Uchochezi wa Mohamed Said na dhihaka kwa Wapigania Uhuru wa Tanganyika na Zanzibar

Uchochezi wa Mohamed Said na dhihaka kwa Wapigania Uhuru wa Tanganyika na Zanzibar

Hapana labda wewe unaona hivyo. Nimeweka nikiwa hadhir kabisa. Huo ndiyo ukweli. Kama nisemavyo. Simo humu kufanya ubishi. Nipo hapa kueleza ile historia iliyokuwa haifahamiki.
Hakika Darsa lako ni zuri sana kwani umetujuza mengi sana ambayo wengi tulikuwa hatuyajui na umetujuza. Allah akuzidishie zaidi na zaidi insh'Allah
 
Mohamed Said anadai Raisi wa TAA mwaka 1952 alikuwa ni mtu mwenye akili nyingi, kipaji cha juu cha uongozi, mwenye haiba na mpenzi wa watu, Abdulwahid Sykes...sasa hapa swali linajitokeza, kwa nini uchaguzi ufanyike mwaka 1953 halafu mshamba moja wa bara asiyejua hata kuvaa suruali achaguliwe kuiongoza TAA? Mathalani hilo tuliache, kwa nini walioendesha harakati za kuanzisha TANU mwaka uliofuatia 1954 wampe uongozi huyo mtu?

Ikumbukwe kuwa baada ya Dr. Kyaruzi kupewa uhamisho, Abdulwahid Sykes hakuchaguliwa kuwa Raisi wa TAA, alikaimu tu...je yawezekana hakuwa na uwezo, sifa wala ushawishi kama Mohamed Said anavyojaribu kuchombeza? Itakuwaje vyombo vyote anavyodaiwa kuviasisi, anashindwa kuviongoza?

Mimi nabaki kumshangaa tu mzee Mohamed Said, nae hajui kuwa mimi namshangaa!
 
Hiyo hapo juu ni picha ya Baraza la Kwanza la Mawaziri wa Jamhuri ya Tanzania lililoundwa na Mkristo mwenye chuki na Waislaam, Raisi Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Kwenye hii picha idadi ya mawaziri Waislaam ni kumi wakati Wakristo ni tisa! Mwalimu mwenyewe kazungukwa na Waislaam tupu kulia na kushoto...linalosikitisha ni kwamba huyu mchochezi hakuwahi kuwahoji wahusika hadi wengine wao wanatangulia mbele ya haki.

Nawaomba wote jamvini wakati mnasoma hayo maandiko ninayoyaita ya kufikirika, kuna mtu anatajwa sana na Mohamed Saidi...huyo ni mzee marehemu Hamza Mwapachu aliyefariki Septemba 17 mwaka 1962, hebu pia pitieni na kumbukumbu hii iliyoandikwa na Andrew Bomani mwaka jana;

Hii picha mohamed said hawezi kuitafutia ujiko kama alivyozea maana inamsuta yeye mwenyewe...si ajabu alikuwa nayo lakini hakuitoa kwa sababu haionyeshi kutengwa kwa waislam na Nyerere mara baada ya uhuru...
 
Yericho Nyerere. Naona unatumia kila hali kutaka kuonyesha unaedai kuwa ni baba yako alikuwa sahihi lakin alikuwa na mapungufu mengi sana na mara nyingi alipenda sana kujiweka mbele katika kila kitu. Nimebainisha kuwa unayedai Baba yako Nyerere, kwa sababu nilipokuwa RDD Mwanza mara kwa mara nilikuwa nampokea Nyerere alipokuwa akitoka Dar kwenda Butiama na hata familia yake yote. Kwani walikuwa wanatumia ndege mara nyingi za jeshi la anga na kutua Mwanza kisha wanatumia usafiri wa gari kwenda butiama. Nimebainisha kuwa Historia yoyote ni kama pembe la ng'ombe huwezi kuificha na ndio hiyo siri sasa zimefichuka. Na kwa jinsi ninavyojua mimi kama historia hiyo ya Mohamed said angeitoa miaka ya 70's au mwanzoni mwa 80's basi wakti wa utawala wa Nyerere saa hizi nafikiri Mohamed Said Said saa hizi tungekuwa tunamzungumzia mengine. Kwani enzi za Nyerere hakukubali kabisa kufanya kazi na watu wenye akili na wenye kujiamini katika maamuzi yao. alipendelea sana kufanya kazi na waoga. na hilo ni tatizo kubwa linalowasibu wengi huko na kuwa wenye kulalama kila wakti wote. Kifupi alipenda kutukuzwa mithili ya Mungu mtu.

Kwanza weka adabu mbele ujadilianapo na mimi au mtu yeyote mwenye mang'amuzi ya nera, kisha punguza murkali na ukwale wa fikra!

Tuendelee....!
 
Hapana labda wewe unaona hivyo.
Nimeweka nikiwa hadhir kabisa.

Huo ndiyo ukweli. Kama nisemavyo.
Simo humu kufanya ubishi.

Nipo hapa kueleza ile historia iliyokuwa
haifahamiki.

Nashukuru ndugu yangu, nikweli kabisa umeeleza historia iliyokuwa haifahamiki,

Naomba nikuulize swali moja tu:

Umeamini ushiriki wa kanisa katika harakati za ukombozi Tanganyika kama nilivyoeleza hapo juu?
 
Nashukuru ndugu yangu, nikweli kabisa umeeleza historia iliyokuwa haifahamiki,

Naomba nikuulize swali moja tu:

Umeamini ushiriki wa kanisa katika harakati za ukombozi Tanganyika kama nilivyoeleza hapo juu?

Ndugu yangu mimi siwezi kulihukumu kanisa.
Kama nalo lilishiriki ndiyo hivyo lilishiriki nitakuwa
na haki gani kulikatalia?

Isipokuwa katika kitabu changu ''The Life and Times
of Abdulwahid...'' na katika Illife ''Modern Tanzanians"
Kanisa lilikuwa likikataza waumini wake wasijihushihe
na harakati za uhuru.

Historia ya Jimbo la Kusini 1955 inaonyesha kuwa Nyerere
alipofika Lindi hapakuwa hata na Mkristo mmoja wa kumsindikiza
misa ya Jumapili.

Ilibidi asindikizwe hadi ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki Lindi na Salum Mpunga,
Yusuf Chembera na wazalendo wengine.

Safari hii ndiyo iliyotumika kwa Nyerere kuvunja ngome ya Kanisa kule
kusini na baada ya hapo TANU ikaingia Newala, Masasi, Tunduru na
kwengineko.
 
Kwanza weka adabu mbele ujadilianapo na mimi au mtu yeyote mwenye mang'amuzi ya nera, kisha punguza murkali na ukwale wa fikra! Tuendelee....!
Naona sasa umeishiwa hoja ndo maana unaleta kejeli. Lakin siku zote ukweli unabaki kuwa kweli na uwongo mara zote unajitenga. Nakupa pole.
 

1. Kuendeleza mfumo wa kibaguzi katika elimu kama ulivyoachwa na wakoloni. Wakoloni wa kijerumani ndio walioanzisha mfumo wa kuwabagua Waislamu katika elimu baada ya kushinikizwa na makanisa. Ushahidi wa mashinikizo hayo unaweza kupatikana katika rejea zifuatazo: Cameroon and Dodd 1970:56, Kurtz1972:19, Smith 1963:16. Hatimaye kutokana na mashinikizo hayo serikali ilikubali kufaya yafuatayo:-


i. Kuwafukuza kazi Waislamu waliokuwa serikalini na kuwaingiza Wakristo (Tazama Cameroon and Dodd1970: 25, 56, pia Roland 1970:205)


ii. Kuzipa shule za wamisheni msaada wa kifedha kutoka kodi za wananchi huku wakizibagua zile za Waislamu (Tazama Roland: 1970: 205,na Cameroon and Dodd 1970:50)


iii. Kuweka mpango mkakati wa kuwabagua na kuwahujumu Waislamu na Uislamu wao. Tazama Roland 1970:205, Kurtz 1972:29. Cameroon and Dodd 1970:114


iv. Kujenga hoja kwamba Waislamu kwa asili yao si watu wa kuendelea na kuwa ni wavivu. Tazama E.B Castle 1966:37 ambaye anasema, “ Islam hinders progressive attitude to change in society and a community that accepts Islam is less likely to advance in social welfare and education”, Yaani Uislamu ni kikwazo cha fikra za maendeleo na mabadiliko katika jamii, na kwamba jamii ikiukubali Uislamu haiwezi kamwe kupiga hatua za katika ustawi wa na elimu. Pia Abel Ishumi 1980:208 anasema, “From the beginning Muslims were opposed to western type formal education”, Kwamba Waislamu walipinga elimu. Pia Abel Ishumi 1981:43, “Muslims believe highly in fatalism” Kwamba Waislamu wanabweteka na kuamini kwao kuwa mambo yameshakadiriwa.


2. Kuhujumu taasisi za Waislamu na kuweka viongozi mamluki. Baada ya uhuru Serikali ya Tanzania imekuwa na muelekeo wa kuziandama taasisi zinazoonekana kuwa na mipango madhubuti ya kuwakomboa Waislamu kuondokana na ujinga na umaskini. Rejea Bergan 1981:26 na Sivalon 1992:3 kuhusu kuvunjwa kwa EAMWS na kuanzishwa kwa BAKWATA. Pia soma Anuur na. 13 la Agosti 1992 juu ya taarifa ya Katibu Mkuu wa Baraza la Maaskofu Katoliki Tanzania (TEC) ya kuitaka Serikali kuifuta EAMWS. Pia tazama Njozi 2000:31. “Mwembechai Killings and the Political Future of Tanzania kuhusu kadhia ya kuvamiwa kwa Msikiti wa Mwembechai na hatimaye kuuliwa kwa Waislamu.

3. Kuhodhi mfumo wote wa elimu nchini. Tangu kuondoka kwa Mkoloni Wakristo wamekuwa kama mabaki ya wakoloni na ukoloni. Ukiondoa shule za msingi na sekondari za Kata, huko katika shule za sekondari za Serikali, vyuo vya kati na vyuo vikuu wanafunzi na wafanyakazi ni Wakristo kwa zaidi ya asilimia 80. Siku hizi katika shule za Kata wanafunzi Waislamu wameanza kuonekana. Katika taasisi za elimu mfano T.I.E, TEA, NECTA, Bodi ya Mikopo, I.A.E na vyuo vyote nchini, uongozi umekuwa ni mali ya Wakristo. Huko mwanzo walidai kwamba hamna Muislamu mwenye elimu ya kutosha kuongoza. Kwa siku za hivi karibuni madai yao kwa wale Waislamu wachache waliofanikiwa kupata elimu ni kuwa hawafai kwa vile wana, “udini”. Aidha katika Wizara ya Elimu (MOEVT) tangu Wizara hiyo kuundwa uongozi umekuwa mali ya Wakristo kwa zaidi ya asilimia 90. Nafasi kama ya Kamishina wa Elimu haijawahi hata kuwa na Kaimu Muislamu na wala haitarajiwi chini ya Mfumochristo. Nafasi za wakurugenzi nazo zimemilikiwa na Wakristo. Mfumokristo umejikita barabara. Uongozi wa Shule za Sekondari na Vyuo vya Ualimu nao umemilikiwa vilivyo. Nafasi za Maafisa elimu Wilaya na Mikoa na wakaguzi wakuu wa elimu wa Kanda kwa zaidi ya asilimia 85 zinaendelea kuwa miliki ya hawa Wakristo.

4. Kukataa kutunga sera za kuondoa upendeleo wa Wakristo katika elimu na kuendeleza ulaghai dhidi ya wananchi wasiokuwa Wakristo. Mara baada ya uhuru ilielezwa na viongozi wetu akiwemo Mwl. Nyerere kuwa serikali itachukua hatua kuondoa mpango ulioasisiwa na Wakoloni wa kuwabagua Waislamu. (tazama A. Jumbe 1994:123, Court 1976 na Nyerere in Hansard Desemba 10, 1962). Badala yake hatua zilizochukuliwa hazikulenga kuondoa tatizo la ubaguzi wa kidini katika elimu nchini na kuwaondoa pia katika ajira na madaraka.Mfano wa hatua hizo ni pamoja na:

i. Kufuta ada shule za msingi na sekondari miaka ya 1960/70.

ii. Kuweka kikomo cha elimu ya msingi kuwa miaka 7 bila kusita.

iii. Kuondoa mitihani ya darasa la 4 na 5. iv. Kuanzishwa kwa mpango wa UPE.

v. Kujenga shule za msingi za bweni kwa watoto wa wafugaji na wavuvi wanaoishi kwa kuhamahama

vi. Kutaifisha shule za binafsi zilizokuwa chini ya mashirika ya dini na watu binafsi. Mpango huu haukuhusisha seminari za Wakristo.

vii. Kupeleka wanafunzi sekondari kwa kigezo cha KUCHAGULIWA badala ya KUFAULU kulikoendana na kuyafanya matokeo ya mtihani wa darasa la saba kuwa ni siri.

viii. Kuanzishwa utaratibu wa “quota system” ambapo kila mkoa ulipangiwa idadi ya wanafunzi watakaochaguliwa kwenda sekondari.

ix. Kuweka utaratibu mgumu wa kuanzisha na kuendesha shule binafsi chini ya sheria ya elimu ya mwaka 1978, hivyo watu wote kulazimika kusoma katika shule chache za sekondari za Serikali

x. Kuanzishwa kwa shule maalum za vipaji katika miaka ya tisini mfano: Kibaha, Kilakala, Ilboru, n.k.

xi. Kutoa upendeleo maalum (Affirmative Action) kwa watoto wa kike kuingia sekondari na vyuo. Aidha kuwepo pia kwa mipango ya kuwasomesha watoto wa kike kutoka familia maskini.

xii. Ujenzi wa Shule za Sekondari za Kata. Sera hizi zote pamoja na nyinginezo hazikusaidia kuondoa uwiano mbaya au ubaguzi wa elimu kwa Waislamu. Tuangalie mfano michache ifuatayo: Ni ukweli usiopingika kwamba UPE awamu ya kwanza iliyosukumwa na UNESCO na awamu ya pili iliyosukumwa na Malengo ya Milenia (MDGs) na Mpango wa Elimu kwa wote (EFA) zimesaidia kuwahakikishia watoto wengi wa Kiislamu elimu hiyo ya msingi. Lakini sera hii ilikuja katika kipindi ambacho elimu ya msingi haikuwezi tena kumpatia mtu ajira katika sekta rasmi na hata ile ya binafsi.

Ikumbukwe kwamba katika kipindi hicho cha miaka ya 60 hadi 2000 nafasi za masomo ya sekondari ziliendelea kuwa haba. Wakati wote huu watoto wa Kikristo ndiyo walioendelea kufaidika na elimu ya sekondari. Masomo hayo ya sekondari hatimaye yaliwapatia fursa za kuingia vyuo vikuu na hivyo kuwa katika nafasi za kuajiriwa serikalini, kuteuliwa katika vyeo na nyadhifa mbalimbali huku Waislamu waliowaacha shule za msingi wakiambulia ajira za usafi na utarishi.

Naam, Mfumokristo umefanikiwa kuwafanya Wakristo kuwa warithi wa wazungu wakoloni na kuwaacha Waislamu katika hadhi lie ile waliokuwa nayo wakati wa ukoloni. Aidha kutaifishwa kwa shule hakujasaidia Waislamu kupata elimu ya sekondari kama inavyodaiwa kuwa Nyerere alitaifisha shule ili Waislamu wasome.

Kama tulivyoona awali kuwa tangu wakati wa Mjerumani serikali ya kikoloni ilikuwa ikitoa pesa kusaidia ujenzi na uendeshaji wa shule za Wakristo ni dhahiri kuwa shule hizi zilikuwa zimeshalemazwa na pesa za serikali kwa kipindi cha miaka 55, tangu mwaka 1914 hadi mwaka 1969 zilipotaifishwa. Tazama maandiko ya Katibu Mkuu wa Baraza la Maskofu Katoliki (TEC) Fr Robinson, D.W 1965:14 kwamba, “The Church is now totally dependent on State aid for the administration of these schools. If this aid were withdrawn the church will be forced to close its schools”

Yaani, Kwa sasa Kanisa limekuwa tegemezi kabisa kwa serikali katika kutoa pesa za kuendesha shule zake na ikiwa serikali itasita kutoa fedha kwa shule hizi basi Kanisa litalazimika kuzifunga. Ni dhahiri basi kwamba hatua aliyochukua Julius Nyerere ilikuwa na malengo makuu ya kuziokoa shule za Kanisa kufungwa kwa sababu ingekuwa jambo la kiroja kwa serikali ya Tanzania kuendelea kutoa pesa za kuendesha shule za Kanisa kwa wakati ule, na pili kuhakikisha kwamba malengo ya shule zile ya kuwasomesha Wakristo yanaendelea kutekelezwa kwa kutumia pesa za umma.

Kimsingi kilichobadilika ni jina la mmiliki tu uongozi na malengo ya shule yalibaki vile vile. Ndiyo maana hakuna mtu yoyote aliyethubutu au atakayethubutu kudai eti kwamba ukienda katika shule zilizotaifishwa mfano, Pugu, Minaki, Tambaza, Zanaki, Jangwani, Kibasila, Ilboru, Weruweru, Tosamaganga, Msalato, Umbwe, Ndanda n.k, utakuta idadi ya kuridhisha ya wanafunzi Waislamu wanaosoma huko. Lakini hata katika shule za sekondari chache mpya ambazo serikali ilijenga au kujengewa mwishoni mwa miaka ya 70, kama vile: Kibiti, Ruvu, Karatu, Bagamoyo n.k , kote walimu, wafanyakazi na wanafunzi ni Wakristo kwa zaidi ya asilimia 80.

Watoto wachache wa Kiislamu wanaosoma huko huonekana kama wakimbizi wanaosaidiwa katika nchi ya ughaibuni. Kuhusu kuingia sekondari kwa kigezo cha kuchaguliwa na mpango wa quota system, watendaji Wakristo waliojazana katika mfumo wa elimu nchini wamekuwa wakihakikisha kwamba Waislamu hawasomi kutokana mbinu zifuatazo:-

i. Kufanya matokeo ya darasa la saba kuwa ni siri hivyo kuweza kuibadili nafasi walizoshinda Waislamu na kuwapa wengine. Tazama ushahidi mzito uliotolewa na Njozi mwaka 2000; katika kitabu cha Mwembechai Killings and the Political Future of Tanzania uk. wa 62 -70. Hapa vijana wa Kiislamu waliofaulu darasa la saba walinyimwa nafasi kuingia sekondari na wale waliofaulu kidato cha nne walinyimwa kuingia kidato cha tano. Kazi hii ya kuwakwamisha vijana wa Kiislamu ilifanywa vyema na mawakala wa Mfumokristo waliojazana katika mfumo wote wa elimu nchini.

ii. Kuhamisha wanafunzi Wakristo kutoka maeneo yenye ushindani mkubwa kwenda Mikoa iliyokuwa na alama ndogo za kuchaguliwa kama Pwani, Dar, Lindi, Mtwara na Tanga ambayo pia ni maeneo ya Waislamu . Tazama Malekela 1983 in “Access to secondary education in Sub- Sahara Africa”

iii. Huko nyuma kabla ya wanafunzi kupangiwa shule za sekondari namba zao za mtihani ziliambatanishwa na majina ili kujua nani Mkristo apendelewe na nani siyo awachwe iv. Kuhakikisha kwamba viongozi na watendaji wa Baraza la Mitihani Tanzania (NECTA) wote ni Wakristo. Aidha kwa asilimia kubwa kabisa watungaji wa mitihani na wasahihishaji pia ni dini hiyo hiyo. Tazama kitabu cha Miaka Thelathini ya NECTA, 2004 au www.necta.ca.tz

Ndugu punguza hasira,peleka watoto shule na uone kama hawatafaulu kisa ni waislamu! mimi najifikirisha katika mambo matatu kuhusu ustawi wa kielimu kwa dini hizi mbili
1.Waarabu ambao ndio wa kwanza kufika sio Tanzania tu (Zanzibar na Tanganyika) bali Africa kabla ya wazungu, nikiamini uislamu africa umeletwa na waarabu,na ukristo umeletwa na wazungu;walifanya nini kuhusu kuuelimisha umma uliokuwepo kipindi kicho.
2.Tanzania nikiangalia kwa harakaharaka Matajiri wakubwa ni waislamu (sina takwimu halisi) lakini wamefanya nini kuendeleza umma wa waislamu kielimu? zaidi ya kujenga misikiti ya gharama kubwa tena bila hata shule ya chekechea pembeni mwake (Tofauti na wakristo).
3.Ubaguzi katika Taasisi za kidini,wakristo kwa mfano wako tayari kumfadhili mtoto wa kiislamu aliyefaulu vizuri katika seminari zao,wako tayari kumuajiri na kumlipa mshahara mzuri mwalimu wa kiislamu katika seminary yao,kitu ambacho waislamu ni aghalabu kukifanya na mifano ninayo.
 
Hii picha mohamed said hawezi kuitafutia ujiko kama alivyozea maana inamsuta yeye mwenyewe...si ajabu alikuwa nayo lakini hakuitoa kwa sababu haionyeshi kutengwa kwa waislam na Nyerere mara baada ya uhuru...

Sweke ndugu yangu una haraka sana ya kufanya hukumu.
Hiyo makala ya Andrew Bomani ni nzuri lakini ina makosa.

Tafadhali hebu soma bandiko hili ni refu lakini muhimu yapo mengi yasiyofahamika na wengi:

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[TD]''The changing colonial politics needed young blood with new ideas and vision to spearhead the struggle.

The colonial state was at that time continuously changing style, strategy and tactics in order to perpetuate its rule.

The old leadership in TAA, given its orientation and political background could not rise to meet the new colonial challenge.

Yet in spite of all this, it did not want to relinquish power. The result was power struggle between the German - educated elders and the British-trained young politicians of the calibre of Abdulwahid and Ally Sykes, Hamza Mwapachu, Tewa Said Tewa, Stephen Mhando, Dossa Aziz, James Mkande, and the five doctors-Joseph Mutahangarwa, Luciano Tsere, Michael Lugazia, Vedasto Kyaruzi and Wilbard Mwanjisi.[/TD]
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[TD]Amidst this power struggle and on the side of the up-and-coming young men was a Makerere graduate, a Digo from Tanga named Hamza Kibwana Mwapachu who we have already mentioned.

Mwapachu was employed by Community Development Department as Assistant Welfare Officer in charge of Ilala Welfare Center in Dar es Salaam. Mwapachu’s political career began at Makerere College where he was involved in student politics in the period between the two world wars.

In 1946 while at Tabora, Mwapachu was elected African Association Secretary with Julius Nyerere as his deputy. This was the time when the Makerere intellectuals [1] had started to show interest in the Association.

Mwapachu and Abdulwahid were very good friends. In 1950 Mwapachu was thirty-two years old and Abdulwahid was twenty-six.

These two would come to change the orientation of the TAA and create in the association a new kind of African leadership never experienced in the history of colonial Tanganyika.

But as fate would have it, both of them died young at the tender age of forty - nine and forty four respectively, and both of them were to be forgotten by history.

Neither of them would be associated with the modern history of Tanganyika.[/TD]
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[TD]When some of the Makerere graduates such as Mwapachu were thinking about effecting political change in Tanganyika through TAA, Abdulwahid had already built his own political power base in the politics of Dar es Salaam mainly from the influence of his father who had founded the African Association in 1929.

Makerere graduates were coming to Dar es Salaam, some of them for the first time, to take up appointments within the civil service in their different professions. Most of them were Christians and mission-trained.

These young men were cautious about politics. They were far from home and were just beginning life.

They had their own ideas about what they stood to benefit from the colonial government as civil servants; a loan to purchase a car, and good accommodation in African government quarters.

These were better than the mud and grass thatched houses of the locals; and for the lucky ones there was a trip to Britain for a course.

They believed that to indulge in politics was to rebel against the state and this could jeopardise their careers.

Many were of the opinion that to harbour such ideas was to tread on very dangerous ground.

They were the educated young Christian graduates of Makerere who had come to Dar es Salaam to work for some time and then to be transferred to other places for other appointments.

They were mission-trained to be faithful to the church and loyal to the colonial state. The Makerere intellectuals were not expected to bite the hand that fed them.

For an educated African civil servant it was not easy to feel directly the nature of colonial oppression and therefore to want to engage in politics against the colonial state and the status quo. [/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Abdulwahid, on the other hand, was a person of charisma, integrity, and selflessness, who soon won the confidence of the Makerere intellectuals and slowly integrated them in the politics of the municipality.

With his war experience behind him, the family name and his proximity to the TAA leadership, Abdulwahid became one of the budding politicians. Being the secretary of Al Jamiatul Islamiyya, Abdulwahid was able to forge an alliance with the Bohra Muslim community, then under the leadership of Abdulkarim Karimjee who was also the Mayor of Dar es Salaam. [/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Karimjee had known Abdulwahid for many years. In the mid-1930s at the opening ceremony of Al Jamiatul Islamiyya School, Karimjee was the guest of honour, and the young man who read the welcoming speech was Abdulwahid.

Abdulwahid was also acquainted with V.M. Nazerali of the Ismail Council who was also a member of the Legislative Council representing the Asian commercial class. These two Muslim communities were economically powerful but had limited political power.

What was important, however, was that these Muslims whose parents had come from the Indian subcontinent had maintained good relations with local Muslims and put their wealth at the latter’s disposal.

That Muslim solidarity later came to be perceived as a threat to the Church after independence.[/TD]
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[TD][/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Abdulwahid knew and was known by everybody who was somebody in Dar es Salaam.

It became a tradition that whenever a young man from up-country came to town, he would be taken by his acquaintances to Abdulwahid’s house at Stanley Street to pay homage and receive his first political orientation.

That was the time when these young men formed the Wednesday Tea Club, a circle of young British-trained intellectuals that met every Wednesday evening to discuss political issues over a cup of tea. [/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Abdulwahid’s house was also a center of socialising for the young intellectuals and their wives. Abdulwahid had very good relations and was at ease with a good number of chiefs.

Whenever they were in Dar es Salaam to attend the Legislative Council, Abdulwahid would seize the opportunity to invite them to his house for lunch or dinner and sometimes he would throw a party for them.

Hamza Mwapachu was a regular to these occasions. Among them were Chief Haruna Msabila Lugusha of Sikonge, the first Tanganyikan to qualify as an agriculturalist, and Chief Thomas Marealle of Marangu (Abdulwahid used to address him as ‘King Tom’, the reason being that the British wanted Africans to believe that it was only white people who could have monarchies with lines of kings, queens, princes and princesses. Africans could only have chiefs).[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Abdulwahid pointed out to his fellow young intellectuals that none of them had any executive post in the TAA, a place where all those debates on Tanganyika should rightly be taking place.

Reflecting on the promise made in 1945 at Imphal in Burma to turn the Burma Infantry as a base for a political party, Abdulwahid time and again discussed with his close friends Mwapachu, Dossa Aziz and his young brother Ally about organizing a political movement that would mobilise all the people of Tanganyika.

It is said that Mwapachu and a few others like Stephen Mhando were enthusiastic about this idea, but the other young-men particularly those in the civil service-thought it was unattainable.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Mwapachu’s office at the Ilala Welfare Center became the center for serious political discussions during the day.

In the evenings discussions shifted to Tanga Young Comrades Club. This was a popular meeting place of the African elite of Dar es Salaam.

The club was situated in New Street, a short distance from the TAA headquarters. Political debates and discussions either at Abdulwahid’s house or at Mwapachu’s office at Ilala Welfare Center or at Tanga Club gradually narrowed down to how the young men with vision of the future and the British-trained civil service bureaucrats could wrest power from the dead wood old German-educated leadership of TAA under its president, Mwalimu Thomas Plantan, and his secretary Clement Mohamed Mtamila.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]It was not as if Tanganyika at that time lacked issues to stimulate political debates. There were several issues which if manipulated by the TAA leadership could have aroused in the people a sense of grievance and resentment against the government.

One needs only to go through Mashado Plantan’s editorials in Zuhra to appreciate the issues that were floating in Tanganyika in the 1950s.

Plantan, with his Zulu blood in a peaceful country, turned his gun to game hunting. Plantan’s game trophies can still be seen in his house at Masasi Street, Mission Quarter. He spent most of his time in the bush hunting and therefore did not have time to call meetings or attend to TAA affairs.

The Association headquarters in Dar es Salaam seemed to be in deep slumber.

Correspondence from the branches remained unanswered for long periods. Worse still, there were no contacts whatsoever with the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations in New York under which Tanganyika as a Mandate Territory was administered.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]The social standing of the German educated Africans had many faces.

Schneider Abdillah Plantan had already shown his contempt of the British, for which he was detained during the Second World War.

His young brother Ramadhani Mashado Plantan had established his own newspaper Zuhra (Wanderer) which became the unofficial mouthpiece of the African Association. But they were now all old men. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Frustrated with the association’s political stagnation, Abdulwahid and Mwapachu, one afternoon without prior warning to anyone, crossed the road from the Tanga Club and stormed into the office of the TAA at New Street and staged a coup against the elected leadership by manhandling Clement Mtamila who was at that time at the premises.

During the war Abdulwahid had been his regiment’s boxing champion for both Kenya and Tanganyika.

Abdulwahid had therefore no problem in disposing of Mtamila.[2] Following this violent show of revolutionary force, the old leadership succumbed to the young men’s demands for elections at the headquarters. In March, 1950, a young Haya doctor of medicine, Vedasto Kyaruzi, and Abdulwahid were elected president and secretary respectively.[3]

When the young men took over the TAA, it had only eighty-seven shillings in its account with Barclays Bank.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]This was the beginning of the end of the influence of the old generation and the beginning of nationalism in Tanganyika. From that day Abdulwahid’s name, that of his young brother Ally, and that of Mwapachu began to be associated with the TAA headquarters and the emerging nationalist politics.

Abdulwahid was moving away from the political shadow of his late father to become a leader in his own right. Abdulwahid’s position as the secretary of Al Jamiatul Islamiyya and the newly acquired post of TAA secretary put him in good political standing.

He consolidated his own position and the family tradition of public service. Gradually he began to build a new and independent political base with the alliance of the Makerere intellectuals.

Some of the older politicians of the previous generation and acquaintances of his father like Schneider and Mashado Plantan and Clement Mtamila supported him and Kyaruzi in reviving the TAA headquarters.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]TAA Political Subcommittee, 1951[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]No records exist which show that the African Association had a clear official policy or programme on the country’s political situation. To understand the direction of African politics as they appeared at that time one need to observe the behaviour of the leadership and its reaction to different African problems. Abdulwahid’s first move was to form what was known as TAA Political Subcommittee[4] comprising himself as secretary; Sheikh Hassan bin Amir as the Mufti of Tanganyika; Dr Kyaruzi; Mwapachu; Said Chaurembo who was the liwali at Kariakoo local court; John Rupia and Stephen Mhando.

The task given to this committee was to deal with political issues in the country. The creation of this committee was a turning point in the history of organised politics in colonial Tanganyika. Throughout the entire twenty-five years of its existence, the African Association had functioned under a non-political constitution.

For the first time, in 1950, TAA under new leadership gave itself political status, not by changing the existing constitution, but by forming a political committee within the Association. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]The committee represented a diversity of interests and its members had different personal abilities and backgrounds.

Sheikh Hassan bin Amir, though originating from Zanzibar was the Mufti of Tanganyika and represented the dominant Muslim interests and the local political power base. Behind him were all sheikhs, tariqa khalifas, murids and the general Muslim community.

Thus were included the very few Muslim elite who, although not committed Muslims, recognised the power and force behind Muslim institutions. Said Chaurembo represented the Zaramo tribesmen of Dar es Salaam and surrounding districts.

John Rupia from Mission Quarter was a rich African businessman and party financier.

He was also representative of old and outgoing leadership. Stephen Mhando, a radical schoolteacher and outspoken Bondei from Muheza, represented the Makerere school.

Among the members of the committee Abdulwahid was the only person representing a multiplicity of interests. He was one of the party financiers, a member of the TAA intelligentsia and a leading personality in Al Jamiatul Islamiyya; he and Mwapachu represented young Muslim modernists.

The TAA political subcommittee merged young and old leadership; allied old Muslim conservatives to young Muslim modernists on one hand and the Christian elite on the other. It was the alliance that would lead to the defeat of British colonialism in Tanganyika. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Having established the political committee, Abdulwahid settled down to write to all TAA branches in the territory in order to revitalise them.

A major issue facing Abdulwahid and the political committee was the status of Tanganyika as a mandate territory. Abdulwahid engaged Earle Seaton; a lawyer from Bermuda based in Moshi, and attached him to the committee to advise them on constitutional law and decolonisation of mandate territories under foreign rule.

The United Nations Trusteeship Council had already sent its first visiting mission to Tanganyika in 1948; but not much was gained from this mission. The TAA headquarters in Dar es Salaam under Dr Kyaruzi and Abdulwahid with the backing of the political committee was now rising from its deep slumber.

What was now required were serious issues to stimulate the minds of the young intellectuals. The TAA leadership did not have to look far. These issues came in the form of the Constitutional Development Committee set up by Governor Edward Twining and the Meru land evictions.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tanganyika as a Mandate Territory[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Britain was administering Tanganyika under articles 76 and 77 of the Charter of the United Nations.

As the administering authority, Britain was expected to establish and promote political, economic and social advancement of Tanganyika until such time as its people were ready for self-rule.

In spite of this international commitment, the British were more interested in safeguarding their own colonial interests and those of other minorities but-not those of the indigenous African majority. [5]

In order to pre-empty African reaction to this injustice, in 1949 Governor Edward Twining invited proposals from prominent individuals, welfare societies and from Native Authorities,[6] as to how Tanganyika should be governed.

The TAA political committee submitted a memorandum to the Constitutional Development Committee which was signed by the entire executive: Sheikh Hassan bin Amir, Abdulwahid Sykes, Vedasto Kyaruzi, Hamza Mwapachu, John Rupia, Stephen Mhando and Said Chaurembo. [7]

In his annual report for 1950, Abdulwahid was to write:[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]“For the welfare of the Africans and to safeguard the interests of this Association and those of the African community as a whole, this Association has arranged for an advocate to stand by and to advise the Association on the technical side of the law.

This advocate is Mr. E.E. Seaton of Moshi. He has from time to time written to the Association on various political subjects, and helped a great deal with his advices when this Association was compiling its memorandum on constitutional development.” [8][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Abdulwahid realised that many of the problems in respect of the rights of Africans in the territory were legal issues which required the advice of legal experts.

For the first time, with the help of Seaton, TAA was able to confront the colonial authority with facts and figures illustrating injustices in the colonial system which were contrary to the United Nations Charter. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]In his analysis of the TAA memorandum to the Constitutional Development Committee, Pratt reported:[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]“The most detailed African submission came from the Dar es Salaam branch of the Tanganyika African Association. It asked that the distribution of seats (i.e. an official majority and one-half of the unofficial to be African) should be held constant for the next twelve years and that in the thirteenth year a common electoral roll should be introduced with a majority of the council then being elected.”[9] [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Governor Edward Twining’s committee ignored TAA’s recommendations. The government continued with its long-term plans of strengthening the positions of minority Europeans and Asians in the political development of the territory while pushing aside the indigenous Africans contrary to the United Nations Charter.

Many learned Africans were of the opinion that the TAA submission should have rightly formed the basis of the future constitution of the territory as a multi-racial society. But the spirit of that document did not die. It surfaced at the TANU founding conference on 7[SUP]th[/SUP] July, 1954 and was to form the basis of Julius Nyerere’s speech before the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations in New York in March, 1955. [10][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]After the failure of the TAA memorandum, the leadership at headquarters turned its full effort to establishing links with and gaining support from the United Nations.

These efforts bore fruit because the world body responded very positively by sending relevant reports and pamphlets of its different committees and agencies to the Association.

Unfortunately these reports could not be displayed at the headquarters for lack of space. At that time the TAA headquarters had rented some of its rooms to an Asian dhobi washer man and the house had no electricity.

These were hard times at the headquarters because TAA could hardly sustain itself, and was struggling to make do with a shoestring budget from donations by Rupia, the Sykes brothers, Dossa Aziz and a few other well-wishers. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Following this awakening of the Association, the government was alarmed and decided to transfer Dr Kyaruzi, the TAA president, from Dar es Salaam to Kingolwira Prison Hospital near Morogoro.

The colonial government believed this would take the wind out of the sails of TAA. With Dr Kyaruzi out of the way the TAA leadership at the headquarters would be weakened. But Dr Kyaruzi was not to be restrained.

He travelled to Dar es Salaam each weekend to confer with Abdulwahid. When the government realised that the transfer did not in any way affect Dr Kyaruzi’s contribution to the leadership of the TAA headquarters, he was transferred from Kingolwira to Nzega which was a remote place very far from Dar es Salaam.

Mwapachu like his colleague Dr Kyaruzi was ostracized to the interior of Tanganyika and the colonial government moved him from one place to the other to keep him on check.'' [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
(Excerpts from “The Life and the Life and Times of Abdulwahid Sykes 1924 – 1968
The Untold Story of the Muslim Struggle Against British Colonialism in Tanganyika,''
(Minerva Press, London 1998).


[1] The author has borrowed this concept from Judith Listowel who in identifying
the Makerere influence and school of thought in the politics of Tanganyika has labelled
the Makerere graduates of the 1950s, 'Makerere intellectuals.'

[2] Information from Dossa who witnessed the fracas.

[3] Information from Dossa Aziz interviewed in 1987. Also see Iliffe, ‘A Modern
History.
..’ pp. 507-508. Mtamila survived the turmoil and was the elder politician who
welcomed John Hatch of the Labour Party of Great Britain when he visited Tanganyika
in 1955 as guest of TANU.

[4] Annual Report of the Secretary of Tanganyika African Association, 7 January,
1951. Sykes' Papers.
[5] For a detailed discussion on the subject see Cranford Pratt, The Critical
Phase in Tanzania 1945-1968,
Cambridge University Press, London, 1976, pp. 29-31.
[6] Ibid p. 30.

[7]The author was for the first time informed of the existence of this document by
one of Mwapachu's children, Juma Volter Mwapachu. He was informed that Mwapachu
took great pride in having participated in the drafting of this document. In her book
Listowel mentioned this document and its historical significance to the political history
of Tanganyika. But it was Pratt who analysed the document in detail. The document
was first consulted by Pratt in 1959 in a file of the Committee on ‘Constitutional
Development Report/and Dispatches to the Secretary of State’ no. 1146-6, Dar es
Salaam Secretariat Library. Although this file is available at the Tanzania National
Archives, the document is missing. The author was informed that a microfilm of the
document was available but that too could not be traced. For more information on
loss of historical documents see M. Said, ‘In Praise of Ancestors Revisited’ in Africa
Events,
London March, 1989, pp. 50-51.

[8] Annual Report of the secretary of TAA, ibid.

[9] Pratt op. cit. p. 30.

[10] There are old men, TANU veterans, who believe to this day that the March 1955
speech by Julius Nyerere before the Trusteeship Council was written by Abdulwahid,
and so was the constitution of Tanganyika. The author has come across this story
several times in his interviews with early members of TANU. The reason for this belief is
that the document was drafted by the TAA Political Subcommittee in 1950.
 
Mimi nabaki kumshangaa tu mzee Mohamed Said, nae hajui kuwa mimi namshangaa!

Bwana Nyerere,

Mimi simo humu kufanya ubishi nani kamshinda nani kwa ujanja nk.
Nimeeleza historia kama ninavyoifahamu.

Ikiwa utaona niliyosema hayakubaliani na unavyoona wewe hii si
shida kwangu hata kidogo.

Sipo hapa kukutazama wewe.
Wanaonishughulisha mimi ni hawa 13,000+ wanaotusikiza hapa.

Mimi nazungumza na umma huu.
 
Yericho Nyerere. Naona unatumia kila hali kutaka kuonyesha unaedai kuwa ni baba yako alikuwa sahihi lakin alikuwa na mapungufu mengi sana na mara nyingi alipenda sana kujiweka mbele katika kila kitu. Nimebainisha kuwa unayedai Baba yako Nyerere, kwa sababu nilipokuwa RDD Mwanza mara kwa mara nilikuwa nampokea Nyerere alipokuwa akitoka Dar kwenda Butiama na hata familia yake yote. Kwani walikuwa wanatumia ndege mara nyingi za jeshi la anga na kutua Mwanza kisha wanatumia usafiri wa gari kwenda butiama. Nimebainisha kuwa Historia yoyote ni kama pembe la ng'ombe huwezi kuificha na ndio hiyo siri sasa zimefichuka. Na kwa jinsi ninavyojua mimi kama historia hiyo ya Mohamed said angeitoa miaka ya 70's au mwanzoni mwa 80's basi wakti wa utawala wa Nyerere saa hizi nafikiri Mohamed Said Said saa hizi tungekuwa tunamzungumzia mengine. Kwani enzi za Nyerere hakukubali kabisa kufanya kazi na watu wenye akili na wenye kujiamini katika maamuzi yao. alipendelea sana kufanya kazi na waoga. na hilo ni tatizo kubwa linalowasibu wengi huko na kuwa wenye kulalama kila wakti wote. Kifupi alipenda kutukuzwa mithili ya Mungu mtu.
Kwa kauli yako unatuaminisha kuwa wewe huna akili. Kwa sababu uliweza kufanya kazi na kumpokea Mwalimu uwanja wa ndege pale Mwanza, wakati hakutaka kufanya kazi na watu wenye akili. Duuh! Nauona uoga na ujinga wako sasa!
 
Mohamed Said,

Kuna watu wanataka kukutoa kwenye mjadala huu kwa kuleta kejeli, lugha ambazo siyo za kiungwana.

Wewe jikite zaidi kutoa darsa kwa hawa watu zaidi ya 13,000 ambao wanaofuatilia huu uzi.

Historia ya Tanganyika ilikuwa imefichwa kwa makusudi tunashukuru kwa kuwaleta wale waliotupwa kwenye historia ya Tanganyika.
 
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Mohamed Said,huo mjengo wa TANU ndio uliojengwa na akina Sykes au???
43+Bibi+Titi+Mohamed+(c).jpg
 
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