President Kikwete was apparently moved by the late Mzee Kawawa�s relatives who were sobbing uncontrollably when the body arrived at the Karimjee grounds at 02:10 pm for a public funeral.
Shortly after the vehicle had arrived, President Kikwete was seen wiping tears with a handkerchief. But he immediately regained his composure and continued to follow the prayers.
The body, which arrived eight minutes after the President had arrived at the grounds, was carried on the military jeep, escorted by six brigadier generals, three standing on each side of the coffin. At this time the late Kawawa's family members cried, prompting Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner William Lukuvi to calm them down and allow things to carry on as programmed.
The late Kawawa was seen off by former and present prominent government leaders at the Karimjee grounds, marking the passing of a great man, who served the country from its infancy. President Kikwete led government officials, diplomats, politicians and thousands of Tanzanians at the Karimjee grounds to pay their last respectS to the former leader.
The Karimjee grounds were enveloped in sombre mood with some mourners, including retired President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, faIling to hold back their tears. Some people later lined the Bagamoyo, Kawawa and Morogoro roads to pay their last respects to one of the respected leaders.
About 50 CCM youth wing members mounting motorcycles joined the motorcade from Lugalo Military Hospital to Karimjee grounds. President Kikwete was flanked by Vice-President Ali Mohamed Shein, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Nahodha.
Speaking after paying his last respects, Mr John Malecela, a former Prime Minister, said the country had lost one of the great people who contributed much to the country development.
"He was hard working and sacrificed a lot for his country, we will always remember his contribution,� said Mr Pius Msekwa, the CCM deputy chairman (Mainland). Mr Msekwa praised Kawawa's leadership, saying he was real �Simba wa Vita [Great Warrior]."
The presence of former and present prominent government leaders at the Karimjee grounds to bid farewell to him, marked Kawawa's death as a truly nation�s big loss and the end of an era as Tanzania.
The funeral ceremony was attended the top brass of the Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) and the Police Force who wore black armbands.
Kawawa presided over the creation of the current army and police force after the mutiny of 1964. He was appointed the Defence Minister and Second Vice-President in charge of rebuilding the forces in the wake of the mutiny. The Karimjee grounds were covered by thousands of white chairs and white tents stripped with Tanzanian national flags. At around 10 am the chairs looked like they could not be filled but at around noon there was hardly any chair left as people slowly but steadily continued to flock the grounds.
Speaking to the Citizen in tears after bidding farewell the chairman of the ruling party CCM Board of Trustees, Mr Peter Kisumo, said he knew Kawawa before independence as his leader in trade unions. "I am a trade unionist like him, he left us behind as our leader and joined the government and Tanu, I came to work with him again as my boss when I joined the government in 1963 as the regional commissioner and later a minister," he said. Mr Kisumo who succeeded Kawawa as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of CCM said under Kawawa�s leadership, an attempt by the then chairman of the Tanganyika African Railways Union, Ambassador Christopher Kasanga Tumbo to mobilise workers not to support Tanu was foiled.
For his part, Speaker of the House, Mr Samuel Sitta, said there is no better time to die but certainly this is the worst time for Tanzania to have lost a leader like Kawawa. "This is the time when the nation is marred by deep misunderstanding and divisions amongst its leaders, there is a high degree of greed for political power and selfishness within the upper echelons of power, a man like him could have helped us to go through all these things safely," said Mr Sitta.
Dr Salim Ahmed Salim said Kawawa was a man of punctuality, who worked tirelessly in fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Despite the unforgiving heat the ceremony was attended by thousands of people from both the ruling party and the opposition.