalenjin Rift Valley. Now, as then, large chunks of the country back Azimio over UDA. Mr Ruto is the true heir of the Kanu of 2002 in the form of UDA, whereas Azimio is the heir to the Narc dream. UDA is the parochial iteration of the 2002 Kanu, whereas Azimio is the historical replica of the nationalist Narc.

        So, on August 9 this year, we will see a titanic clash of the parochialists of UDA against the nationalists of Azimio. The historical dregs of the old Kanu will face the renaissance of Narc in Azimio. The last time round, Narc walloped Kanu. The stars have aligned for Azimio. Mr Ruto and his UDA acolytes were hoping that Mr Musyoka and Wiper would join them. They cheered him on as he negotiated with Azimio. In the end, Mr Musyoka did what any nationalist would do – he choose Mr Odinga and Azimio. I applaud him. Azimio’s first 11, as Mr Odinga would say, is now complete. Let UDA bring it on!

Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School. He’s chair of KHRC. @makaumutua

Source: Sunday Nation tomorrow.

Makonda, Ukitenda Ubaya Upokee Ukikurudia

 

Kwanza, kwa wasomaji, wangu, mtakubaliana nami kuwa siku hizi siandiki kama nilivyozoea. Wengi mmeniandikia barua kuuliza kunani. Naomba mnisamehe sikuwajibu–––si kwa sababu niliwadharau. Hapana, sikutaka kutoboa siri zetu za ndani kama waandishi na wachambuzi wa habari. Siri ya mtungi aijuaye kata. Fumbo mfumbie mjinga, mwelevu ataang’amua. Sitaki niwambie yasiyowahusu wala mambo ya ndani. Hivyo, nikiadimika au kuandika, msishangae. Yana mwisho kama yalivyo na mwanzo.
   Bwana Makonda, nianze kwa kukusalimia na kukupa pole kwa unayopitia na yanayokupata baada ya kujikuta nje ya ulaji. Nimeona kwenye magazeti na mitandaoni ukilalamikia a) kunyang’anywa kiwanja na b) kutishiwa kuuawa. Najua, kwa mujibu wa andiko lako kwenye instagramu ulisema kuna makundi matano yanayotaka kukuangamiza. Je, kwanini hukutaka kwenda polisi kulipoti kama sheria inavyotaka na siyo kuomba? Je ukweli ni upi? Uongo ni upi?  

        Bwana mdogo Makonda, japo mimi si muumini wala mtumiaji wa mitandao, naomba nikupe busara ya bure kama binadamu na mtanzania mwenzangu.Ukitenda ubaya utalaumiwa na ubaya utakurudia. Kwani, hicho ndicho ulichopanda. Na busara inasema kila mtu atavuna alichopanda. Huwezi kupanda mbigiri ukategemea uvune maua. Hii ni busara ya kawaida tu. Usitegemee kujipaka kinyesi uambiwe umejipaka manukato. Ubaya ni ubaya ila si uzuri na uzuri ni uzuri ila siyo ubaya hata kwa hayawani.

        Ukiumiza utaumizwa hata ukimuumiza inzi lazima aliyemuumba akuumize. Dini ya kiislamu inatuasa kuwa hata ukitembea, usionyeshe vikumbo kwani, ima unaweza kuumiza viumbe wa Mwenyezi Mungu visivyo na hatia au kuonyesha ushufaa juu ya ardhi ambayo siku moja itakumeza na kukuhifadhi. Hivyo, huwezi kuumiza watu­­­­, tena wasio na hatia––––tena kwa imani yako ya kikristo wameumbwa kwa mfano wa Mungu­­­­––––ukategemea uonewe huruma. Huwezi kuua ukategemea usiuawe jamani.  Mbona wahenga walisema kuwa aishiye kwa upanga atakufa kwao upanga. Ukifanya ubaya utalaumiwa na ubaya utakurudia utake usitake.
        Najua ulivyokuwa madarakani ulijiona mkubwa usijue mawenge. Hili si kosa lako. Yawezekana ni kosa la wale waliokuamini au uwezo wako wa kuelewa mambo ukiachia mbali kiasi cha busara na utauwa ambayo ulipaswa kuwa navyo ukiachia mbali ujuzi wako wa histori na hofu ya binadamu aliyejaliwa ubinadamu. Hukujua kuwa ukubwa ni wa Mungu tu.  Mkubwa nyangumi na tembo kwa vigezo vya binadamu tukilinganisha na ukubwa wa miili yetu. Bwana Makonda, kama utaweza, naomba ujirelekeze kwenye historia za watu kama Isaac MaliyaMungu, kiraka wa nduli Idi Amin au Bob Astles waliolewa ukubwa uchwara wakafa wakiwa si chochote si lolote. Pia, unaweza kutembelea historia za kiraka wa Adolf Hitler, Hinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels,Martin Bormann, Wilhelm Keitel, Eric Raeder, Karl Donitz, Albert Speer, Joachim von Ribbentrop, na Walther Funk.
        Bwana Makonda, sipendi nikulaumu. Kwani, wahenga husema: ngoma ya watoto haikeshi. Isitoshe, ukiwa kwenye mabega ya mtu mzima hata mzee, usijione unaona mbali kuliko yeye wakati yeye anaona mbali hata kama amechuchumaa kuliko wewe ukiwe umepanda kwenye mti mkubwa. Maisha–––tumeambwa na wahenga––––ni mtihani. Hatujui yajayo hadi yaje kama ilivyo kwenye sakata lako na wengine kama wewe. Wapo waliopata ukuu wakatukana udogo walikotokea wakaishia kurejea kule. Maji huchemka, lakini hurudia kwenye ubaridi. Kwani, ndiyo asili yake.
        Bwana Makonda, japo unaweza kulalamika––––jambo ambalo ni haki yako––––kuwa unaonewa. Je, kwanini wewe na si wengine? Je unavuna ulichopanda au ni somo kwako na wengine kama wewe? Je ushawahi kujiuliza maswali haya yenye kuudhi na kuumiza lakini yenye busara na masomo makubwa? Aliyeko juu mgojee chini wahenga walisema. Sasa, uko chini baada ya kutoka juu. Unajua kadhia na madhara yake. Je unawashauri nini walio kwenye viatu ulivyowahi kuvivaa?
        Bwana Makonda, najua unastahiki kumilki mali sawa na yeyote. Je ulizipataje mali hizo ambazo, kwa sasa, wapo wanaotaka kukunyang’anya kama ni kweli au nawe hukuwanyang’anya wao au wengine. Je unaweza kutoa maelezo ya namna ulivyochuma mali husika ndani ya muda mfupi na kwa namna gani na vipi? Je ulinyang’anya, uliiba, ulidhulumu au kutumia madaraka yako vibaya? Haya ni maswali azimu na muhimu kujiuliza. Kwani, wahenga walisema: cheo ni dhamana. Ulipopewa madaraka, kirahisi na haraka, ulisahau maisha bila madaraka. Uliwatenza ambao hawakuwa na madaraka vibaya. Sasa hunayo madaraka. Ukitenzwa vibaya, usilaumu bali kukumbuka ulivyotenda na kuwatenza wengine.
        Ulipota ulaji ulisahau njaa na umaskini. Shukuru. Je yangekupata yaliyowapata akina Sabaya? Shukuru Mungu. Hutendwi wala kutenzwa kama ulivyowatenda uliowatenda kwa upofu na upogo mdogo wangu. Wako wapi akina Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Idi Amin, Joseph Desire Mobutu, Sani Abacha na wengine wengi waliojisahau kana kwamba dunia hii ni makazi ya kudumu kwao wakati ni mapito. Wewe bado ni kijana mdogo, tafuta shule ukajielimishe kuhusu maisha na unyenyekevu halafu uombe msamaha hadharani. Uliegemea mti ukadhani umeegemea mwamba. Sasa, umekatwa. Unaanza kulalamika.
        Bwana Makonda, sitaki niseme mengi hadi nikakufuru. Wahenga walisema. Usiache mbachao kwa msaala upitao. Achana na yaliyopita na ugange yajayo kwa kufanya kitubio na kukubali matokeo. Kwani, malipo ni hapa hapa duniani. Isitoshe, hapa chini ya jua, kila kitu ni ubatili mtupu, ubatili mtupu. Binadamu ana nini na nini hadi ajione bora wakati ni dhaifu kuliko hata mahayawani? Huo ndiyo ushauri wangu bwana mdogo Makonda.
        Bwana Makonda, kama kweli kuna wanaotaka kukunyang’anya mali zako, kama umezipata kihalali au kutishia kukuua, nenda polisi. Watakusaidia. Nadhani, kama kiongozi wa zamani wa serikali, utakuwa unajua sheria inasemaje yanapotokea hayo. Vinginevyo, utachekwa na kuwapa faida wabaya wako. Muhimu, usipande miiba ukategemea kuvuna maua. Ukipanda ubaya utavuna ubaya. Ukiishi kwa panga, utakufa kwalo. Na ukidhulumu, utadhulumiwa.  Malipo ni hapa hapa duniani tena le oleo. Mungu wa sasa ni wa mtandao. Analipa haraka usivyotegemea. Nani alijua kuwa wenye vifua wangemezwa na ardhi waliyokuwa wakiikojolea na kuinyea sawa na watepetevu? Duniani tunapita na madaraka na ukubwa ni sawa na umande kwenye jani. Vitayeyuka haraka tena bila kutegemea.

Chanzo: Raia Mwema J'mosi.

      

COMMEMORATING THE TRAGIC DEATH BY ROAD ACCIDENT, OF PREMIER EDWARD SOKOINE.

 

Tuesday of last  week,   was  the  day  of   remembrance  for   Prime  Minister  Edward  Moringe  Sokoine’s  death;  who  died  in  office   on  12^nd April,  1984;   in  a  tragic  road  accident  at  Wami-Dakawa  in  Morogoro  Region; when he  was  returning  to Dar es  Salaam  from   an  ordinary   Parliamentary  session  in  Dodoma. Thus, today’s  article  is  dedicated  to  our  fallen  leader, Premier  Edward  Sokoine,  whom I had  the privilege  of  working  closely  with  during  his  whole  tenure  as Prime  Minister. I  had  initially  planned  for  this  article to  appear  on Thursday  of  last  week, 14^th  April;   but ,instead,  I  gave  preference  to  a  piece  on  Mwalimu  Nyerere’s  centenary  birthday  commemoration  event.   Hence,  its   belated  appearance   a  week  later   today. “Better  late  than  never”,  says  an  old  English  adage.
Prime  Minister  Sokoine  and   I
Edward  Moringe  Sokoine  was a two-term  Prime  Minister;  but  not  the  usual  five-year leadership terms, which  are specified  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

        For, when he was first appointed to that position  on  13^th  February, 1977;   it  was  already  mid-term  of  the   1975 – 1980  leadership  period, when  his  first  term expired.   And   during   that  period,  I  was  the  Executive  Secretary  of  the  ruling  party,  Chama  cha  Mapinduzi (CCM);  and  thus  worked  very  closely  with  him.
        After  that,   he  did  not  seek  re-election  in  his  Monduli  constituency;   for   he  had  to  go   to  Yugoslavia   for  treatment   of  some  serious  disease  which  was  troubling  him.   After  successful  treatment  there,  he  returned  to  the  country  in   perfectly  good  health  in  February  1983;  whereupon  President  Nyerere  promptly  nominated  him  back  to  Parliament,  and  re-appointed  him  to  the  position  of  Prime  Minister,  on  February  24^th,  1983. And  I   once   again  had  the  opportunity  of  working  closely  with  him,  this  time  in  my  capacity  as  Regional   Commissioner  for   Kilimanjaro  Region.  
        That  was  his  second  tenure  in  which  he,   unfortunately,   served  for  a  very  short  period  of   just  over  one  year;    when  his  life  was  abruptly  terminated   through   his  tragic death  by  the  road  accident  already   referred  to  above.
The  Prime  minister  Edward  Sokoine   that   I  knew. 
 Under  the  One-Party  Constitution  which  was  in  operation  at  the  material  time;   It  was  a  constitutional  requirement  that   the  President  of  Zanzibar     also  becomes   the  United  Republic’s    Vice  President;   which  meant  that  the  Vice  President  was  a  full  time  resident  of  Zanzibar.  Thus  the  two  national-level  leaders  who  were  full  time  residents  of  Dar es Salaam,  and  were  thus  readily  available  to  President  Nyerere  for   quick   consultation  or  advise,  were  Prime  Minister  Edward  Sokoine,  and  myself,  the  Executive  Secretary  of  the  ruling  party.   
        And,  very  fortuitously ,  President  Nyerere  appeared  to  have  full  and  genuine  confidence  in  the  two  of  us;  because  either  one  of  us,  or  sometimes  both  of  us  together,  were  being  called  to  his  Msasani  residence  cum  office  for  consultation  on  many  different  issues.                  

            That  is  how  I  got  to  know  Prime  Minister  Edward  Sokoine,   as  a  strong,  result- oriented  leader.  He  was,  basically,  “a  man  of  action”;  and  his  loyalty  and  commitment  to    serve  the  people  was  unquestionable;  for  he  often  undertook  personal  supervision  in  the  process  of  implementing  the  major  decisions,   or  directives,   which  were  being  made  or  issued  by  the  ruling  party  and  its  government. This  is  easily  confirmed  by  relevant  examples,  two  of  which  are  given  in  the  paragraphs   below.  They  are  the  “Kagera  war”;  and  the  internal   ‘war’  against  economic  saboteurs.
 The   Kagera  war  against   Uganda’s   President  Iddi   Amin.
It  was  just  over  one  year  following   Edward  Sokoine’s  elevation  to  the  Premiership,  when  he  was  faced  with  a   serious   major crisis;  namely,  the  management  of   the  war  against  Iddi  Amin  Dada,  the  then  President  of  the  Republic  of  Uganda,  who  had  ordered  his    armed  forces   to  invade   Tanzania,  and   had  illegally  occupied  some  1,850  square  kilometers  of  Tanzania’s  Territory,   in   the  present   Kagera   Region.  

      It  was  an  unprecedented  and  extremely   serious  challenge  to  our  sovereignty ;  to  which   President  Nyerere,  in  his  capacity  as  the  Commander-in Chief  of  Tanzania’s  armed  forces   quickly  responded,   by  declaring  war  against  Iddi  Amin. 
He  did  that   in  a  speech  to   the  nation,  delivered  to  a  specially  convened   of  Dar es  Salaam  Elders   at  the   Diamond   Jubilee  Hall  in  Dar es Salaam  Dares Salaam;  which  he  concluded  with  the  following   immortal   words:    “SABABU  ya  kumpiga  tunayo;   NIA  ya  kumpiga  tunayo;    na   UWEZO  wa  kumpiga  tunao.   TUTAMPIGA”. This  is  what   subsequently  became  known  as  the  “Kagera  war”.
Premier  Edward  Sokoin’s  role  in  that  war.
Being  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  Government;  Premier  Edward  Sokoine  immediately   swung  into  action  by  getting  down  to  work  on  the  relevant  complex  logistics.   He   supervised   the   establishment  of  specified  inter-Ministerial  working  Committees,  each  of  which  was  given  specific  duties  and  tasks  to  perform  in managing  the  procurement  and  transportation  of  all  the  necessary  supplies  to  the  army  at  the  front  line  in  Kagera, especially   the  vital  food  supplies. 
        The  food  supply  efforts  were  effectively  supported  by  the  ordinary  wananchi,  who  had  been  mobilized  by  the  ruling  party  to  contribute  any  food  items  which  they  could  provide.   Their  response  was   just   amazing. For,  large  numbers  of  cattle  were  willingly  offered  by  the wananchi;  plus    other  items,  mainly  bags  of  rice,  beans,  and  potatoes;  were  also   received  as  voluntary  contributions  from  Wananchi   in  all  parts  of  the  country. And,  in  my  capacity  as  the  party’s  Chief  Executive  Officer,   I  was  often   invited  to  receive  these  donations,   on  behalf  of  the  party.   
        To  the  Tanzania   Army’s   immense  credit,  they  were  able  to  complete  all  the   necessary  troop  mobilization  in  a  relatively  short  space  of  time;  and  launched  what  they  named  “Operation  Chakaza”,  on  4^th  December,  1977.  which  took  them  only   weeks  (not  months),   to  flush   the  invaders  out   of  Tanzania’s  Territory. 
         On  his  part,  Premier Sokoine  (who had the advantage  of having  been  the  Minister  of  Defense  prior  to  his  elevation  to  the  Premiership) ;  had  the  added  advantage   of   knowing   personally   all  those  army  commanders  who  had  been  assigned  to  the  front  line.  He   therefore  established  direct  communication  lines  with  them,   in  order  to  get  daily  progress   reports  from  the  war  front,  which  he  promptly  conveyed  to   the  President.  
        But   success  in   chasing  the  invading  army  out  of  our  borders  did  not  mean   the  end  of  that  war;   because   the  army  was   apprehensive  of    the  unpredictable   intentions   of   Uganda’s   President    Iddi   Amin,  and that  gave  them   strong  fears  that  he  might  be  tempted  to  make  another  such  invasion.       Their  practical   solution  for  eliminating  the  possibility  of  that  happening,  and   which  they  actually  proposed  to  their    Commander-in  Chief,   was  to  be  allowed  to  march   all  the  way  to  Kampala,  and  remove  the  threatening   Iddi   Amin  from  power.

             Initially,  President   Nyerere  was,  understandably,   hesitant  to   agree  to   such   an  unusual  request. But  upon   deep   reflection and  meditation ,   he   eventually  agreed,  and  issued  the  requisite  order  for  that  action  to  be  taken. The  Tanzania  Army  was  again  able  to  accomplish  this  task,  and  achieved  the  desired  objective,  in  just  about  five  months  of  professional  action  in  the  war  field;  with  Premier  Edward  Sokoine  ably   managing  the  logistics.
 The  war  against  economic  saboteurs.
Unfortunately,   the   end  of   the   “Kagera  war”  against  Uganda’s  Iddi  Amin,  was  rapidly  followed  by   a  host  of  other  problems   which  suddenly  emerged  soon  thereafter;    including  the  steep  rise  in  the  prices  of  petroleum  products  worldwide. These   negative  occurrences    created  huge   economic   problems  for  our  country,   which  even  forced  President  Nyerere  to  reverse  the  promise  he  had  made  to  the  nation  in  1975,   that  he  was  accepting  nomination  for  the  Presidential  election  for  the  last  time.   He  had  said,  emphatically,   that    he  would  not  accept  similar  nomination  for  the  next  following   Presidential  election  of  1980.                              

            But  because  of  this   extremely  poor  state  of  the  country’s  economy,  President  Nyerere  was  forced  to  reverse  his  earlier  decision  when  the  time  for   nomination for  the  1980  election   arrived;    and  gave  the   reason  for  his  change  of  mind  in  a  statement  which  said  thus:- “If  I  refuse  to  continue  serving  the  nation  at  this  critical  period,  I  will  be  considered   being   like   the  proverbial captain  who abandoned  his  ship  in  the  middle of a raging   storm.  I cannot  do  that.  I  must  be  brave   and take   responsibility  for  finding  a  solution,   rather  than  leaving  it  to  my  successor”.    Hence,  he  agreed  to  “soldier  on”,   and   gracefully   accepted  nomination  for  the  1980  election,  which  returned  him  to    office.   

Subsequent  events.
At  the  beginning   of  February  1983,   former  Premier  Edward  Sokoine   returned  to  Tanzania  from  his   successful  treatment  in  Yugoslavia;  and,  as  already  stated  above,  on  24^th of  that  month,   President  Nyerere  re-appointed  him  Prime  Minister;  who   now  devoted  all   his  energy  to  managing  the  nasty   economic  crisis;  and   designed  a  strategy   for   fighting  the   silent   war  against   the   presumed  economic  saboteurs .        

         He  first  caused   the  enactment  by  Parliament,  of  a  new  law  for  that  purpose,  which  was  titled  the  “Economic  sabotage  Act”;  which  he  then  used  as  the   strategic   weapon  for  fighting  that  silent  war.    I  was  Regional  Commissioner  for  Kilimanjaro  Region  at  the  time;  and  he  seemed  to  remember   well   the  ways  in  which  we  had   worked   effectively   together  during  his  previous  tenure,  when I  was  the  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  the  ruling  party. This  is  because,   under the country’s   Constitution  of  that  period,  Regional  Commissioners  were  also  ex  officio   Members  of  Parliament.   Premier  Sokoine  thus  assigned  to  me  the  task  of  working  with the Chief Parliamentary  Draftsman,  in  preparing  the  Bill  for  that   particular  Act.        

        The  operation  itself  against  the  economic   saboteurs  generally  went  well,  under  Premier  Sokoine’s   personal   supervision;  although  it  later  transpired  that  some  excesses  and  injustices  had  been  committed by  the  leadership  in  some  of  the  Regions,  such  as  Bukoba; where  a  famous  transport  company  known  as  “Kurgis  Transport”, was  made  to   suffered  injustice;   and   subsequently  had  to  be  heavily  compensated  by  the  government,   on  court  orders. 

The involvement of ‘people  with  their  own  forex  money’ 
This  was  another  strategy  which  Premier  Sokoine  and   I  had    jointly  designed.  The  acute  shortage  of  foreign   money  was  a  major  contributor  to  the   economic  crisis  of  that  period;  because  it  prevented  the  importation  of  many  of  essential  items   that  were  needed  by  the  population,  including   food  items.                                                                                    

         Premier  Sokoine  had  been  told,   that  some  rich  persons  in   Kilimanjaro  Region,  were  owning   forex  money  which  they  kept  in  Kenyan   Banks. He  therefore   one  day  summoned  me   to  discuss  ways  in  which    we  could  possibly   persuade  these  rich   people  of  Kilimanjaro  Region,   to  help  in  reducing  that  acute  shortage  of  essential  items  using  their  own   forex   money. 

        In  my  capacity as  Regional  Commissioner, I had  also  known that  these rich people were indeed  operating businesses in  Mombasa  and  Nairobi,  in   neighbouring Kenya,  and  were  illegally  smuggling  goods  into  the  Region.   So, I  suggested  to  him,  and  he  quickly  agreed,  that  such  people    should  be  allowed  to  import   and  sell   the  required  goods  into  the  country,  free  of   any    government  restrictions.   Soon  thereafter,  Prime  Minister Sokoine   made  this  announcement  in  Parliament.  The  news was  received   positively   by  the  relevant   traders  who  had  their own  forex money;   and  their   positive  response   helped  to  reduce  the  acute  shortage  of   such  essential  items. That  was  Prime  Miniter  Edward  Moringe  Sokoine.   May  his  soul  rest  in  eternal  peace,  AMEN.
piomsekwa@gmail.com /0754767576.

Source: Daily News today.