Kikwete`s trick averts graft in NEC elections

By Dickson Ng`hily

13th November 2012

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President Jakaya Kikwete

The ghost of bribery and fraud in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) National Executive Committee (NEC) elections failed in its bid yesterday following unexpected changes to the election’s schedule.

According to a reliable anonymous source at the CCM Headquarters here, some candidates who were out to bribe their way into NEC were left flabbergasted after hearing the changes.

“Some of the candidates knew that the election would have been held today (yesterday) as set on the schedule, but when the chairman arrived he advised the Central Committee (CC) to move the vote back one day,” he said.

“The change was a big blow as the candidates as well as the delegates were informed on Sunday that the election would be held on the very same day…so there was no room for the candidates to grease the palms of the delegates,” said the source.

It was reported that Kikwete’s trick was aimed at fighting corruption which was witnessed during elections in the party’s Women Wing (UWT), Youth Wing (UVCCM) as well as the Parents Wing (Wazazi).

Graft allegations in this year’s elections were first heard from candidates who lost the battle and in speeches by President Kikwete during the opening and the closing of UWT, UVCCM and Wazazi election meetings.

Kikwete warned members that the scourge of corruption threatened to tear apart the country’s oldest political party.

“A party whose cadres are alleged to have been elected through bribery have no place as citizens will look down on them as bad leaders,” he said.

According to unofficial results, 10 seats for the NEC Tanzania Mainland known as ‘The Group of Death”, have been won by Stephen Masatu Wassira followed by Mwigulu Nchemba, Martin Shigela, William Lukuvi, Bernard Membe, Dr David Mathayo, Jackson Msome, Wilson Mukama and Dr Fenela Mukangara.

Those who lost out include Otieno Baraka, Shy-Rose Bhanji, Hadija Faraji, Nicholaus Haule, Dr Hussain Hassan, Rashid Kakozi, Godwin Kunambi, Twalihata Kakurwa, and Anna Magowa.

Others are William Malecela, Salehe Mhando, Ruth Msafiri, Assumpter Mshama, Kesi Mtambo, Christopher Mullemwah, Mwanamanga Mwaduga, Fadhiri Nkurlu, Innocent Nsena, Nussura Nzowa, Richard Tambwe, and Tumsifu Mwasamale.

President Kikwete told the delegates that the winners will be declared today after voting for the national chairman and the two vice chairmen.

Earlier, CCM’s spokesman Nape Nnauye told journalists: “We started our meeting yesterday (Sunday), and so far everything has been conducted the way we planned and we hope to finish tomorrow (today) after we have voted in the Chairman and his two lieutenants.”

The early years (1991-1998)

Sky Television did not originally launch with a sports channel of their own - though sports programmes were occasionally broadcast on Sky Channel - but instead chose to invest in Eurosport instead, which was marketed as one of Sky's four channels upon its launch on 5 February 1989.
On 20 April 1991 - when the channel debuted on the SES Astra 1B satellite - it was started as Sky Sports. Eurosport and the Sports Channel both discontinued their partnership upon the launch of Sky Sports, even though Eurosport continued to be available on the Astra platform.
The channel was sold as one of the major draws of the Sky system and from 1 September 1992 Sky Sports was sold as a subscription channel and encrypted using the VideoCrypt system. It was the second Sky channel to be encrypted (following Sky Movies in 1990). It initially aired sports such as rugby and golf in 1991, before acquiring rights to German and Italian league football in 1991 (both carried over from The Sports Channel).
However, it was following the formation of the Premier League for the 1992/93 football season, believed to have been assisted by the promise of higher TV payments, that Sky Sports became well known. By bidding £302m, BSkyB beat the BBC and ITV to acquire the live and exclusive Premier League football broadcasting rights for the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland for a five-year period. In doing so, they had taken live top-flight English league football from terrestrial and free-to-air television for the first time in its history.

More sports channels

Sky launched its second sport-dedicated channel, Sky Sports 2 on 19 August 1994, three years after the original channel launched on the Marcopolo satellite on BSB. Sky Sports Gold, a channel dedicated to classic sport, in a similar vein to ESPN Classic, launched on 1 November 1995, but ceased broadcasting after only a year on the air. On 16 August 1996, Sky Sports 3 was launched. The launch promotion involved many top sporting figures such as Dennis Bergkamp and Ryan Giggs to help the launch of the channel. Sky Sports also acquired the rights to Scottish football and the Coca-Cola Cup.

Sky Digital (1998-present)

Sky Sports share of viewing 2000-07

October 1998 saw BSkyB launch Sky Digital from a new satellite, Astra 2A at 28.2° east. The move to Sky Digital saw the launch of two new sports channels in quick succession. First Sky Sports News, a 24-hour rolling sports news channel launched. This was followed by Sky Sports Xtra, in March 1999. The channel was initially available exclusively on Sky Digital. However, by summer 2003, the channel had launched on Virgin Media.
On 22 August 1999, Sky utilized a feature of the, then new, Sky Digital system to allow an interactive football match to be shown. Viewers were given the ability to choose the things such as which camera they viewed during the Arsenal vs. Manchester United. The concept proved popular^[2] and soon Sky used the new interactive service, known as Sky Sports Active, for other sports.
Around 2001, a cross-branding deal ensured that a quiz under the name of the Championship Manager series was produced with the Sky Sports name on it. Kirsty Gallacher was the host of the PlayStation 2 quiz.
In 2004, Sky signed an exclusive deal to broadcast live English cricket matches for four seasons from 2006 to 2009 for a fee of £55 million a year.^[3] As with their other exclusive deals this caused some controversy, as the matches were no longer available on terrestrial TV.^{[citation needed]} Sky also signed an exclusive deal with the BCCI to televise the tour of India.^[when?]
Following its earlier collapse, Sky purchased the majority of Channel 4's stake in horse racing channel, At the Races (the remainder of the stake went to Arena Leisure, the other partner in the channel and owner of Ascot Racecourse). At The Races was insolvent, and despite being promoted as part of the Sky Sports line up, had failed to turn a profit. It remains a provider of live coverage to betting shops, however.
Prior to the start of the 2004-05 season, Football First, an interactive football programme was launched. The show typically airs at 8.25pm and replays full coverage of the day's featured Premier League match, followed through the night by highlights from every Premier League match played on the day, which gives the viewer a chance to see a match of their choice. Sky Sports won the rights to air 'near-live' coverage of the Barclays Premier League, permitting Football First to air for another three years.
Sky Sports also snapped up the rights for the A1 Grand Prix and has won the rights to Speedway, for the next five years. The channel also has the rights to American sports, including NFL and WWE.
In 2007, a rival pay television operator, the Irish network Setanta Sports, acquired a share in the British rights to live Premier League matches, breaking Sky's long-standing monopoly. Setanta bought up various other rights such as PGA Tour golf and some top boxing matches, giving Sky a significant rival in the pay television sports market for the first time, but Sky remained the market leader by a wide margin. On 22 June 2009, Setanta's British operations went into administration and ceased broadcasting, which saw ESPN enter the UK market.
Owing to an Ofcom review of premium services, Sky Sports 1 and 2 launched on digital terrestrial television through BT Vision on 1 August 2010 and Top Up TV the following day.^[4] This marked the first time Sky Sports premium channels have been shown via DTT since ITV Digital collapsed in May 2002.
On 28 April 2011, Sky Sports' interactive features were made available on Virgin Media,^[5] following Virgin's sale of Virgin Media Television to BSkyB.^[6]

Queens Park Rangers

Sterling joined the academy at Queens Park Rangers at the age of 10.^[3] At the age of 14, he was featured on the front cover of Jamaica's national newspaper The Gleaner who hailed his progress and reported that he had "dazzled the English football world with his prodigious talent".^[3]

Liverpool

Sterling warming up before the game against Vålerenga in August of 2011

Sterling was signed in February 2010 by Rafael Benítez for an initial fee of £600,000, which could rise to £5 million depending on how many appearances he makes for the first-team.^[4][5] He made his first appearance for the first team in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany on 1 August 2010.
Sterling scored his first goal for Liverpool's youth team in a friendly against Hibernian in a 2–2 draw, coming off the bench and scoring a late equaliser. After all the friendlies, Sterling's first Premier Academy League match was a 2–2 draw against Aston Villa. His first league win was at home to Bristol City in a 3–0 win on 28 August 2010. On 15 December, Sterling scored his first FA Youth Cup goal for Liverpool's youth team in a 4–0 win over Notts County with Sterling netting the third. On 14 February 2011, Sterling scored five goals for Liverpool's youth team in a 9–0 win over Southend United in the FA Youth Cup.^[6]
On 24 March 2012, Sterling made his senior Liverpool debut as a substitute in a league match against Wigan Athletic aged 17 years and 107 days, becoming the second-youngest player ever to play for the club.^[7] On 1 May he made his second appearance, again as a substitute, against Fulham.^[8] On the final home game of the season, he made another substitute appearance in a 4–1 win against Chelsea.^[9]
In August 2012, he made his European cup competition debut for the club, coming on as an 23rd minute substitute in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Gomel, replacing Joe Cole in a 1–0 win.^[10] The following week Sterling scored his first goal for the senior team with a brilliant first-half strike in a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. On 23 August 2012, he started his first game for Liverpool in a Europa League qualifying match away to Hearts in a 1–0 win.^[11] He was given his first start in the league three days later in a 2–2 draw at Anfield to Manchester City.^[12] He played the full 90 minutes in the loss to Arsenal on 2 September, and the draw with Sunderland on 15 September, where he registered one assist and was named man of the match. On 19 September, Sterling was one of the group of teenagers that travelled to Switzerland to play Young Boys in a Europa League group game. He replaced Stewart Downing in the second half as Liverpool won 5–3.^[13] On 20 October, Sterling scored his first senior competitive goal for Liverpool in the 29th minute in a 1–0 league win against Reading with a strike from the edge of the box. As a result he became the second-youngest player ever to score in a competitive fixture for Liverpool, behind only Michael Owen.^[14]

International career

Sterling has represented England at Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 level.^[15] He is also eligible to play for Jamaica, his country of birth, and his mother Nadine has stated that she would like to see him play for Jamaica at international level.^[16] Speaking of the possibility of playing for Jamaica, Sterling said: "When it comes to that decision, that is when I will decide but if Jamaica calls for me, why not?"^[3]
Sterling was selected to play for England for the 2011 U-17 World Cup. He scored a long-range goal in England's opening 2–0 win against Rwanda in Pachuca.^[17] He also scored against Argentina in the second round in a game where England won 4–2 on penalties.^[18]
On 10 September 2012, Sterling was called up to the senior England squad for the first time for a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine, where he was an unused substitute.^[19][20] In early October he was called up for the first time to the Under-21 squad^[21] and made his debut as a substitute during a match against Serbia on 16 October.^[22]

Personal life

Sterling grew up in the Maverley area of Kingston, Jamaica and was raised by his grandmother.^[23] At the age of five Sterling emigrated to London, England with his mother.^[3] Once arrived, he attended Copland High School in Wembley, North West London.^[24]

LeBron James says Mike Brown didn't get 'fair shake' from Laker

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When something big happens in the NBA, Mark Cuban, Kobe Bryant, a Van Gundy brother and LeBron James get to weigh in.
James, the Miami Heat star, was asked Friday about the firing of Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown, completing the due process. But James also had a lot to add about Brown, who coached him for five years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I think it's unfortunate," James said after a win at the Atlanta Hawks (via ESPN). "I just don't think he got a fair shake, honestly. With the shortened season last year, and five games into this year, he didn't really get a full season."
Brown coached the Lakers for 71 games, so James has a point. But he and Brown have a long and convoluted history. The Cavaliers fired Brown after the 2009-10 season, in which Cleveland posted an NBA-best 61-21 record but collapsed in the second round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics.
One reported reason behind Brown's firing was James' distaste for the coach's system. James was a free agent, and Cleveland wanted to keep the NBA MVP. Tell us if you've heard this story.
"I've got a lot to say, but I'm not going to say it right now," James said. "I wish him the best, but I just think it's unfortunate and it's just, you know, how the league is. They can do what they want to do."
James and Brown took an otherwise-weak Cavs team to the 2007 NBA Finals, where it was ripped apart methodically by the San Antonio Spurs in a four-game sweep.

West Africa bloc Ecowas agrees to deploy troops to Mali

Militant Islamists in northern Mali are imposing strict Sharia law despite opposition from the local Muslim population

West African regional leaders have agreed to deploy 3,300 soldiers to Mali to retake the north from Islamist extremists.

At a summit of Ecowas, the group's chairman said it was ready to use force to "dismantle terrorist and transnational criminal networks".
The soldiers would be provided mainly by Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels took control of the north after Mali's president was overthrown in March.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Outtara told reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that the soldiers could be deployed as soon as the UN approved the military plan.
He said he hoped the Security Council would approve the plan by late November or early December.
'Threat to security' According to a Malian army source quoted by Reuters, the plan covers a six-month period, with a preparatory phase for training and the establishment of bases in Mali's south, followed by combat operations in the north.

The UN had given African leaders 45 days from 12 October to draw up a plan for military intervention to retake the north.
In a statement, the grouping of West African states said that while dialogue remained the preferred option, force might be needed to break up the networks controlling Mali which "pose a threat to international peace and security".
Foreign powers are divided on the best approach to the crisis in Mali.
On Sunday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that if nothing was done to tackle the situation in Mali it would make the area a "terrorist sanctuary".
"In Mali, it is our own security that is at stake: the security of France, the security of Europe, because if we don't move a terrorist entity will take shape which could hit this or another country, including France, and including Europe," he said in interviews published in French media.
France has said it will offer support but not troops for intervention in its former colony.
But a top advisor to Algeria's president said on Saturday that an international military intervention in the country would be useless.
"The question in Mali is an internal matter and there is no need to further internationalise it," terrorism and security advisor Kamal Rezzag Bara said, according to the Associated Press.
The UN has warned that the Islamist militias are imposing a harsh version of Sharia law on the areas they controlled and that forced marriage, forced prostitution, and rape are becoming widespread.

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C.RONALDO VS LIONEL MESSI MOST WANTED TO PSG

Ce vendredi Carlo Ancelotti a accordé une interview à France Info dans laquelle le technicien italien a évoqué plusieurs sujets.



Un bloc français au PSG
Il doit y avoir un bloc de joueurs importants parce que nous sommes en France. Paris est une équipe française. La culture doit être française comme à Chelsea la culture doit être anglaise, avec les joueurs anglais comme Terry et Lampard.
La formation
Il faut avoir une attention particulière aux joueurs de l’Académie. Barcelone en ce moment a une académie fantastique. Il a obtenu beaucoup de victoires parce qu’il y a beaucoup de joueurs formés au club. Les joueurs de l’Académie sont des joueurs plus motivés pour porter le maillot.
Ibrahimovic
Je connais très bien Ibrahimovic. Il a joué à Milan. J’ai été un peu surpris par son caractère. Beaucoup de gens n’ont pas connaissance du caractère d’Ibrahimovic. C’est un gagneur, il est très très professionnel. Il demande beaucoup à lui-même et après naturellement aux autres. Il est égoïste mais tous les attaquants sont égoïstes, ils veulent marquer. Mais il aime donner les passes pour les coéquipiers comme lors du dernier match
Pas là pour l’argent
Tout le monde a dit que j’avais choisi Paris pour l’argent. Avant d’arriver à Paris, j’étais en vacances six mois. Chelsea a payé la même somme d’argent que Paris pour ça. Ma motivation, c’est le projet, l’ambition d’un club qui veut arriver à être un des clubs les plus importants en Europe. Quand Leonardo m’a contacté, je n’étais pas surpris parce que j’ai une très bonne relation avec Leonardo. Avant ça, je parlais souvent avec Leonardo, une fois par semaine, parce que nous sommes amis.
Messi ou Ronaldo ?
''Messi. Je vote Messi. J’aime l’image de Messi, une image positive dans le foot. L’image de Messi est meilleure que celle de Ronaldo, en général.'
CR7
Je ne sais pas si nous sommes en contact avec Ronaldo, avec l’agent. Je n’ai pas parlé avec le club de cette chose. Aujourd’hui, tout le monde est focalisé sur sa saison et rien de plus. »

Van Persie is United's talisman and can lead us to Champions League glory, says Rooney

When Robin van Persie nipped downstairs at Manchester United's team hotel in Braga just before midnight on Wednesday, he was quickly besieged by fans. 
What was meant to be a brief inquiry at reception into a 10-minute autograph and photo session.
The Dutchman duly obliged. But if he is accustomed to the adulation of supporters, being lauded as United's 'talisman' by Wayne Rooney is something else altogether.

RVP, MVP! The Dutchman has made a flying start to life at Old Trafford

 

It is a measure of the impact Van Persie has made since moving to Old Trafford in the summer following a 37-goal season at Arsenal that he is being talked about by his new team-mates in such terms.
After all, isn't Rooney meant to be United's talisman?
Van Persie certainly deserves that mantle at the moment. It’s not just his record of 11 goals in 14 games, but the importance of those goals in rescuing United from some very tricky situations.
From the equaliser after Fulham took a shock lead in the opening home game of the season to the hat-trick when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were two down and heading for an embarrassing defeat at Southampton, the nerveless late penalty to beat Liverpool at Anfield and his two goals as United came back to win in Cluj, RVP has become the MVP.
No wonder Ferguson was so determined to sign him ahead of Manchester City.
In Wednesday's 3-1 win over Braga, United could not have been more impotent until Van Persie replaced Danny Welbeck.

Reigning in Braga: United came from a goal down to win 3-1

The 29-year-old not only scored the equaliser but once again showed his importance to the team by giving United the forward momentum they had been missing for more than an hour.
It meant that Ferguson's side qualified for the knockout stages with two games to spare, and Rooney believes Van Persie’s impact has helped turn them into genuine Champions League contenders.
'I think he's great for the whole team – he's our talisman,' said Rooney, who scored United's second from the spot in Portugal.
'Everyone knows he’s a fantastic player. He's obviously a great finisher but he has a calmness about him, holds the ball up well and brings players into play. If you can get players around him and feeding off him, it’s great for us all.

'When you look at all the teams who have won this competition, they've all had those individuals who can do a bit of magic and win the competition.
'I think we've got as good a chance as anyone. We're good as a team but we've also got some great individual players who can win games for us.'
The last time United won their first four group games they went on to lift the European Cup in 2008. But surely they will have to stop conceding the first goal to have a chance this season.

Master blaster: RVP also bagged a goal against his former club, Arsenal

It has happened nine times in 16 games so far, including three of their four Group H ties. On seven occasions United have come back to win, but Van Persie can only come to the rescue so many times and the best teams in Europe will not be so forgiving.
'Of course,' said Rooney. 'We're not happy when we concede goals. We need to be more solid as a team and make sure we get the first goal and kick on from there.
'We know we're capable of playing better, but results are the most important thing.'

BILL CLINTON SHOULD RESIGN

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thanks for stopping by, Hillary. As a courtesy, I wanted to let you know that I have accepted the resignation of General David Petraeus as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
HILLARY CLINTON: Oh, that’s wonderful! You may recall that he and I didn’t get along too well. When he testified before Congress as a military leader, I called him a liar.
OBAMA: Yes, it was kind of you not to scream at me when I appointed him to the CIA. Between you and Michelle, the noise around here can be very unsettling.
HILLARY: I understood that you needed to appoint someone with a Roman last name, to appease the Catholics.
OBAMA: Actually, it is a Dutch name.
HILLARY: Whatever. You needed all the votes you could get from every ethnic group.
OBAMA:  You might be interested to know why he resigned. He was involved in an extramarital affair. Does that sound familiar?
HILLARY:  No, I had no idea he was involved in an affair.
OBAMA: That’s not what I mean. I mean do you know of anyone, close to you, who was involved in an extramarital affair?
HILLARY: Oh, you mean that sleazy bastard Bill? That’s old news. No one cares about that anymore. He is more popular than ever.

OBAMA: Don’t you notice something different between Bill’s case and David’s. David, feeling that he no longer could represent himself as a man of honor, came forward and resigned.  Bill didn’t. He squirmed, he lied, he weaseled, he fought the special prosecutor, he fought impeachment. He finished his term as President.
HILLARY: (raising her voice) If I may speak freely, Mr. President, what the BLEEP are you driving at?
OBAMA: Hillary, I think Bill should man up, follow the example of General Petraeus and resign from office.
HILLARY: (screaming) What the BLEEP is wrong with you, you wimpy little BLEEP? He no longer holds any office.
OBAMA: I mean retroactively. He should officially resign as President of the United States, effective January 1998, when his affair with Monica Lewinsky became known to the public.
HILLARY: (still screaming) What a BLEEPING ingrate you are! Don’t you know that this wonderful man saved your presidency and got you reelected with his artfully crafted, demagogic, disingenuous speeches?
OBAMA: I have to disagree with you, Hillary. I have too much faith in Americans to think that they would take seriously anything said by a degenerate like Bill. The reason I was reelected is that the voters wanted me to raise taxes on people with high incomes. That’s the official line now. People don’t mind being broke and out of work as long as I raise Warren Buffett’s taxes.
HILLARY: (trying to calm herself) This whole discussion is moot. How can he resign retroactively?
OBAMA: Protocol calls for him to submit his resignation to the Secretary of State. But I can understand how that might embarrass you, so how about if he submits his resignation to Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state when he was diddling Monica?
HILLARY: Does anyone even know where that useless old bag went?
OBAMA: I think she retired somewhere, and has become an accomplished mah jongg player.
HILLARY: (wheedling) You aren’t thinking this through, Mr. President. Do you realize that if Bill resigns, Al Gore will be written into the history books as the President from 1998 to 2001? His morals are not exactly the highest. Tipper bounced him when she found out that he had sexually harassed a female massage therapist, who just happened to be the only authentic, morally correct massage therapist in the world.
OBAMA: Well, we can ask him to resign too.  General Petraeus has set the standard, and everyone has to comply with it. By the way, have you had any affairs?
HILLARY: (ignoring the question) Mr. President, what happens if you yourself stray someday? Will you live up to your stated principles and resign?
OBAMA: (chuckling) Not much chance of that, Hillary. If I tried anything, Michelle would knock me through the wall.
Arthur Louis spent more than forty years as a print journalist, with the Philadelphia Inquirer, McGraw-Hill, Fortune magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, but he is not asking for sympathy. He is the author of two non-fiction books: The Tycoons, and Journalism and Other Atrocities. In retirement, he has decided unilaterally that he is a profound political pundit.

BARACK OBAMA

President Obama made a surprise visit to the campaign office in Chicago yesterday to give a heartfelt thank-you to staff and volunteers.
I wanted to pass this video along, because it's a message every single person who helped build this campaign deserves to see. He wasn't just talking to those of us in the office—he was talking to all of you.
In his speech on Election Night, President Obama gave you all the title you have spent the last year and a half earning:

"The best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics."

So many times in this election, this campaign was counted out. They said our supporters wouldn't turn out, and we'd never see the kind of voter participation we saw in 2008. They said we'd be buried in money and special-interest influence. And they said that no campaign could overcome the political headwinds we faced.
Last year, a major American newspaper asked, "Is Obama toast?" As recently as two weeks ago, another ran this headline: "Can Obama win?"
Tuesday night, you all answered all of those doubts with a resounding YES WE CAN. By knocking on doors, organizing phone banks, and chipping in a few bucks when you could, you built a campaign that is unparalleled. And you re-elected our president.
You also proved that millions of ordinary people taking ownership of a cause is still the most powerful force in our political process. You showed that grassroots organizing and small donations are not only the right way to win, but also the most effective way.
How we got here must guide where we go. If we're going to accomplish the things America voted for on Tuesday, you've got to be even more involved in getting them done than you were in giving us all the chance.
We'll be in touch soon about how we can get started on some of the President's top priorities in his second term.
For now, I just want to say I am so proud of this team. And I can't wait to see where you take this incredible movement from here.

 Julius Kambarage Nyerere

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One of Africa’s most respected figures, Julius Nyerere (1922 — 1999) was a politician of principle and intelligence. Known as Mwalimu or teacher he had a vision of education that was rich with possibility

Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born on April 13, 1922 in Butiama, on the eastern shore of lake Victoria in north west Tanganyika. His father was the chief of the small Zanaki tribe. He was 12 before he started school (he had to walk 26 miles to Musoma to do so). Later, he transferred for his secondary education to the Tabora Government Secondary School. His intelligence was quickly recognized by the Roman Catholic fathers who taught him. He went on, with their help, to train as a teacher at Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda). On gaining his Certificate, he taught for three years and then went on a government scholarship to study history and political economy for his Master of Arts at the University of Edinburgh (he was the first Tanzanian to study at a British university and only the second to gain a university degree outside Africa. In Edinburgh, partly through his encounter with Fabian thinking, Nyerere began to develop his particular vision of connecting socialism with African communal living.
On his return to Tanganyika, Nyerere was forced by the colonial authorities to make a choice between his political activities and his teaching. He was reported as saying that he was a schoolmaster by choice and a politician by accident. Working to bring a number of different nationalist factions into one grouping he achieved this in 1954 with the formation of TANU (the Tanganyika African National Union). He became President of the Union (a post he held until 1977), entered the Legislative Council in 1958 and became chief minister in 1960. A year later Tanganyika was granted internal self-government and Nyerere became premier. Full independence came in December 1961 and he was elected President in 1962.
Nyerere’s integrity, ability as a political orator and organizer, and readiness to work with different groupings was a significant factor in independence being achieved without bloodshed. In this he was helped by the co-operative attitude of the last British governor — Sir Richard Turnbull. In 1964, following a coup in Zanzibar (and an attempted coup in Tanganyika itself) Nyerere negotiated with the new leaders in Zanzibar and agreed to absorb them into the union government. The result was the creation of the Republic of Tanzania.

Ujamma, socialism and self reliance

As President, Nyerere had to steer a difficult course. By the late 1960s Tanzania was one of the world’s poorest countries. Like many others it was suffering from a severe foreign debt burden, a decrease in foreign aid, and a fall in the price of commodities. His solution, the collectivization of agriculture, villigization (see Ujamma below) and large-scale nationalization was a unique blend of socialism and communal life. The vision was set out in the Arusha Declaration of 1967 (reprinted in Nyerere 1968):
"The objective of socialism in the United Republic of Tanzania is to build a society in which all members have equal rights and equal opportunities; in which all can live in peace with their neighbours without suffering or imposing injustice, being exploited, or exploiting; and in which all have a gradually increasing basic level of material welfare before any individual lives in luxury." (Nyerere 1968: 340)
The focus, given the nature of Tanzanian society, was on rural development. People were encouraged (sometimes forced) to live and work on a co-operative basis in organized villages or ujamaa (meaning ‘familyhood’ in Kishwahili). The idea was to extend traditional values and responsibilities around kinship to Tanzania as a whole.
Within the Declaration there was a commitment to raising basic living standards (and an opposition to conspicuous consumption and large private wealth). The socialism he believed in was ‘people-centred’. Humanness in its fullest sense rather than wealth creation must come first. Societies become better places through the development of people rather than the gearing up of production. This was a matter that Nyerere took to be important both in political and private terms. Unlike many other politicians, he did not amass a large fortune through exploiting his position.
The policy met with significant political resistance (especially when people were forced into rural communes) and little economic success. Nearly 10 million peasants were moved and many were effectively forced to give up their land. The idea of collective farming was less than attractive to many peasants. A large number found themselves worse off. Productivity went down. However, the focus on human development and self-reliance did bring some success in other areas notably in health, education and in political identity.

Liberation struggles

A committed pan-Africanist, Nyerere provided a home for a number of African liberation movements including the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC) of South Africa, Frelimo when seeking to overthrow Portuguese rule in Mozambique, Zanla (and Robert Mugabe) in their struggle to unseat the white regime in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He also opposed the brutal regime of Idi Amin in Uganda. Following a border invasion by Amin in 1978, a 20,000-strong Tanzanian army along with rebel groups, invaded Uganda. It took the capital, Kampala, in 1979, restoring Uganda’s first President, Milton Obote, to power. The battle against Amin was expensive and placed a strain on government finances. There was considerable criticism within Tanzania that he had both overlooked domestic issues and had not paid proper attention to internal human rights abuses. Tanzania was a one party state — and while there was a strong democratic element in organization and a concern for consensus, this did not stop Nyerere using the Preventive Detention Act to imprison opponents. In part this may have been justified by the need to contain divisiveness, but there does appear to have been a disjuncture between his commitment to human rights on the world stage, and his actions at home.