Abunwasi
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 25, 2009
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These Tanzanians are boring, shameful!
October 30, 2015 Written by Dimas Nkunda
I had come down to Dar es Salaam expecting some real-time action in the just-concluded Tanzanian elections.
Well, I have been thoroughly disappointed by both the leadership and people here.
These neighbours of ours are not serious, politically. First, they have all their former presidents living in harmony after ceding power – yes, I said ceding power. All post-Julius Nyerere presidents are alive and kicking. Ali Hassan Mwinyi served his term and passed the reins to Benjamin Mkapa who also passed the leadership to Jakaya Kikwete.
I thought this Kikwete man would prevail upon Tanzanians and do the normal thing – change that damn constitution and stand for another term or completely remove term limits. You are a president of a country; it’s up to you to know how to manage transitions. How can you in this age and times relinquish power?
This Kikwete man is really backward. He even says that ten years is enough for a president to accomplish what he set out to do for the country – really!
Let me educate you, Mr Kikwete! You need to have a vision; you can’t accomplish all you set to do in only ten years. Normal time to accomplish anything is about 30 years. Ten years and you are tired? At only 65 years of age?
Have you not seen people who are much older than you but still pursuing the ideals that brought them to power? And you want some other chap to take over from you? I don’t get it Raisi Jakaya.
I am even laughing; how can your people – Tanzanians – allow that to happen? They should have beseeched you to stay on as Baba wa Taifa (father of the nation).
They should have sent delegation after delegation to assure you that without your leadership, Tanzania would be no more. Now without changing the constitution, what legacy are you leaving behind? What are you telling your brothers under the East African Community? That Tanzania is different? It seems your country is ideologically bankrupt.
For us in Uganda who were liberated by Tanzanians in 1979, we abhor this exit behaviour. We thought that we were on the same thinking, since most of current leaders learnt their trade from Tanzanian trenches.
You even hold elections and a former prime minister, Edward Ngoyai Lowassa, is allowed to campaign? Surely, something is amiss. Former prime ministers are not allowed to stand. A former cadre of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) who defected to the opposition Chadema and you allow him to traverse the country seeking votes?
So, what does Ernest Mangu, the inspector general of Tanzanian police, do? Does he just sit back and watch Lowassa move around the country unhindered? What is the use of the police force, if not to arrest and detain Lowassa whenever he tries to leave his house, and generally clobber all those who claim to support him? Don’t you have tear gas? You guys are lousy!
How on earth do you hold peaceful elections without shedding blood? And you guys have guts; your ballot papers are not pre-ticked! And they are printed in safe places. Is there no Nasser road in Dar es Salaam to print those damn papers?
Even as the counting goes on in some areas, you announce, on the national broadcaster, areas that the opposition has won! I am either missing something or Tanzanians are not humans. No arrests, no pre-ticked ballots, no bloodshed, no change of term limits and all is calm in the country? How then will we achieve the East African federation?
Your police chief Mangu needs a few lessons from the region. He should consult a master of policing at a venue in Naguru in Uganda.
His entire police force failed even to undress at least one woman? What a waste of resources!
So, Mr Kikwete, what are you going to do next? Do you have a farm to retire to? How did you convince your family that being a president was tiresome and you wanted to rest? At 65, you still could have had another ten more years in power.
I had come to learn something about good elections from Tanzania; I have left a disappointed man. Let me leave Dar es Salaam and go back to Uganda where proper elections are going to happen. My stay here has been disappointing. Kwaheri (goodbye) Tanzania with your boring politics!
nkundad13@yahoo.co.uk
The author is a human rights expert and specialist on refugee issues.
October 30, 2015 Written by Dimas Nkunda
I had come down to Dar es Salaam expecting some real-time action in the just-concluded Tanzanian elections.
Well, I have been thoroughly disappointed by both the leadership and people here.
These neighbours of ours are not serious, politically. First, they have all their former presidents living in harmony after ceding power – yes, I said ceding power. All post-Julius Nyerere presidents are alive and kicking. Ali Hassan Mwinyi served his term and passed the reins to Benjamin Mkapa who also passed the leadership to Jakaya Kikwete.
I thought this Kikwete man would prevail upon Tanzanians and do the normal thing – change that damn constitution and stand for another term or completely remove term limits. You are a president of a country; it’s up to you to know how to manage transitions. How can you in this age and times relinquish power?
This Kikwete man is really backward. He even says that ten years is enough for a president to accomplish what he set out to do for the country – really!
Let me educate you, Mr Kikwete! You need to have a vision; you can’t accomplish all you set to do in only ten years. Normal time to accomplish anything is about 30 years. Ten years and you are tired? At only 65 years of age?
Have you not seen people who are much older than you but still pursuing the ideals that brought them to power? And you want some other chap to take over from you? I don’t get it Raisi Jakaya.
I am even laughing; how can your people – Tanzanians – allow that to happen? They should have beseeched you to stay on as Baba wa Taifa (father of the nation).
They should have sent delegation after delegation to assure you that without your leadership, Tanzania would be no more. Now without changing the constitution, what legacy are you leaving behind? What are you telling your brothers under the East African Community? That Tanzania is different? It seems your country is ideologically bankrupt.
For us in Uganda who were liberated by Tanzanians in 1979, we abhor this exit behaviour. We thought that we were on the same thinking, since most of current leaders learnt their trade from Tanzanian trenches.
You even hold elections and a former prime minister, Edward Ngoyai Lowassa, is allowed to campaign? Surely, something is amiss. Former prime ministers are not allowed to stand. A former cadre of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) who defected to the opposition Chadema and you allow him to traverse the country seeking votes?
So, what does Ernest Mangu, the inspector general of Tanzanian police, do? Does he just sit back and watch Lowassa move around the country unhindered? What is the use of the police force, if not to arrest and detain Lowassa whenever he tries to leave his house, and generally clobber all those who claim to support him? Don’t you have tear gas? You guys are lousy!
How on earth do you hold peaceful elections without shedding blood? And you guys have guts; your ballot papers are not pre-ticked! And they are printed in safe places. Is there no Nasser road in Dar es Salaam to print those damn papers?
Even as the counting goes on in some areas, you announce, on the national broadcaster, areas that the opposition has won! I am either missing something or Tanzanians are not humans. No arrests, no pre-ticked ballots, no bloodshed, no change of term limits and all is calm in the country? How then will we achieve the East African federation?
Your police chief Mangu needs a few lessons from the region. He should consult a master of policing at a venue in Naguru in Uganda.
His entire police force failed even to undress at least one woman? What a waste of resources!
So, Mr Kikwete, what are you going to do next? Do you have a farm to retire to? How did you convince your family that being a president was tiresome and you wanted to rest? At 65, you still could have had another ten more years in power.
I had come to learn something about good elections from Tanzania; I have left a disappointed man. Let me leave Dar es Salaam and go back to Uganda where proper elections are going to happen. My stay here has been disappointing. Kwaheri (goodbye) Tanzania with your boring politics!
nkundad13@yahoo.co.uk
The author is a human rights expert and specialist on refugee issues.
