Independent consultant and blogger in Dar es Salaam
On the evening of Wednesday, March 17, as I was winding down from yet another long day of not knowing what to say about the situation in Tanzania, the news broke. It was after 11:00pm, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan informed the nation that President John Pombe Magufuli had passed away earlier that evening in Mzena Hospital, Dar es Salaam, having succumbed to a long-term heart condition. She instructed the nation that we would be observing 14 days of national mourning.
I would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and to my fellow Tanzanians and the people abroad who loved him. May time heal the pain of his loss in your lives.
As you may be aware, the late President Magufuli was absent from public life for weeks before the announcement of his demise was made by the Vice President. During this very trying and confusing time, many things transpired. Normally, well-prepared journalists and newsrooms have obituaries ready for world leaders so that they can release content in a timely manner. I have done no such thing for any of my Heads of State, and never will. Out of respect for them, it is important for me to speak from the heart. It is respectful to be honest.
The late President Magufuli has left me with an affirmation that I did not expect from him, considering the stark polarity of our worldviews. Who are we as Tanzanians, what does it mean to be Tanzanian today? These are not philosophical questions. During the many days of silence from our government as to the state of our president, this nation was sorely tested. Magufuli was a strong personality in ways that brought out the divisions and diversities of our opinions on patriotism and governance like never before.
As the world, and “concerned neighbours” increased the heat with every passing day, asking Tanzania “Where is Magufuli,” those of us living here had to find a way to get through it. We had suffered through a very similar incident a couple of years back, from which the president emerged in good health. This was accompanied by state actions against media and social media accounts and people who were deemed to have “misspoken.” This month, several Tanzanians — including a septuagenarian — were arrested for discussing the president’s health and whereabouts.
And yet, it has not stopped us. Tanzanians have been discussing what is going on in the country like never before. What was not apparent to non-Tanzaphiles, I think, was that this discussion — coming as it did after years of increasing self-censorship — was opening us up again to political debates that are much more the norm for our society. At least, they were before 2015. And while the quality of the debate is not what it used to be, in the absence of an authoritarian figure we have managed to cover a lot of issues we needed to address with each other.
For some, it has been Covid-19: Side with caution and science or obey the official authorities and embrace saunas? Tell the truth about the very many we have lost? For others, it has been a long and painful continuance of the fight for freedom of information and expression as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Tanzania that are constantly being attacked by malicious legislation passed by an overwhelmingly hostile Parliament.
Others don’t want to be bullied by the revenue authorities, others yet just want to survive our economic woes well enough to put food on the table for their kids, while hoping said kids get half a chance at a decent education at our public schools. Society wants more girls to get through school free from unwanted pregnancy, civilians want arbitrary arrests and seizures of property to stop. Some are constitutional lawyers, whom we desperately need right now.
What has raised my heart is the way we are (re)starting to ask behaviours of each other that we have not in a while. I will do my best to translate the concepts from Kiswahili: Utu- personhood/humanity. Politeness, uprightness, fairness in debate, truthfulness and yes — kindness, forgiveness and where possible faith and prayer. Most often? Peace. These are core yet intangible parts of what make up our social contract. The Late John Pombe Magufuli gave us this as a parting gift. He helped us remember. He helped us find our voices again.
I understand that from “the outside,” it seems as though things are standing still in Tanzania. I’m afraid the truth is simpler: We’re just a subtle folk. At no time did Tanzania literally misplace our Head of State, that is not how this country works. Think of it this way: We’re over 50 years old. The maturity to understand that what is left unsaid, or said very subtly, is a function of the wisdom to do so. There is dignity in grace, no matter what the circumstances, even in 2021. It is okay to ignore a persistent hashtag: After all, a man was dying, and we were — and hopefully always will be — ‘Tanzanian’ about it.
May God have mercy on John Pombe Magufuli’s soul.
Eyakuze is a consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report: E-mail: [email protected]
