INTRODUCTION
The writing of this book was basically influenced and inspired by President John Magufulis’s speech which he delivered at a ceremony held on November 12th, 2019; for the inauguration of former President Benjamin Mkapa’s Biography, or the written account of his own life and experiences as President of the United Republic of Tanzania (1995 to 2005), which is titled “My Life, My Purpose: A Former President Remembers”; when the President delivered a powerful speech, specifically calling upon all national leaders, both current and retired (like myself), to emulate former President Mkapa’s initiative by writing their own ‘autobiographies’.
Now, there are two ways of writing the story of a person’s life. He can either write it himself, in which case it will be known as his “autography” ; or it can be written by somebody else, in which case it will be known as his “biography”. In the light of some of the speeches delivered at the said event, it would appear that former President Mkapa’s new book is really not an ‘autobiography ‘ (written by himself). It is, instead, a “Biography” (written by somebody else). This is so because of the disclosure that the task of writing that book “was supervised and coordinated by Uongozi Institute, and that this task took four years to complete, at a high cost of Tshs 230 million”.
I was immediately persuaded, and desirous, of writing my own autobiography, in positive response to President Magufuli’s call; but these hidden factors, namely, the lack of professional manpower and financial support, such as was availed to former President Mkapa by Uongozi Institute, Initially, I felt severely constrained to undertake the said task on my own. But, eventually, I received an inspiration from a friend, who suggested that this task could still be undertaken piecemeal , through my regular weekly articles in my DAILY NEWS column titled “Current Affairs Corner” which, when eventually put together, could constitute the contents of my autobiography, or the story of my life written by myself. I quickly accepted his suggestion; and, consequently, started writing many such weekly articles relating to my proposed autobiography; in which I told the whole story of my life; starting from my birth date, onward. Fortunately, this methodology also gave me the added advantage of receiving helpful comments from friends like Joseph Sinde Warioba, who offered some very useful advise that led to substantial improvements being made in the final text as it appears in this book.
The work of re-editing those articles to make them suitable for publication in book form, has now been completed, and I am very happy that the intended book has now, at last, been published. The book also highlights some of my “low” points (of frustration and disappointments); as well as the “”high” points (of great satisfaction and pleasure). All such events are recorded in the appropriate places in the first Six Chapters of this book; which are followed by a final Chapter Seven, which records my activities during my retirement, period which I am currently enjoying; and, by the grace of God, still with the strength, and energy, to continue writing books like this one. God is indeed Great.
I must also acknowledge my extraordinary good fortune of having entered the Public Service of my country precisely at the time of great political transformation, from colonial domination to independence. This was a lucky coincidence that gave me the rare advantage of starting at the top echelons of the Public Service pyramid; and, by the grace of God, remaining there for the rest of my (unusually) long Public Service career, of a whopping five decades. As a result of this rare advantage, I know nothing about the ‘joy of promotion’ to a more senior position in the Public Service, because, having started right at the top, I never experienced any such promotion. All that I know, is merely changing roles, from one top-level appointment, to another top-level appointment of equivalent status. I consider this to have been a manifest demonstration of confidence in me, by the relevant Heads of State (who were my appointing Authority in each and every case). These were: President Julius Nyerere ( for the variety of appointments during the first and second decades of my Public Service career, (1960 to 1980); Followed by President Jakaya Kikwete (for my appointment as Vice-Chairman of Chama cha Mapinduzi for Tanzania Mainland; and later as Chancellor of the Cooperative University, Moshi, during the sixth decade (2000 to 2010); and, finally, President John Pombe Magufuli (for my appointment as Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Mbeya, during my retirement period (2010 to 2020).
The book has been written in the format of a historical record, covering a period of five decades, from 1960 to 2020. My use of this methodology was influenced by the statement of one wise man, who is on record as having said that “History is too important to be left to Historians alone”. It is, indeed, precisely for that reason; that the book is dedicate to our young generation readers , who may benefit from the lessons that may be learnt from the experiences, and specifically from the rich political history, which are succinctly narrated herein.
A PROFILE OF UKEREWE DISTRICT, MY BIRTH PLACE.
I was born of Parents who were residents of Ukerewe District, Mwanza Region. Ukerewe District is a collection of some 38 Islands big and small, some of which, at the time of writing this book, are still uninhabited. The demographic profile of Ukerewe District demonstrates that it is a true reflection of the very wide distribution of different tribal groups within Tanzania Mainland. And, despite its tiny land mass of only 640 square kilometers, (of the relatively larger inhabited Islands of Ukerewe itself; Ukara; Bwiro; Kamasi; Sizu; and Kweru; yet even in those early days when I was growing up, its population was already composed of several different tribal groups; all of them being immigrants from the neighbouring Regions surrounding Lake Victoria. There were the ruling “Abasilanga” ethnic goup that had immigrated into Ukerewe Island from the Bukoba side of Lake Victoria, (but these were subdivided into smaller clans of Abasumba, Abazigu Abakula, and several others).
The other two major tribal groups inside Ukerewe Island, were the Abajita; and the Abaruri; who immigrated from the Mara side of the Lake. My father’s parents had belonged to the Abaruri tribal group; but they reported entered Ukerewe long before my father was born, circa the year 1890, or thereabout. When he subsequently got married, my father was married to a woman who belonged to the Abazinza tribal group, which had immigrated into Ukerewe Island from the Biharamulo, which was also on the Bukoba side of Lake Victoria.
However, the people residing on Ukara Island, present a totally different picture. They have their own language; through which they call their tribe “Abalegi” ; while they are called “Abakara” in the language of the ruling Abasilanga of Ukerewe Island; which means “ancient people”. The place from where they immigrated into Ukara Island, is not known.
The Abalegi of Ukara had their own Chief (at that time Chief Mataba); and they also had a horrifying tribal culture of their own; in which some clans had the magical power to be able to domesticate crocodiles, to which they could assign certain specific tasks, such as transporting any person wanted by the clan for evil purposes , across the waters of the lake, completely unharmed !
While another clan was reputed to possess the magical power of being able to command a huge stationary granite rock, to twist and dance in order to entertain visitors; by just uttering a given formula, in the tribal dialect; and the rock would obediently respond to that command, and stop only when ordered to do so, by the clan commander present at the venue.
This form of entertainment can still be witnessed even today, in the year of our Lord 2020.
Each of the tribes in Ukerewe Island, also had their own languages or dialects; but the dominant language was “Kikerebe”, the language of the ruling Abasilanga tribe; which was adopted by the catholic Missionaries who came to Ukerewe, for use as the only local language of religion in the whole District, including Ukara Island. Thus, all the prayer books, and the hymn books, were printed in Kikerebe, and was the only language used in preaching the Holy Gospel to their faithful; and in teaching all those adults seeking to convert to Catholicism, including my father.
My father was quickly attracted by the teachings of these Missionaries, and was soon converted. After he had fulfilled all the stringent requirements for Baptism, he was baptized at Kagunguli Mission, with the Chief of Ukerewe himself, Chief Gabriel Ruhumbika, as his baptismal father, commonly referred to as “Godfather”.
He was subsequently married to a catholic Christian woman, Philotea Bwizula, who became my mother, the second born in a family of four children. Our last born brother, Privatus Bagaile, departed from this world in 1992. But, by the grace of God, the three of us are still surviving, at the time of writing this book.
Learning the tribal customs and customary laws.
Presumably like every other child, when I reached the ‘age of learning’; my close relatives started teaching me the most essential, “must know” tribal customs, starting with how to greet people. This turned out to be rather complicated; when I discovered that the words to be used in greeting people, largely depend on three separate factors, all of which you must therefore know in advance, before you greet that person.
They are the following: One, the age of the person who is being greeted ; two, the gender of that person; and three, the relationship between you and that other person. This last one is exceedingly difficult for a person like me, who was spending long periods away from home pursuing Secondary and later University education. it was just not possible to know all my clan relatives, especially those new relations that are brought about by marriages.
In addition, this ‘relationship through marriage’, was further complicated by the fact that, because of its insular nature, plus its the very small resident population at the material time, marriage between clan members was allowed, and widely practiced.
This resulted in multiple relationships between people, in which, for example, one person who was a cousin, suddenly became a brother-in-law at the same time.
But an added complication was that, even among relatives, the form of greetings differs significantly between the different categories of relatives. Thus aunts, despite their female gender, are greeted like male persons, using the same words “kampire bwacha sugu”; while brothers-in law and sisters-in-law, despite the gender or age differences, are also greeted by using the same single word: “suula” . Wow !
My two sisters were given similar tuition with regard to greetings. But in addition, they were introduced to the strict customs and practices, which were applicable only to women.
They were told, for example, what foods women must not eat; and the forbidden items included chicken, eggs, plus certain selected types of delicious fish ! Furthermore, they were warned that they must never, ever, get pregnant before they are properly married;; plus being informed of the mandatory, severe punishments, that are applicable to such shameful conduct.
However subsequently, through my own observations as I grew up, I came to learn also about some criminal customs, and evil practices, of killing any child who was born with a skin disability (called ‘zeru zeru’ in Kikerebe); plus any conjoined twins. The place used for carrying out this criminal practice, was one tiny, isolated, uninhabited Island named Kalita, (which literally means “the place that kills”); where such unwanted newly born children were secretly taken, and just abandoned for them to die there !
I also came to learn about the existence of a strange custom, or practice, of assigning a male relative, to go and “protect” a woman who is married in the family from any danger; whenever their husbands travelled out of their houses. Thus, it was mandatory for such travelling husband to inform his relatives in advance of his travel plans, so that they could make the necessary arrangements for the male relative who would undertake such “protection” duties during his absence.
I came to learn further, that the Chiefdom of Ukerewe was a vast empire, extending far beyond the borders of Ukerewe Island itself, to include the whole of the present Mwibara parliamentary constituency in Bunda District.
And also that the Chief of Ukerewe (Omukama), had a very special, dignified social status, which was very different from that of his subjects. And this was manifestly demonstrated through the use of specially designed Kikerebe words, to describe the Chief’s ordinary human activities; like eating, sleeping, and even dying. Thus, unlike us ordinary folks who go to sleep, which in ordinary Kikerebe is is “kunagila” ; the same activity was described differently as “kulehya” in respect of the Chief. Similarly, when the Chief was having his meals, for which the ordinary Kikerebe word is “kulya”, but for the Chief, the correct royal word is “kuboneka”.
And when the Chief eventually died, for which the ordinary word is “kufwa, the right word for the Chief, is “kugaba engoma” (to pass on the royal Drum).
The other customs which were applicable only for the Chief, included his hair cutting ceremony. Thus, whenever the Chief wanted to have his hair cut, he was taken to another isolated uninhabited Island called “Chehumbe”, that was rserved specifically for that purpose. The Chief would not have his hair cut in public, where his subjects might watch this presumably sacred royal action !
For most people today, these antiquated customs and practices probably have no value whatsoever., apart from the entertainment of reading them as ancient stories. But they may still have much greater academic value for historians and anthropologists.
These then, are the extraordinary circumstances and surroundings in which I grew up in Ukerewe Island. And in addition, there was the widespread fear of witchcraft, that also had a negative influence on many peoples’ lives.
However in my case, it is only fortunate that, because of my very early admission into boarding Schools at the age of only ten years, which necessitated my departure from Ukerewe and absence from there for long periods of time; these general witchcraft fears, and the other negative influences, did not affect me to any damaging extent.
But there were also other, helpful influences, to which I became positively exposed. The most important was the existence in Ukerewe, (even in those early times when the educational development initiatives were just beginning to be taken by the catholic Missionaries), of persons who were endowed with rare academic abilities and talents. In that connection, the name of one Aniceth Kitereza quickly comes to mind. This man was endowed with some extraordinary talents. It is reliably reported, that he was adopted for sponsorship by the progressive Chief Ruhumbika of Ukerewe, who sent him to be educated at a senior catholic Seminary in Bukoba; where Kitereza learnt the Latin language, and imbibed enough of it to be able to translate some of the Holy books, from Latin into the Kikerebe language, and successfully retaining the sophisticated liturgical concepts contained therein.
But this industrious Kitereza, did more than that. He also wrote, and published a literature novel in the Kikerebe language, titled “Bwana Myombekele na Bibi Bugonoka. Ntulanalwo na Bulihwali”; in which he succinctly narrates, in very great detail, the cultural life of one Mkerebe man (Bwana Myombekele), and his family. His book is certainly worth reading.
But the mere presence of this highly talented person, plus the great enthusiasm and immense amount of energy that he invested in writing those works , created a huge, positive, and long lasting impression and influence, on my young mind; which has remained intact until now.
It has been said by some keen observers, that ‘compared with the other Districts of Tanzania individually, Ukerewe has produced an unusually large number of University professors (reportedly over 60 at the time of my ultimate retirement from the Public Service); either whose origin is Ukerewe District (including the former Ukerewe Chiefdom which extended into the Majita area of the present Bunda District), or are somehow closely connected with its distinctive “fish-eating culture”.
Could perhaps this “ Kitereza talent factor” provide a plausible confirmation of this rather unusual phenomenon, which appears to be connected with the fish eating culture?
CHAPTER ONE
MY EARLY YEARS, THE LONG JOURNEY THROUGH EDUCATION, AND INITIAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
The beginning of the story of my life.
Reliable records preserved at the Catholic Church establishment at Kagunguli Parish, Ukerewe District; show that I was born on Saturday, 9th June, 1935, and was baptized only three days later on Tuesday, 9th June, 1935. I was the second born in a family of four children of our parents: Laurenti Chipanda and Philotea Bwizula, both residents of Bugombe village; who were then working as ordinary peasant farmers producing food crops, mainly cassava and millet, plus cotton as a cash crop. I am currently a pensioner, earning the decent, statutory pension, of a retired Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania. I also have two retirement homes: one in Ukerewe (my birth place); and the other in Dar es Salaam (where I lived for most of my working life in the Public Service).
My main preoccupation in retirement , is the writing of books, plus weekly articles, which are published in the Government owned DAILY NEWS every Thursday. These will eventually also be published in book form, to join the list of several other books that I have already published. These include: my first book to enter the market, which was titled “Towards Party Supremacy”, published by Eastern Africa Publications, Dar es Salaam. This was followed by the “Education Policy Formation Before and After the Arusha Declaration”, published by Black Star Agencies, Dar es Salaam in 1979. My next book on the market was “ Essays on the transition to multi-partysm in Tanzania” , published by Dar es Salaam University Press in 1995.
Then came the “Reflections on the First Multi-Party Parliament (1995 – 2000); also published by Dar es Salaam University Press in 2000. This was followed by “Reflections on the First Decade of Multi-Party Politics in Tanzania, published by Plus International Limited, Dar es Salaam in 2006, and subsequently by Nyambari Nyangwine Publishers, Dar es Salaam.
The next one wa “Uongozi na Utawala wa Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, published by Nyambari Nyangine Publishers, Dar es Salam in 2012. The next one was “The Story of the Tanzania Parliament”, also published by Nyambari Nyangwine Publishers, Dar es Salaam, in 2012. That is the year when I retired from my last public service position as Vice-Chairman of Chama cha Mapinduzi for Tanzania Mainland; and started writing my weekly articles for publication in the DAILY NEWS.
My early years: the long journey through education.
When I attained the age of five years in 1940, my father sent me to a kindagarten school operated by the missionaries at Kagunguli Parish, in preparation for my entry to the four-year primary school education (standard One to Four) at the same venue, which I commenced in 1943, and completed in 1946; after which there was a competitive examination, which was the qualifying test for entry into the Missionary operated Secondary School (Standards Five to Ten), located at Nyegezi, in Mwanza District; after which there was yet another competitive “Territorial Standard Ten Examination” administered by the Government of Tanganyika; which was the qualifying test for entry into the higher level Secondary education (Standards Eleven and Twelve); after which there was the even more competitive “Cambridge School leaving Examination”, administered by the British colonial Authorities; which was the qualifying test for entry to University-level education.
By the grace of God, I passed all these examinations at each level, and with the highest grades, that easily qualified me for advancement to the next higher level of learning; and eventually graduated from Makerere College, (the University College of East Africa affiliated to London University), with Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in History, in March 1960.
Some memorable events during that period.
One particular event that directly and effectively affected my life at that early stage, was the death of my father Laurenti, which occurRed in Musoma Government Hospital, where he had been taken for treatment. This happened in early January 1948, just as the Christmas and New Year School holidays were coming to an end. I had, by then, completed Standard Seven at Nyegezi Secondary School, and was anxiously waiting for my sick father to come back, for him to give me the school fees for the School year that had just started, in which I would enter Standard Six. Then on one cruel day, my uncle, who had travelled to Musoma Hospital on hearing that his brother’s health had deteriorated, returned to our house with the bad news of my father’s death. We were thus suddenly grief-stricken, and entered the stipulated traditional period of mourning. That was the first “low” point in my point in my life. The loss of one’s parent is always grievously disconcerting. But for me personally, I had also lost the sole benefactor, who was paying for my education fees and other expenses. It was a moment of despondency and despair. I actually gave up hope of returning to School, and came to the conclusion that the death of my father had also meant the end of my educational career. However, unbelievably, and indeed most fortuitously, God’s miracle unexpectedly occurred very quickly thereafter, in the form of an unsolicited, anonymous benefactor, who suddenly emerged on the scene in the most unusual circumstances, as detailed here below.
The appearance of an unsolicited benefactor.
Then, miraculously, came the extraordinary “high” point. By some miraculous coincidence, it so happened that when our family was still mourning the death of my departed father, an Indian Merchant who was operating a business in Ukerewe, whose name was Walji Ratanji Rughani, ( he was one of about three hundred or so Indians of mainly of Gujerati descent, then living and working in Ukerewe, as traders). This Mr. Walji one day decided, entirely on his own volition, to visit the Catholic Missionary Parish Priest of Kagunguli Parish, a French Canadian whose name was Father Vachon. Mr. Walji had gone there, surprisingly enough, in order to make an offer of scholarships which he said he was willing and ready, to grant to some deserving students of Ukerewe. He reportedly told the Parish Priest that “Because he had earned his considerable wealth in Ukerewe, it was his wish and desire, to express his gratitude to the people of Ukerewe, who were his primary customers and had, through their continued dedicated support, enabled him to acquire the wealth that he had accumulated”. He went on to tell the Parish Priest that to start with, he was going to offer a total of ten scholarships to the students of Kagunguli School, but would start immediately by offering two scholarships, for a boy and a girl. He asked the Parish Priest to select the two candidates, and give them letters of introduction, which they should personally bring to him at his shop.
Mr. Waljis’ visit to the Parish Priest, turned out to be my magical “lucky charm”. Fortunately, the Priest was personally aware of my plight. (I had been a good ‘altar boy’ prior to my transfer to Nyegezi Secondary School, so he knew me personally). He therefore immediately sent for me , to deliver the news that I had been selected as the first recipient of Mr. Walji’s scholarships. He also gave me the requisite introductory letter, which I delivered to Mr. Walji first thing in the morning of the next day.
And that is how I found myself in the caring hands of this public spirited benefactor, who actually paid for all my educational requirements, all the way until my graduation at Makerere University College. That is what literally saved my education career, which otherwise would have ended at Standard Five. In view of my father’s death that had just occurred, this was a most appropriate, and indeed most welcome, condolence gift. Another event, equally pleasant and welcome, also occurred in the course of my studies at Nyegezi Secondary School. This was when I was unexpectedly declared the sole winner of a School Award, designated as “Tuzo ya Tabia Njema”. We were subsequently informed that the procedure for this Award was for each of our Teachers, working alone and without consulting any other person, to make a candid assessment of each of the students he was teaching in class, on the basis of certain specified benchmarks, relating to outstanding academic performance, plus the general conduct and behaviour of the student being assessed.
In terms of academic performance, I had apparently been placed on top of all the students in the whole School, for proficiency in the English language; apart from scooping excellent marks in all the other areas that were being assessed. News of this award highly impressed my benefactor Mr. Walji, who made a special trip to the School, in order to hear it live from the Headmaster. And as for myself, this Award spurred me to even greater efforts, enabling me to emerged top of our class in the final Government Territorial Standard Ten Examinations.
However, to Mr. Waji’s great disappointment, none of the other recipients of his scholarships ever made it to the apex of the educational pyramid, like myself; just because of the very tough competition, through examinations, which a student had to pass with distinction in order to qualify for the very few places that were available at each stage of the educational ladder.