Magufuli vs Lowassa

Sunday, October 25, is election day for our brothers and sisters of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Millions of voters will go to cast the ballot at hundreds of polling stations across the length and breadth of East Africa’s largest country and home of Mount Kilimanjaro and the famous Serengeti National Park.

Serengeti shall never die is the title of a great and memorable film I enjoyed during the 1960s.

The election is essentially between two political parties, the governing Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).

The presidential contest is a two-horse race between Dr John Pombe Magufuli of CCM and former prime minister Edward Lowassa of Chadema; both were senior officials of CCM and senior members of outgoing President Jakaya Kikwete’s cabinet.

Mr Lowassa was for many years the president’s right hand-man, like Amama Mbabazi from our neck of the woods, while Dr Magufuli, who holds a PhD in chemistry, was minister of Infrastructure.

As a Christian socialist and an admirer of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Tanzania has always fascinated me, especially since 1967 when Mwalimu Nyerere published a book: Ujamaa the basis of African Socialism in which he expounded the theory of African Socialism.

It is a book we studied in 1968 for a Political Science course taught by Prof Ahmed Mohiddin at the former University of East Africa, Makerere.

Mwalimu Nyerere proclaimed the Arusha Declaration or azimio la Arusha in Swahili in 1967 and it generated plenty of interest from near and far in African socialism.

In 1969, UPC launched the Common Man’s Charter, which was Uganda’s response to what was trendy in the 1960s.

Not to be left behind KANU, under the leadership of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, published Sessional Paper No.10 which was Kenya’s rather dubious blueprint for socialism, much as Kenya has been an avowed capitalist society since the 1960s.

Mwalimu Nyerere in his sometimes cheeky and humorous ways dubbed Kenya a man eats man society!

Tanzania’s elections will take place in a country, which was respected and hailed throughout the continent during the struggle for freedom, justice, human dignity, self-determination and independence in Africa.

Only Ghana under Dr Kwame Nkrumah got similar attention.

Tanzania’s leading role in the African revolution during the 1960s and 1970s was immortalised by Prof Ali Mazrui’s scholarly and thought-provoking article titled, Tanzaphilia: a diagnosis published in Volume 31 (1967) of a world-class quarterly magazine called Transition which was published in Kampala.

Prof Mazrui coined the term Tanzaphilia, which he defined as “the romantic spell that Tanzania casts on so many of those who have been closely associated with her.”

He argued that no African country had commanded greater affection outside its borders than Tanzania; the credit goes to Rais Julius Nyerere and wananchi of Tanzania who were incredibly loyal and enthusiastic followers and supporters of Mwalimu.

They wholeheartedly believed in Mwalimu’s words and actions. May Mwalimu’s soul rest in eternal peace!

Victory for Chadema is good for Tanzania
The East African newspaper’s columnist Jenerali Ulimwengu has argued that the stage is set for a gargantuan duel with Dr Magufuli banking on CCM’s traditional broad base and Lowassa counting on the platform of the Alliance for a People’s Constitution (Ukawa) and rising support for Chadema among Tanazania’s disgruntled and restless youth.

He narrates that many CCM cadres, including several MPs, have jumped ship and joined Lowassa in the opposition.

The election is too close to call, but according to Jenerali Ulimwengu, whom I met and interacted with at the UN General Assembly in New York in the 1970s, Lowassa and Chadema are likely to win the elections.

Many observers of the campaign believe that this may be the first realistic opportunity for change in Tanzania’s political landscape. It is not, therefore, surprising that many senior members of CCM are no longer at ease!

Uganda’s Opposition political parties should carefully watch Tanzania’s elections because there are many similarities and important lessons to learn from theoutcome of that peaceful and well organised exercise.

CCM for obvious reasons is the political party I would most likely belong to and vote for if I were a Tanzanian, but for the steady growth of democracy in that country, it would be good for Chadema to win the forthcoming elections of Tanzania.

CCM has held the reins of power in Tanzania since mid-1960s as successor to the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party of Zanzibar.

Fifty years down the road, CCM can afford to spend time in the opposition and reflect on many accusations which have been levelled against one of Africa’s great political parties, such as rampant corruption among its senior members.

A few years in opposition would, I believe, enable CCM to reinvent itself with a view to returning to its original socialist and revolutionary roots which made the party great and a pacesetter in Africa.

The time for peaceful change has perhaps finally come and I believe that such change would be good for democracy in Tanzania and for our region as well.

May I wish our brothers and sisters of the United Republic of Tanzania free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.

Mr Acemah is a political scientist, consultant and a retired career diplomat.
hacemah@gmail.com