Kafulila's dismissal: A lesson for members of parliament?

At the height of General Idi Amin’s rule in Uganda, former Tanzania’s foreign minister, John Malecela, made a prophetic statement on his Ugandan counterpart, Mr Wanume Kibedi.

He told the bespectacled and afro-haired Ugandan minister who also happened to have been General Amin’s brother-in-law not to seek forceful repatriation of Ugandan refugees from Tanzania “because tomorrow you may also become a refugee”!

Mr Malecela who will go down in history as one of the most refined diplomats this country has ever produced, cautioned Mr Kibedi during his meeting with the Ugandan minister in the lake side city of Mwanza.

The Ugandan foreign minister-cum-lawyer had pressed his Tanzanian counterpart for forceful repatriation to Uganda of Ugandan refugees who had fled to Tanzania following the 1971 military coup against President Milton Obote.

A few months later, Mr Kibedi fled to Zambia where he sought political asylum after an attempt on his life by his former boss, General Amin.

After differing with General Amin, a problem that is said to have been triggered by sour relations between the General and Mr Kibedi’s sister, the Ugandan dictator ordered the arrest of Mr Kibedi.

Mr Kibedi was arrested, as directed, put behind a boot of a Mercedes Benz and driven to the State House.

Fortunately for Mr Kibedi, the car bearing him was halted so suddenly, before General Amin (who was standing in front of the State House with a couple of members of Libyan delegation), hence causing the boot bonnet to open.

And to the amazement of the Libyans and the embarrassment of General Amin,  Mr Kibedi issued out of the boot, dusted himself, greeted the General (who was thoroughly embarrassed by the incident) and his Libyan guests.

Mr Kibedi did not wait for his boss. He disappeared into oblivion.

To date it is not known whether the Libyans asked their host and very close friend why his foreign minister had elected to drive to the state house in the boot of the car!

However, being close to a regime which was not very much different from their own, for birds of the same feathers fly together, they must have known what their host had intended to do with his foreign minister.

But for those who were around when the incident happened say the two parties had exchanged glances as Mr Kibedi issued out of the boot!

Mr Kibedi was never seen in Uganda until he surfaced, this time as a refugee, in Zambia a few days later!

Had the Mercedes Benz boot not opened on that fateful day, Mr Kibedi could have ended up in the same way a number of prominent Ugandan leaders, businessmen and clergies (that include Bishop Luwum) had ended, at the hands of the General’s hands!

The Wanume Kibedi incident could be compared to what has befallen the former NCCR-Mageuzi Kigoma South Member of Parliament, Mr David Kafulila (dismissal from the party) in the sense that, that could befall any member of parliament regardless of the party one comes from!

Judging by what many influential men and women have commented over the incident, especially in the print media, they are not happy with what the opposition party has done.

And this is much as they agree with the opposition party over the dire need to deal with indiscipline among its rank.

Yet those influential voices need to do more than express disapproval over the NCCR-Mageuzi leadership’s decision, not against the opposition party, but rather by tackling the laws (of course, through the House) that make it possible for the Kafulilas and the Shibudas (John) to lose their party memberships, hence parliamentary seats!

We all remember how Shibuda was forced out of the party he loved, forcing him to join Chadema which helped him retain his parliamentary seat.

As Tanzanians debate the Kafulila incident, it is important that they asked themselves, and in particular, those representing them in the parliament whether the law that makes it mandatory for anyone vying for elective political post to be a member of a political party was still valid today.

It is indisputable that during the one party state (and in the course of nation building), the law was quite valid, but the question is, is it still valid today in the present setting of multiparty politics?

The foregoing question is more important for members of parliament whose voting pattern in the house is such that it can make or unmake any law.

Such members of parliament have to ask themselves whether they are immune, individually, to what befell Mr Kafulila last week.

For such members of parliament to continue to believe in ‘their collective strength in the House’ is to pursue the road pursued by Mr Wanume Kibedi in our Ugandan story!

In fact, nothing makes the Kafulila incident more relevant to the present crop of members of parliament today than the present Constitution project.

The Kafulila story raises the need to view the Constitution project not with narrow lenses, but rather with what photographers describe as wider lens or the bird’s view.

The present crop of members of parliament ought to help in guiding the writing of the new Constitution not to fit a person or group of persons, but rather the present and the posterity.

And that can only be realized if they refrain from entertaining self-interests through, among others, dirty scheming.

It is important for MPs, especially from the ruling party, to bear in mind that unless they ensure that the next Constitution is worked out for the interest of the nation rather than individuals, tomorrow they may not be in the driving seat and that could easily deter their effort to bounce back!

And talking about Constitution making, there is also a need to look into the role (in the next constitution) of the first employer of the MP, the people who elect a member of parliament.

In the case of the Kafulila incident, the opposition party has withdrawn his party membership, a move that would rob him of his parliamentary seat.

Much as the present laws give the party the right to do what it has done, what about the people who elected him?

Don’t they have any voice on whether or not a member of parliament they had elected should go because he has simply differed with his party?

In case of Mr Kafulila, he goes down as one of youthful members of parliament who fought extremely hard, on the floor o the house, for the poor in this country.

What about members of parliament who have performed decimally?

Does his party have any role of dealing with such wayward member of parliament for failing to represent his/her people to the letter?

If such mechanism does not exist, is it not time such a mechanism in the form of recall was put in place?

Party laws apart, there is also the question of costs likely to be involved in the event of organizing a by-election that is in case the Kigoma South parliamentary seat is declared vacant.

For instance, the Registrar of Political Parties, Mr John Tendwa, has already indicated that a by-election for the Kigoma South seat would cost the nation 19bn/-!

Does the NCCR-Mageuzi leadership want the nation, through its action, to go through that financial hole after the unplanned Igunga by-election?

 By Attilio Tagalile

   

What many Tanzanians may not know about Tazara

However, after a tour of China’s countryside, the kind of abject poverty Mwalimu witnessed was such that it was not different from his own country, hence his decision to shelve his request for Chinese assistance.

But during discussions with Chairman Mao a few days before his departure for home, Mwalimu was asked more than once by the Chinese leader what kind of assistance he needed from China.

According to Mwalimu’s personal assistant and speech writer, Ambassador Charles Asilia Sanga, the way Chairman Mao had asked Mwalimu it was clear that China wanted to help Tanzania and Zambia realize their railroad project dream.

“But Mwalimu had changed his mind after witnessing the untold abject poverty in China’s countryside,” said Mr Sanga who served for six years as Tanzania’s ambassador to Beijing.

“Finally,” ambassador Sanga says, “Mwalimu gave in to the Chinese assistance after Chairman Mao assured him of his country’s ability to accomplish the 2bn US dollars project.”

The 1860 kilometre railway from Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia would later turn into the biggest Chinese project abroad.

Ambassador Sanga who worked for Mwalimu as personal assistant until his death from blood cancer at London’s St. Thomas Hospital in 1999 was told the Tazara story (also dubbed the Uhuru railway) by Mwalimu himself.

Ambassador Sanga who was elected chairman of an African group that visited China recently, narrated the story to the author during the African group’s three week tour in China.

The construction of the railroad was completed early in 1976 and has since then served as China’s showcase to the world, especially developing countries, on its ability to take on multibillion dollar construction projects.

Since then, China has constructed 50 stadiums and five railway systems in developing countries and mostly in Africa.

The Tanzania Zambia railway is not only the highest rail-point in the continent (over 1000m above sea level), but also traverses through most difficult terrain in the continent.

There are 22 tunnels along the railroad that includes Mlimba where the train disappears through a tunnel for over some minutes, like a snake, only to emerge later at the other end.

One question that had vexed a section of Tanzanians was Mwalimu’s failure to make use of his Chinese friends to complete Tanzania’s infrastructure by linking Tazara to the rest of the country.

In fact, no time the need to embark on such a project was more important than in 1977 after the collapse of the East African Community, EAC.

The unfortunate development had presented Mwalimu with the best opportunity of changing his country’s rail system from meter to standard rail which is similar to that of Tazara.

Could the abject poverty Mwalimu had witnessed during his China’s tour later in 1960s have contributed to his failure to seek further Chinese assistance?

If the foregoing is to be believed, then it would mean that Mwalimu had been oblivious of China’s development something that is not true given his hungry inquisitive for knowledge.

According to Ambassador Sanga, until his death, Mwalimu had visited the Peoples Republic of China fourteen times.

This means that Mwalimu was well aware of the economic leaps and bounds that China had achieved.

In short, Mwalimu knew fairly well that the China of 1960s was quite different from that of 1980s before he finally stepped down as President and later chairman of United Republic of Tanzania and the ruling party respectively.

 But the question is why have successive Tanzanian governments also equally failed to make use of the Chinese government in completing the country’s railroad infrastructure by linking Tazara with other parts in the country?

For a country the size of Tanzania (13 in size in Africa with 947,000 square kilometers) rail infrastructure ought to be given priority followed, of course, by roads.

However, a glimpse at our present priorities, roads have been given priority to rail infrastructure for reasons that only the powers that be understand!

But the fact that China, which is currently the second economy in the world after the United States (having replaced their former occupier, Japan, to the spot) was almost as poor as Tanzania late in 1969, should make Tanzanians sit up and ask themselves serious questions why their economy is not as good as that of China.

Such searching questions are more pertinent now as the country marks 50^th independence anniversary.

It is important that Tanzanians asked themselves what went wrong.

By Attilio Tagalile

Published by The Citizen on December 9, 2011

Why China has succeeded where Tanzania has faltered

The Communist Party of China, CPC has remained at the helm of the political and socio-economic development of the 1.4 billion people since it was founded in 1949.

After leading the Chinese people to freedom following a protracted war against its occupier, Japan, it took the CPC barely 60 years to replace its former occupier as the second leading economy in the world!

China’s life span as an independent nation is older by ten year to that of Tanzania (which marked its 50^th independence anniversary on Friday, December 9^th, 2011).

Yet in almost the same life span as an independent nation, China’s socio-economic development has not only surpassed by over 100 times that of Tanzania, but is now threatening to overtake United States as the number one economy in the world!

The question is why has China succeeded where developing countries like Tanzania have failed?

The secret lies in the nature and modus operandi of their ruling parties whose visions and missions are implemented by their respective governments.

For instance, in the case of China, the CPC supervises the country’s socio-economic development plans from their inception to their implementation.

Planning of anything in China starts at the lowest level (village) to the top.

 Such plans are worked on by best experts the nation can lay its hands on.

With China 9m square kilometers, China has 32 regions, and for its socio-economic plans to be approved and finally given a nod by the Central Committee of the CPC, they (plans) must have had the approval of the entire population through their representatives.

This is extremely important because apart from final approval by the Central Committee of the CPC, the validity of the country’s socio-economic plans is heavily dependent on its (plans) ownership by the people.

One of the last stages of such plans are discussed by members of every region in their respective assemblies in Beijing before the plans are finally presented to the Central Committee of the CPC for further discussions and final approval.

And once the Central Committee of the CPC has approved the socio-economic plans, implementation work starts.

But in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, as far as implementation of socio-economic plans are concerned, the CPC has machinery in place that reviews implementation work after every set period.

The objective is to manage the development process for socio-economic wellbeing of their people

In short, no CPC or Chinese government leader can promise people about construction or provision of anything outside what has been approved by the CPC.

Therefore as a ruling party, the CPC through the peoples’ representatives works on the country’s socio-economic development plans and after which the government is finally directed to implement what has been decided on.

What this means is that there is no room for populism, no leader, no matter what position he or she holds in the country or the party is above the CPC.

Dissent of opinion during discussions on the country’s socio-economic development plans at any level of the ruling party’s sitting, is tolerated.

This what the Chinese refer to as their democracy with Chinese characteristics.

The aim for espousing such democratic practices is very simple, people must be given opportunity to discuss whatever doubts they have on the  proposed socio-economic plans before decisions are made.

Therefore claims usually made by some people that there is no democracy in China’s ruling CPC is not true because people are given every opportunity to air their opinion on important their country’s economic plans.

But once whatever plans that the Central Committee of the CPC has approved, then they have to be implanted to the letter, there are no two ways about it.

As already noted, there is nothing is approved by the Central Committee of the CPC that is not reviewed after a given period of time in order to find out whether or not it is still valid.

For instance, one pertinent question that Tanzanians ought to ask themselves is having decided to implement the policy of Socialism and Self-Reliance-after the promulgation of the Arusha Declaration in 1967, was there any attempt by the then ruling party, Tanu (Tanganyika African National Union) to review, after every given period of time, implementation of the Ujamaa program?

When they finally decided on the implementation of the market economic policies did they have any explanation as to why they had dumped Ujamaa or were putting the policy on hold?

Did they have any explanation for dumping, in 1992 the leadership code in under what would later come to be known as the Zanzibar Declaration?

Has the party (this time around CCM) responsible for the re-introduction of market economic policies (after dumping leadership code) reviewed implementation of its new policies with the express purpose of finding out whether or not Tanzania was on track?

Honest response by Tanzanians to these questions is critical in understanding why Tanzania has not succeeded as much as their Chinese counterpart after clocking almost the same number of years after independence.

Addressing Tanzanian leaders a few years after stepping down both as Union President and party chairman, the Founding Father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said only a mad man would continue to cling on to Ujamaa when the latest leadership had decided they would have nothing to do with it!

He said: “When leaders went to Zanzibar and dumped the policy along with the leadership code, some of us who thought otherwise were quick to understand that (Ujamaa) had finally been laid to rest.”

Mwalimu said it was fine with him if Tanzanians were no longer interested in Ujamaa.

“But what about self-reliance?” he asked,” are you also not interested in the policy,” Mwalimu asked.

Therefore Tanzania’s present economic problems are to large extent due to the clumsy manner with which successive governments handled its economic policies.

And this includes the way it implemented villagisation program and its decision to dump the leadership code.

A Chinese professor from Beijing Normal University told the visiting African group at the Zhejiang Normal University in Anzhu that he had read Mwalimu’s books on Ujamaa and Self-Reliance and found nothing wrong with them.

Although the professor did not take his argument further, but judging what the CPC has done for China in the last 60 years, it is not difficult to appreciate the Chinese professor’s argument.

That had Tanzanians reviewed, from time to time, implementation of their ujamaa policy with the objective of improving it, they would not have given Kenya’s Professor, Ali Mazrui the luxury of describing Mwalimu as an heroic failure.

In a nutshell, that is where the main difference (call it problem if you like) lies between China and Tanzania.

In fact, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ujamaa.

However, what went wrong was the ruling party’s failure to review the policy’s implementation after every stage of its development.

Had the ruling party, in this particular case, Tanu, reviewed ujamaa now and then, it would not have reached where it reached. 

The same thing could be said about the dumping of the leadership code.

We have all borne witness to the destruction the exercise has led Tanzanians to after dumping the leadership code in Zanzibar.

All of a sudden, a section of members of the ruling party, CCM, have discovered the folly of mixing politics with business!

But for most of them who had literally grown both in Tanu and CCM for over 30 years as party cadres, surely their discovery is not news!

The point is, they should have known a long time ago that the end result of dumping the leadership code would have eventually led them to the present volatile political climate!

That once one mixes politics with business, it goes without saying that politicians would use their political position to enrich themselves.

The increased number of public institutions that politicians have lately been trying to own, illegally, through various tricks is just a tip of the iceberg of the political El Nino that is likely to engulf Tanzania sooner than later if efforts are not urgently made to avert it!

The main problem with such wayward politicians is that know that once they own such public institutions no one would question them, least of all the government of the day since there is no divide, legally, between politics and business.

The fact that the Chinese have succeeded in turning around their country’s economy does not mean that they were free from problems, far from it!

They faced numerous implementation problems which forced them to review each and every stage of implementation of their socio-economic plans.

For instance, after the founding of the Chinese nation in 1949, the country was awash with feudalism with the poor tilling the land they did not own!

This situation was changed, making peasants owners not only of the land they tilled on, but also what they produced on it.

Later the CPC led government introduced collectivization program which did not last long.

The ruling party scraped it off, replacing it with personal ownership of land on which one tilled on.

The latest move was introduced by the CPC after discovering the disincentive nature of the collectivization program.

The CPC was going back and forth, between 1949 and 1986 in its land reforms, until it reached a more acceptable agricultural development model with Chinese characteristics.

China would therefore not have succeeded in feeding all its 1.4 billion people had it had allowed problem to rear its ugly head in its agricultural sector.

It was due to the soundness of China’s agricultural sector coupled with implementation of its tailored education system that would by 2006 transform the country into one of up and coming industrial nations.  

 By Attilio Tagalile

Kilimanjaro Stars should take Yanga fans' conduct positively

Drama dominated a Senior Challenge Cup match between Tanzania Mainland combined soccer team, Kilimanjaro Stars and their Zimbabwean counterpart, Zimbabwe played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

From the kick off to the end of the match, Young Africans fans in their club colours cheered on, to the amazement of English Kenyan commentators, the yellow shirted Zimbabweans.

Information has it that Yanga fans were ‘forced’ to change their allegiance during the match by two things, the outnumbering of Yanga players by Simba and Azam in the team and the Zimbabweans’ decision to don yellow color which also happen to be Yanga club colors!

Although Kilimanjaro Stars went down 1-2 to the Zimbabweans, however, they qualified for the quarter finals under what is referred to as best losers.

Had Kilimanjaro Stars gone down to the Zimbabweans by not less than three goals, the spot would have been taken by Tanzania’s neighours to the north, Kenya who had gone down by a lone goal to North Sudan in a scintillating match played before the Kilimanjaro Stars/Zimbabwe encounter.

Kilimanjaro Stars’ technical bench led by former Yanga player and coach, Boniface Mkwasa has already complained over the matter.

Although Mkwasa later told a section of the print media that they will try their level best, in the forthcoming encounters in the tournament which start today (Tuesday), to force those against them to cheer them.

Although Mkwasa could not elaborate on how they intended to do that, however, improved performance is certain to earn them support.

One of the commentators had this to say as the match progressed on:

“I would have understood Yanga fans’ conduct if the match was a local derby at club level…but to sideline your own home national team in favour of a foreign team, I’m sorry, I don’t support them (Yanga).”

Personally, I total agree with the commentator’s argument. Indeed, it does not make sense, whatever arguments Yanga fans have. What they did was wrong, period.

I’m quite sure Simba fans would have done the same thing had Kilimanjaro Stars had more players from Yanga.

The main problem with fans from the two clubs is that Tanzania’s football starts and ends with their clubs!

It is very unfortunate that Leaderships in the two clubs have completely failed to transform their fans into patriots, and that is extremely sad.

Of course, the other problem lies with the Tanzanian Mainland players who don’t see their fans’ conduct as a challenge to do better.

Watching Kilimanjaro Stars play last Saturday one thing stood out very clearly, they lacked drive and enthusiasm in the game whenever they had the ball.

However, their Zimbabwean counterparts behaved differently whenever they had the ball.

They held on more intelligently and one would only release the ball to his colleague when he was quite sure that his colleague was best placed to work further on the ball.

Kilimanjaro Stars not only fumbled on the ball, but they always appeared in a hurry to release the ball even when a colleague was tightly marked!

And the end result was that most of their passes went to their opponents who made good use of ball possession to their detriment.

Handling of the ball by Kilimanjaro players clearly showed they lacked confidence, which stems out of lack of top-flight trial matches.

Unless our national soccer teams are exposed to many quality friendly matches at home and abroad, we should simply forget doing well in regional and continental soccer tournaments.

Had Kilimanjaro Stars had a couple of friendly matches before the start of the tournament, they would have done far better in the on-going tournament.

But the fact that better prepared teams in the tournament were not very much different from Kilimanjaro Stars, clearly shows that had the Mainlanders been given not less than five matches they could have given their opponents a run for their money.

In fact, it is wrong for Tanzanian soccer fans to expect good results from an ill-prepared team like Kilimanjaro Stars.

Kilimanjaro Stars are the present Senior Challenge Cup defending champions. Unfortunately their game does not reflect that!

Yet the team’s performance shows that given more trial matches, they are not bad at all.

What the Tanzania Football Federation, TFF, ought to do now is maintain the same technical bench, but try to get as many top-flight friendly matches as possible for the team.

The point is, let Mkwasa and his brother-in-law, Kiwhelu, compete, positively, with the Danish national soccer coach, Jan Poulsen.

One hopes that in their forthcoming matches, the players will put up their all, against their opponents who have been joined by Yanga fans.

Conversely, Kilimanjaro Stars should not look at Yanga fans’ conduct negatively, but rather as challenge to do better and thereby force them on their side.

Secondly, Kilimanjaro players should bear in their mind the importance of their participation in this tournament that is being televised live across the continent.

This affords them the opportunity of being exposed to professional players’ scouts.

In a word, they are in the market!

By Attilio Tagalile 

How football helped Tanganyikans attain their political independence

Although Tanzania may not have performed very well in sports in terms of silverware and long lasting sporting laurels compared to its 50 year age since she attained her independence from the British on December 9^th 1961.

Yet it was through sports, and football in particular, that helped Tanganyikans quite considerably in forging and strengthening their struggle for political independence in 1950s.

It is perhaps worthwhile reminding the world that South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Mozambique would not have been where they are today if Tanzania had not been there for them during their bloody liberation struggle.

Tanzania that had played a major role to mid-wife a number of countries in central and southern Africa had itself been partly empowered by football!

Football played two roles in bringing about Tanganyika’s independence.

Firstly, it was used as a venue for collecting money for financing Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s passage to the United Nations in New York where he often travelled to in the course of agitating for the Tanganyika’s independence.

This was attested to the author in an interview with former Young Africans left winger and national player, Abdulrahman Lukongo in 2007.

Lukongo does not remember the exact year, but says: “We (Dar es Salaam combine) played two matches against Zanzibar at the Mnazimmoja grounds in the city.”

Through Lukongo we come to learn that apart from the Ilala Stadium which was later named after the slain founder of the Zanzibar nation, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume, Mnazimmoja grounds was the second major soccer field in the city.

According to lukongo, proceeds from the matches were used to finance Mwalimu’s passage to the United Nations in New York.

It is important to bear in mind that during the time, it was not easy for Tanganyikans to form political parties for agitating for their independence for the simple reason that security organs would not allow them to do that.

In fact whoever dared to cross the line by plunging into politics, efforts were made by the British to ensure that such a person was denied employment.

This explains why Mwalimu Nyerere was forced to leave his lucrative teaching job at Pugu Secondary School in order to lead the Tanganyika African National Union, TANU.

It was clear to him that he could not continue with his job while simultaneously working on a political party that sought to unseat the British in Tanganyika.

Again Lukongo recalls how Tanu members were secretly recruited as fans watched either matches or training sessions at the Jangwani playing fields.

Lukongo speaks bitterly over the neglected grounds which he says played a sterling role towards the country’s independence struggle.

Therefore in case of recruitment of new Tanu and other political objectives, football played the second role, namely that of using it as a cover against probing eyes of British security organs.

One wonders what would have happened to Tanu, especially in Dar es Salaam during the hey-days of the liberation struggle in the country without the presence of football and their fans!

Apart from helping Tanu in spreading its tentacles in the country, football also played a major role in introducing Tanganyikans to new technology, the steam engine!

In the words of Tanzania’s soccer player of the century (a tag brought by and recognized by the Federation of International Football Association, Fifa), Mr Mathias Kissa, the steam engine was during the time the new kid on the block.

In an interview with the author in 2007, Kissa said initially, the engines were driven by Singhs (referred to in Kiswahili as Singasinga) before they were later joined by Indians.

“It was a big prestige during the time for one to be entrusted with the task of driving such engines which were initially wood fired before the advent of coal,” says Kissa.

Kissa who played for the national soccer team as a striker during regional soccer tournaments referred to as Gossage Cup was probably one of the most educated players at the time having completed class ten then known as Territorial.

He said the first Tanganyikan of African descent to drive the engine was Mr Yunge Mwanansali, also from Tabora, who played both for Tabora during Sunlight soccer tournament currently Taifa Cup and the national soccer team as a skipper.

Kissa said Mwanansali’s capability as an engine driver later opened the door for other Tanganyikans in the engine’s saddle.

“One can thus rightly say that football played a major role in introducing young Tanganyikans to other professions,” says Kissa.

Kissa who witnessed the development of the steam engine from wood to coal fired and later electric diesel that saw the arrival of the Canadian built engines says train transport was the most comfortable at the time much as it took quite a while from one point to another.

He said as time went by, educated former footballers became administrators in government offices, and particularly, in what was then known as the East African Railways and Harbours (EARH), a regional transport concern that operated buses, train, steamer services in the region’s water bodies and later planes through the East African Airways, EAA.

He says for one to succeed during the time, it was important to combine academic and sports excellence.

Unfortunately for Kissa he was forced to hang up his boots after criticizing the national soccer leadership over corruption that revolved around national team players’ allowances!

“Having exposed their dirty tricks, I realized that they would not give me an opportunity to represent the nation…so I decided to call it a day,” says Kissa visibly disturbed.

Much as Tanzania is not known regionally and continentally, as far as football is concerned, yet it was Tanzania that introduced to the region modernity and professionalism in the beautiful game!

A former Sunderland Sports Club fan, presently referred to as Dar es Salaam’s Simba Sports Club, Mr Aloyce Kalinga (deceased) said Tanganyika’s TPC was the first club club/team in East, Central and Southern Africa to put on proper football shoes and stocking in 1950s.

He said most football players during the time used to play barefoot with a few of them putting on some tarpaulin like material which came to be referred to as pats.

It was a vogue during the time for football players to round their knees and ankles with pats which offered them protection against thorns, course sands and sharp grasses on soccer pitches in the course of matches.

Kalinga said the TPC soccer club located at Arusha Chini, present Kilimanjaro Region was the first professional soccer club in the region, recruiting soccer players from Kenya and Uganda.

It is important to note that TPC players were paid salaries for nothing but to play football, and the team reigned in soccer in the region for many years.

One of the well known foreign players who played for TPC was Kenya’s international custodian, Ben Okoth who had the safest pair of hands between the posts.

Okoth played for TPC in 1960s, partnering with Kitwana Manara in the posts before the latter moved to join Dar es Salaam’s Young Africans where he later became a striker, turning into one of the most dangerous headers in the region.

“We first saw tracksuits from TPC players,” says Kalinga. Let him take over the story.

“The club (TPC) had come to take on Dar es Salaam’s big guns, Sunderland and Young Africans.

“We were surprised to see all 22 players in suits which we were told was referred to as tracksuits.

We wondered how they were going to play against Young Africans in such suits.

“However, immediately the referee summoned both teams to the centre of the pitch, ready for the start of the match, TPC players took off their tracksuits and remained with their uniforms!

This was another surprise to us. Indeed, little did we know that the players had worn their tracksuits over their uniforms!” says Kalinga.

Kalinga describes the donning of tracksuits by TPC players as the introduction of modernity in what has come to be referred by soccer fraternity as the beautiful game.

A few years later, other teams followed suit. The second local team to introduce tracksuits to its players was Young Africans. It all happened during their return home from a month-long tour of Romania in 1970.

Apart from introducing professionalism and soccer modernity in the region, TPC also employed the bulk of Tanzania soccer players who later formed the core of its national soccer team in Gossage Cup tournaments.

Some of Tanzania’s top soccer players who played for TPC included Mbwana Abushiri, Sembwana, John Lyimo, Mohamed Shariff (skipper), Kitwana Manara and Abdallah Aziz.

Mbwana Bushiri and Abadallah Aziz later joined the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces, TPDF, with the latter who was one of the most dangerous left-wingers ever produced in the country later rising to Lieutenant-Colonel in the TPDF.

Mbwana was taken on board in order to help the TPDF in forging its soccer team. However, for some inexplicable reasons, TPDF could not get what it wanted.

But, despite playing a pioneering role in the introduction of professionalism and modernity in soccer in the region, nationally, Tanzania continued to lag behind both Kenya and Uganda in regional soccer tournaments.

However, in 1964 and 1965, things finally changed with

Tanzania breaking the proverbial jinx!

This is when they lifted the coveted regional soccer trophy, Gossage Cup, after beating Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar.

The Tanzania national team was during the two years under the tutelage of a Yugoslavian coach, Milan Celebic.

Interestingly, 1964/65 would become a turning point in sports in Tanzania, for it was during the period that the country won back to back East African Safari Rally through its British drivers, Bert Shankland and Chris Rothwell who were however, driving a French made car, Peugeot 404.

Shankland who returned to Britain late in 1980s, was for over two decades the chief executive officer of Peugeot Tanzania Limited, an agent of Peugeot cars in the country.  

The two rally drivers’ victory in one of the world’s toughest motor rallies was the first to be recorded by the country.

Another Tanzanian driver who did well in such motor rallies by finishing the race inside the best ten for several years was Zully Rhemtullah.

Rhemtullah who lived in Mwanza during the time, has since moved to Dar es Salaam where he turned his energy in training indigenous Tanzanian cricketers.

Presently Rhemtullah is credited for turning around cricket, and it is a matter of time before Tanzania becomes a cricket power house in the world.

The motor rally which collapsed with the demise of the East African Community (EAC) in February 1977 was a fitting test of man and the machine.

Apart from East African drivers, the motor rally that drew many tourists to the region saw the participation of foreign drivers who had their cars flown into the region a few weeks before the start of the motor rally.

One of the regular foreign drivers who participated in the motor rally was Polish driver, Zasada who drove Porsche.

During the motor rally, every section of the region had its own motoring challenges.

Black spots in the rally route included the Ruwenzori area in Uganda, the dry, windy and dusty areas in most parts of Kenya and  the slippery section of the Usambara Mountains which tested, quite considerably, drivers’ skills negotiating their way through mud.

However, when all is said and done, motoring pundits were agreed on one thing, that the East African Rally was won or lost in Tanzania’s Usambara Mountains which was always characterized by heavy rains.

Rains could not be avoided during the motor rally for the simple reason that the event was held during Easter when most parts of the region experienced heavy rains.

Looking back with nostalgia at the period that was, apart from boosting tourism in the region, the motor Rally helped in cementing regional integration through the EAC.

Indeed, it was during this time that East African motor rally  enthusiasts turned out in big numbers not only to admire at the courage shown by motor rally drivers, but they also helped numerous cars whenever they got stuck in mud.

In terms of using sports as a vehicle for forging friendship with other countries the world over, both the government and Tanzanian sports organizations went to work immediately after independence.

For instance, some of the countries whose teams were invited to visit Tanzania for a series of friendly matches included Ghana, China, Britain and Brazil.

Ghana’s mighty national soccer team, Black Stars, was the first to make a tour of the country, beating their Tanzanian counterparts 6-1.

Next on the line was Britain’s West Blomwich Albion after winning the FA Cup.

The British soccer club currently in the Barclays Premier League visited Tanzania in 1968 and drew twice 1-1 against Dar es Salaam Combine and the Tanzania national soccer team, presently referred to as Taifa Stars.

Interestingly, all the two goals were scored through headers by the same player, former British international, Jeff Astle.

In 1970, the Chinese national soccer team toured Tanzania for a series of friendly matches against their Tanzanian counterparts.

And in 1974 it was the turn of Brazilian soccer clubs that included Galicia and Fulminense.

However, if there is any team that Tanzanians had for a long time wanted to see, it was Brazil during the hey days of the world’s soccer maestro, Pele.

Young Africans had planned to bring Pele’s club, Santos as far back as 1974, however, it was not until last year (2010) that the Brazilian national soccer team finally arrived.

The samba boys who took on Taifa Stars in a friendly match were then on their way to South Africa to take part in the World Cup hosted for the first time in history by an African country, South Africa.

Another first in the Brazilian/Taifa Stars match was the fact that the game was played in an ultra modern stadium built through Chinese government’s assistance.

 By Attilio Tagalile

      

Tanzania's fifty year sports landmarks

TANZANIAN women go down in the country’s history as the first to bring medals in the realm of international sports.

The first Tanzania’s medal in international sports, silver, was won in 1965, during the All Africa Games in Brazaville, Congo, through Theresia Dismas when she threw the javelin 40.24 meters.

The first spot went to Nigeria’s Helen Okwara who posted 40.30 meters and thereby winning gold in the event while Angelina Anyakwa, also from Nigeria, posted 39.48 meters, to clinch to clinch a bronze medal.

Theresia Dismas’ efforts in javelin won Tanzania the 9^th spot in the Brazaville All Africa Games, hence taking the second spot in East, Central and Southern Africa after Kenya who finished second after Nigeria.

Uganda finished third in the region after finishing tenth in the Games and this was quite a feat for a country that had attained its independence barely five years back.

It was not until 1970 that the first Tanzanian man, Titus Simba, won a silver medal in boxing during the Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Simba lost in the final of a controversial middleweight bout that many fans who had witnessed the encounter believed the Tanzanian had won.

The gold medal went to a Briton, John Conteh, who immediately after the fight tried to woo Simba to join his stable.

Conteh’s decision to seek the assistance of the Tanzanian pugilist as a sparring partner had followed his decision to turn professional after the Games.

Given the difficulty he had had in winning the bout, Conteh knew that with Simba as his sparring partner, he would be able to do well in the professional ranks.

Unfortunately, much as Simba had wanted to change his life by joining the British boxer, he could not since as a soldier in the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces, TPDF, it was not easy during the time.

In the soccer field, although Dar es Salaam Young Africans Sports Club became the first club to be closely linked with the continental club championship, then referred to as the All Africa Club Championship.

However, it was their arch-rivals, Simba Sports Club which became the first Tanzanian club to reach the quarter and semi finals of the continental club championship.

Young Africans were in 1969 knocked out of the tournament by Ghana’s Asante Kotoko through a toss of coin having drawn 1-1 in Dar es Salaam.

A fortnight earlier, both clubs had produced the same results when they played in Kumasi, Ghana.

In 1970, Young Africans were once again drawn against their Ghanaian counterparts and results were more or less the same, draw all the way from Ghana to Dar es Salaam!

Lack of experience in international sports management finally forced the Tanzanian club out of the tournament, for instead of pressing for a replay on the following day, they left the Ghanaians off the hook, giving the continental soccer body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) then under the leadership of an Ethiopian, Mr Tessema (and highly dominated by Egyptians) an opportunity to stage a play off in a neutral country.

After a month, it was decided that Young Africans would take on the Ghanaian club in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where cholera had just broken out!

The Tanzanian club’s effort to seek another venue failed, buttressed by the Ethiopian government’s promise that everything would be done to protect players from the two clubs from the disease.

Finally Young Africans were knocked out of the tournament when they went down by two goals to nil.

Interestingly, Asante Kotoko would go on to the quarter, semi final, final and win the continental club championship!

Three years later, in 1973, it was the turn of the Tanzanian athletes, and the stage was the All Africa Games held in Lagos, Nigeria.

These were the times when Kenyans through Kipchoge Keino, Charles Asati, Julius Sang, Naftali Temu held sway in athletic field continentally and internationally.

A young, unknown Tanzanian soldier, Filbert Bayi, from the TPDF (air force) who had until a few months back played as a goalkeeper for an air force unit was now challenging world champion Kipchoge Keino in the 1,500 metres race final.

The rest is of course history, for Filbert Bayi did not only beat Keino to become the undisputable new 1,500m Africa champion in a sensational race, but he also went on to introduce in international athletics the era of front-running in middle distance races.

Apart from Filbert Bayi, the other Tanzanian who won a medal during the Lagos games was Habib Kinyogoli.

The Tanzanian pugilist won a bronze in featherweight division, bringing the number of medals won in boxing since 1970 to two.

Titus Simba who had travelled to Lagos to compete in his favourite middleweight division was disqualified in the eleventh hour because of overweight in the division.

In 1974, Filbert Bayi repeated the feat, this time during the Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand where apart from Keino, he also beat other greats in the distance, namely John Walker, who had been widely tipped to win the race, and Jimmy Ryun.

What was more, Filbert Bayi did something else in the course of winning that historic race; he broke the world record in the distance by setting a new record of three minutes, 32.2 seconds which stuck for seven years!

Apparently, Filbert Bayi’s success in the event was not only noticed by sports fans the world over, but also by some world leaders such as Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Michael Manley.

The Jamaican prime minister phoned his friend, President Julius Nyerere to congratulate him on Bayi’s success!

Apart from Bayi, another Tanzanian athlete who won a medal during the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, a bronze, was Claver Kamanya who finished third in the 400m race.

Therefore Kamanya goes down in Tanzania’s athletics annals as the only Tanzanian who has to date won a medal in a short distance race, which is highly technical, in an international sporting event.

Through the Christchurch Club Games, Filbert Bayi would become the greatest athlete who had ever graced Tanzania.

Before the end of 1974, another Tanzanian team, Simba Sports Club set out to wipe out their soccer archrivals’ (Young Africans) success in continental club championship when they reached  the quarter and later, in the same year, the semifinal in the tournament.

Apart from surpassing Young Africans’ record, Simba scored another first over their rivals when they killed the Ghanaian jinx by beating Hearts of Oak, hence qualifying for the semifinal date date with Egypt’s textile team, Mehalla el Kubra.

Simba were however, later knocked out by the Egyptian club in the semifinal after failing to protect their lone goal lead scored a fortnight back through their striker, Saad Ally, in the dying minutes of the game in their first leg match played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Six years later, during the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games marred by boycotts by Western countries in protest over the then Soviet Union’s involvement in the Afghanistan war, Filbert Bayi won a silver medal, but this time in 3000m flat and his colleague, Suleiman Nyambui won a silver medal in 5,000m.

The two medals were first ever to be won by Tanzanian athletes in the Olympic Games.

Prior to the Moscow Games, United States had led the world in boycotting the Games, sent across the world, including Tanzania, former world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammed Ali (Cassius Clay), to persuade developing countries to stay away from the Games.

Interestingly, over three decades later the same country that had persuaded the rest of the world to stay away from Moscow Olympics because of the Kremlin’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan is itself presently involved in the same war and in the same country!

Apart from the Olympic silver medal, Nyambui won a bronze medal in 5,000m during the 1978 All Africa Games and twice finished first in 1987 and 1988 in the Berlin Marathon in the then West Germany.

Before the summer Moscow Olympic Games in 1980, Tanzanians were afforded another smile, in the sporting realm, when Tanzania’s national soccer team under the tutelage of a local Germany trained coach, Joel Bendera (currently the Morogoro Regional Commissioner) qualified, for the first time in the country’s history, for the Africa Cup of Nations currently referred to as Africa Nations Cup, AFCON, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Tanzania was however, knocked out in the preliminaries after going down 1-3 to Nigeria, drawing one all against the Ivory Coast and going down 1-2 to Egypt.

To qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania beat Zambia by a one goal to nil before the then Zambia’s first soccer fan, President Kenneth Kaunda.

The historic goal was slotted in by Peter Tino in a match played at Zambia’s sprawling Independence Stadium in Lusaka.

Since then, Tanzania has unfortunately failed to qualify for the continental tournament due to a variety of reasons that include, among others, poor preparations for qualifiers.

Other Tanzanian sportsmen who left their mark in athletics in 1980s included Gidamas Shahanga who won a gold medal in marathon in 1978 during the Edmonton Club Games in Canada and TPDF Lieutenant Colonel, Juma Ikangaa.

Juma Ikangaa won his first gold medal in marathon in 1982 when he posted two hours, 21 minutes and 05 seconds in the event during the All Africa Games held in Cairo, Egypt.

In the same year, Ikangaa who was then a young army officer in the TPDF, won a silver medal during the Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia during which he posted two hours, 09 minutes and 30 seconds.

During his long career as a long distance athlete, Ikangaa won gold medals in marathon during the Melbourne Marathon in Australia in 1983, World Athletics Championships in Helensiki, Finnland; in 1984 during the Melbourne Marathon in Australia and the Tokyo Marathon in the same year; and in 1986 during the historic Fukuoka Marathon in Japan.

The Fakuoka Marathon was historic for Ikangaa for the simple reason that it combined with the Tokyo Marathon to make the diminutive Tanzanian army officer the most well known Tanzanian in Japan!

Ikangaa’s fame would later earn Tanzania a piece of land on which the Tanzanian embassy was built in the country where getting a piece of land for putting up anything is extremely difficult!

In 1987, Ikangaa struck another gold this time in China when he won the Beijing Marathon.

In 1988, Ikangaa finished second in the world famous New York City Marathon and in the following year, in 1989, he finished first in New York City marathon.

Twice, in 1989 and 1990, Ikangaa finished second in the Boston Marathon, in the United States.

Like his predecessor, Filbert Bayi, Ikangaa was a front runner who did not believe in sticking at the back of the pack and breaking out a few kilometers before the end of the race.

He said such tactic has served him well as long as he lasted in the athletics realm.

Juma has since retired both from the race and the army as a Colonel, a no mean achievement both professionally and as an athlete.

In the words of former Tanzania’s Ambassador to Japan, Mr Lukindo, “Ikangaa’s victory in the Fukuoka Marathon and other aces in that country had transformed him into the best known Tanzanian in Japan.”

Ambassador Lukindo said the publicity work on Tanzania in Japan made by Ikangaa was such that it had surpassed that that had been done by Tanzanian diplomats.

Regionally, Tanzanian soccer clubs, led by Simba Sports Club and Young Africans have had quite a share in terms of winning the regional club championship, officially referred to as the CECAFA Kagame Regional Club Championship, with Simba leading in winning the coveted trophy more than any Tanzanian club.

Simba Sports Club also holds a record of being the only Tanzanian club to have reached the finals of Confederation of African Football, CAF, late in 1993 when they lost at home to Ivory Coast’s Stella Abidjan in the return leg held in Dar es Salaam.

Interestingly, Tanzania’s fifty years’ independence anniversary is concluded in the same way it was opened during its first decade, by women!

Indeed, just as Theresia Dismas had become the first Tanzanian and a woman to win a medal during the All Africa Games held in Brazaville, Congo, in the say way the fifty year mark is closed by a women team.

It would be recalled that a few months ago, the Tanzania national netball team returned home with a silver medal, just as Theresia Dismas had done over 45 years ago, after losing in the final against their Ugandan counterparts during the All Africa Games held in Maputo, Mozambique!

If history is to be repeated, then the national netball team’s feat in Mozambique means that it is now the turn of Tanzanian men to win medals having been ushered in by their sisters in the same way that Theresia Dismas had done in Congo Brazaville over 40 years ago!

 By Attilio Tagalie