I was invited
to deliver a lecture
at a national-level symposium
which was held
last week in
Dodoma, as the
main event for
this year’s Union
anniversary celebrations. The symposium
was, indeed, a very
pleasant and welcome departure from the traditional but
costly military parades, plus the grand,
massive, youth displays,
of all the
past years. Kudos to President Samia
Suluhu Hassan, for
such refreshing
innovations, na kazi
iendelee. The subject
of my symposium
lecture was given
to me by the organizers,
with the title: “Historia, Chimbuko, na
Misingi ya Muungano
wa Tanganyika na
Zanzibar”. I went to Dodoma,
and did
what I had been
asked to do. It is immediately thereafter, that I was
persuaded to write
today’s article, as
a supplement to
last week’s presentation
which had focused
on the question of ‘what were
the goals of
this Union, and
have these goals
been achieved ? It became
quite clear that
those other matters which
were the subject of
my lecture, were
equally important for
the current younger
generation to know,
and fully appreciate.
And that is
the subject of
today’s presentation, which
will briefly discuss the
three above mentioned topics.
1. A brief history of the establishment of this Union.
The process leading to the establishment of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, was carried out, and completed, in two historic events which were: (i) the signing of the Union Agreement; and (ii) the ratification of this Agreement.
The signing of the Union Agreement, which was officially documented as the ‘Articles of Union’, was done on Thursday, 22nd April, 1964, by the two Presidents of the Republic of Tanganyika, Jullius Nyerere; and of the Peoples’ Republic of Zanzibar, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. While the second event, namely the ratification of that Agreement, was done three days later, on 25th April, 1964.
1. A brief history of the establishment of this Union.
The process leading to the establishment of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, was carried out, and completed, in two historic events which were: (i) the signing of the Union Agreement; and (ii) the ratification of this Agreement.
The signing of the Union Agreement, which was officially documented as the ‘Articles of Union’, was done on Thursday, 22nd April, 1964, by the two Presidents of the Republic of Tanganyika, Jullius Nyerere; and of the Peoples’ Republic of Zanzibar, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. While the second event, namely the ratification of that Agreement, was done three days later, on 25th April, 1964.
In connection
with these events,
there are two
significant points, which
should be noted.
One is the
great secrecy which
surrounded the negotiations
leading to that
Agreement. And the
other is the absolute
uniqueness of the
‘product’ of that
Agreement.
The period
covering the negotiations
cannot be precisely specified, for
the reason only
that the said
negotiations were conducted
in great secrecy,
for fear that
if these negotiations
became publicly known;
their efforts could
be sabotaged by
presumed enemies. This
secrecy continued even
with regard to
the signing ceremony of
that Agreement, for on the
actual day when President
Nyerere travelled to
Zanzibar the signing
ceremony, the Nationalist
newspaper, which was owned
and published by the
ruling party TANU;
came out with
camouflaged information saying
that “President Nyerere
has gone to Zanzibar on his
first official visit
after the success
of the revolution. He is scheduled
to hold cordial
talks with President Karume”.
This secrecy also
covered the convening
of the emergency
session of Parliament
which ratified the
said Agreement; as
the Members of
Parliament were summoned
to Dar es Salaam
at short notice
to attend an
emergency meeting of
Parliament, but without
being told the
purpose, or reason, for
this emergency meeting.
The uniqueness of the ‘product’ of that Agreement.
The ‘product’ of that Agreement was the birth of an entirely new sovereign country called the United Republic of Tanzania. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that, unlike the majority of the other African countries which came into existence as a result of the political will of the colonial powers that had previously ruled them, who “granted” them independence after prolonged struggles, and actually armed struggles in most of the cases. But the predecessors to the United Republic of Tanzania also share the same background of having been initially ‘granted’ the Instruments of Independence by the British colonialists; this United Republic was unique in the sense that it was a product, or creation, of our own making; as a result of cordial negotiations and mutual Agreement, between the two leaders of our former two separate nations.
The uniqueness of the ‘product’ of that Agreement.
The ‘product’ of that Agreement was the birth of an entirely new sovereign country called the United Republic of Tanzania. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that, unlike the majority of the other African countries which came into existence as a result of the political will of the colonial powers that had previously ruled them, who “granted” them independence after prolonged struggles, and actually armed struggles in most of the cases. But the predecessors to the United Republic of Tanzania also share the same background of having been initially ‘granted’ the Instruments of Independence by the British colonialists; this United Republic was unique in the sense that it was a product, or creation, of our own making; as a result of cordial negotiations and mutual Agreement, between the two leaders of our former two separate nations.
In our English
history class at
Francis College Pugu (as
it was then),
with our class
teacher Mwalimu Julius
Nyerere, we were
taught the phrase
that “Markets, Money,
Machines, are the
three ‘M’s which
transformed the insular
English nation, into
a nation of
worldwide interests”.
I wish to
borrow that sentence
and rephrase it
to read thus: Our leaders’ “political
commitment, political maturity,
and political iron
will; were the
three ‘P’s which
transformed the former
separate nations of
Tanganyika and Zanzibar,
into one strong,
viable, sovereign nation”.
2. The origins, or sources, of this Union.
I stated confidently in my presentation at the afore-mentioned symposium, that there were the following five distinct sources that were the foundations of our Union:
2. The origins, or sources, of this Union.
I stated confidently in my presentation at the afore-mentioned symposium, that there were the following five distinct sources that were the foundations of our Union:
(i) the
Zanzibar glorious revolution
of April 12th,
1964.
(ii) the need
to protect that
revolution.
(iii) the need to strengthen the long
association of the
peoples of these
lands, and of their ties of kinship and amity.
(iv) the desire for unity of the African peoples.
(v) the political
iron will of
our two leaders
who founded this
Union.
These sources were
further elaborated as
follows :-
The Zanzibar revolution.
The Zanzibar revolution.
The “Instruments of
Independence” of Zanzibar
State were ‘granted’
to the then
Arab Sultan of Zanzibar
following the October
1963 pre-independence general
election, whose results
were disputed by
many independent observers;
for the simple
reason that the
Afro-Shirazi Party had
been unfairly denied
victory. For at
that election, that
party had obtained 54% of
the total valid
votes cast, but
had obtained a
minority of only
13 the Legislative
Council seats, while
the coalition of
the Arab parties,
the Zanzibar Nationalist
party (ZNP) and the
Zanzibar and Pemba
Peoples’ party (ZPPP) had obtained 18
seats. This was
the result of
the constituency gerrymandering action
which was undertaken
by the colonial
Administration in Pemba,
in favour of
the Arab ZPPP
party. This, in
fact, was the
fundamental ‘root cause’ of
the glorious revolution which
was successfully carried
out by the
Afro-Shirazi party, during
the night of
11th January, 1964.
The need to
protect that revolution. Hence, following that
successful revolution, there
was strong fear
that the deposed
Sultan and his
supporters might attempt
to launch their
own counter-revolution, in
order to regain
their lost power
in Zanzibar. And,
in view of the bare
fact that President
Karume’s infant government
had not yet
established any viable
defense mechanism that
would protect the
country from such
invasion, that fear
was, indeed, real
and genuine. Thus, in
such circumstances, it was reasonably
expected that Zanzibar’s Union
with Tanganyika would
offer the necessary protection against
such possibility of
an invasion.
The need to strengthen the ties of kinship and amity.
It may be remembered, that the need “to maintain the long association of the peoples of these lands, and to strengthen the ties of kinship” arising there from; was one of the major goals of this Union; as was confirmed by President Nyerere himself, in his speech to the National Assembly on 25th April, 1964; wherein he said the following:-“Tanganyika na Zanzibar ni nchi ndugu. Tunashiikiana kwa historia, lugha, mila na desturi, na siasa. Na udugu wa Viongozi wa vyama vyetu vya siasa, haukuanza jana. Basi tunazo sababu zote hizo za kutufanya tuungane na kuwa kitu kimoja”.
The desire for unity among the peoples of Africa.
The need to strengthen the ties of kinship and amity.
It may be remembered, that the need “to maintain the long association of the peoples of these lands, and to strengthen the ties of kinship” arising there from; was one of the major goals of this Union; as was confirmed by President Nyerere himself, in his speech to the National Assembly on 25th April, 1964; wherein he said the following:-“Tanganyika na Zanzibar ni nchi ndugu. Tunashiikiana kwa historia, lugha, mila na desturi, na siasa. Na udugu wa Viongozi wa vyama vyetu vya siasa, haukuanza jana. Basi tunazo sababu zote hizo za kutufanya tuungane na kuwa kitu kimoja”.
The desire for unity among the peoples of Africa.
This goal
of “the desire
for unity among the
peoples of Africa”,
was another of the major
goals of this
Union; as it
would constitute a
significant step towards
the achievement of that
noble goal. This
was also confirmed
by President Nyerere
in the same
speech that is quoted
above; when he
said the following:-“Leo hii kuna tamaa kubwa
sana ya umoja katika Afrika. Mioyo ya Waafrika ina
shauku kubwa ajabu, ya kuungana tuwe
kitu kimoja. Lakini pamoja na kujivunia shauku
hii, yafaa tukumbuke
kwamba umoja hautakuja
kwa sababu ya shauku tu, au
maneno matupu. Hatua
lazima zichukliwe za kuonesha kwamba shauku
hii, na matumaini
haya, si ndoto
tu isiyowezekana, bali ni jambo linalotekelezeka. Hivyo basi, Muungano
wetu huu utakuwa
ni uthibitisho wa vitendo,
kwamba ni kweli
kabisa kwamba umoja
huo unaweza kupatikana”.
The political iron will, of our founder fathers of the Union.
A strong ‘political will’ , I venture to submit, is an important component of the leadership ethics. Thus, in view of the real and genuine fear that their efforts might be frustrated by the presumed enemies referred to above; had it not been for their political ‘iron will’ to soldier on; our founder fathers could probably have chickened out of this noble project, whose benefits we are happily enjoying today, and for the last 58 long years.
3. Our Union’s protection against premature demise.
Our top leaders’ ‘political will’ has been the basic protector of our Union; and, indeed, the ‘magic’ of a strong political will on the part of all our successive Union Presidents, has been the basic protector of our Union against such premature demise.
The political iron will, of our founder fathers of the Union.
A strong ‘political will’ , I venture to submit, is an important component of the leadership ethics. Thus, in view of the real and genuine fear that their efforts might be frustrated by the presumed enemies referred to above; had it not been for their political ‘iron will’ to soldier on; our founder fathers could probably have chickened out of this noble project, whose benefits we are happily enjoying today, and for the last 58 long years.
3. Our Union’s protection against premature demise.
Our top leaders’ ‘political will’ has been the basic protector of our Union; and, indeed, the ‘magic’ of a strong political will on the part of all our successive Union Presidents, has been the basic protector of our Union against such premature demise.
For it
is an established
fact, that the
lack of genuine political will on the part of
one or other
of the Union partners, has been the main cause of
the frustration that eventually led to the breakup of
those Unions that
failed to survive.
Examples of such
failures include the
United Arab union (UAR),
which was established
in February 1958,
but managed to
survive for only
four years, and
broke up in
September 1961. There
was also the
‘Senegambia Union’ between
the countries of
Gambia and Senegal,
which was established
on 1st February,
1982, but survived
for no more
than seven years, when
it broke up
on September 30th,
1989. And there
was also the Federation of
Malaysia, which initially
included the State
of Singapore. This
Union also failed
to remain intact,
when, in 1965, Singapore decided to
withdraw its membership
there from.
The legal protection provided by the constitution, and other relevant laws.
In crafting the Articles of Union, our Union founding fathers, in their abundant wisdom, introduced a most significant clause, which made provision for a separate government for Zanzibar. This provision was subsequently incorporated in the constitution of the United Republic.
The legal protection provided by the constitution, and other relevant laws.
In crafting the Articles of Union, our Union founding fathers, in their abundant wisdom, introduced a most significant clause, which made provision for a separate government for Zanzibar. This provision was subsequently incorporated in the constitution of the United Republic.
It might,
perhaps, be unknown
to many of
our younger generation
readers, that this particular provision has
been the strongest
‘pillar’, for the stability of our
Union. For it
ensured the continued
identity of Zanzibar
within this Union
of equal partner
States. Failure to recognize this fact (of
the partner States
being equal); I dare say, was
what led to the demise of
many of the
other Unions, that
we referred to
above.
In addition, there is also the law which ratified the Union Agreement, whose section 4 provides as follows:-“The Republic of Tanganyika and the Peoples’ Republic of Zanzibar shall, upon Union Day and ever after, be united into one sovereign Republic”. The words “and ever after” are clearly and obviously intended to mean that this Union will last ‘forever’
In relation to marriages, the Holy Bible says that “what God has united, let no man put asunder”. It is therefore my humble submission, that “what the law has prescribed, let no man dare to disregard”. Thus, all our future generations are hereby urged, to dedicate themselves to this noble objective of maintain our Union, so that it may continue to last ad infinitum.piomsekwa@gmai.com /0754767576.
In addition, there is also the law which ratified the Union Agreement, whose section 4 provides as follows:-“The Republic of Tanganyika and the Peoples’ Republic of Zanzibar shall, upon Union Day and ever after, be united into one sovereign Republic”. The words “and ever after” are clearly and obviously intended to mean that this Union will last ‘forever’
In relation to marriages, the Holy Bible says that “what God has united, let no man put asunder”. It is therefore my humble submission, that “what the law has prescribed, let no man dare to disregard”. Thus, all our future generations are hereby urged, to dedicate themselves to this noble objective of maintain our Union, so that it may continue to last ad infinitum.piomsekwa@gmai.com /0754767576.
Source: Daily News today.
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