Hii imendikwa na mmoja wa academician toka Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam
"To express my dilemma on Mugabe I will use a hypothetical scenario. Let us
assume (as economists are known for) that President Kikwete decided to be
tough and play hard ball on corruption and on matters of national economy
and national pride. He starts by securing all sources of energy, and by
borrowing a leaf from Putin, he locks in the Chief Executive Officer of
IPTL for tax fraud, and demand that owners of IPTL sell the company to the
government at a token price after obtaining evidence that the IPTL-TANESCO
deal was influenced by corruption.
Further, after obtaining convincing evidences that most of mining
companies have been cheating on tax through over-invoicing capital imports
and under-invoicing exports, Kikwete orders an arrest of all chief
executive officers of the concerned mining companies, and place them in
remand at Ukonga pending final investigation and prosecution. Most of the
arrested officers are Canadians and Australians. Meanwhile, two marine
officers from the UK are arrested for killing a prostitute at Silversand
Beach Hotel, and the President insists that the Marines must be treated
like any other suspect in the murder case, and thus must stay at Ukonga
Prison pending investigation and prosecution. Tanzanian High Commissioner
in London has been recalled home for talk after the government discovered
that Her Majestys government knew all along that the Radar sold to
Tanzania by the company owned by Her Majestys government was exorbitantly
over-priced, and thus cheating poor Tanzania of her very scarce foreign
currency. Meanwhile, an officer representative of the company that sold
TPDF faulty helicopters that lead to death of members of TPDF has been
arrested for fraud, and has been placed in Ukonga pending further
investigation. The US government has strongly protested against this
arrest, but President Kikwete refused to play ball, insisting that men in
uniform have died and the law of the land must take its course regardless
of the nationality of the suspect.
Ok, enough of the fantasy. Our government would not do such things, even
though European and American governments would not hesitate to take such
actions themselves. A member of TPDF cannot kill a prostitute in London
and get away with it. No way. And so on. But the Government of the United
Republic of Tanzania cannot do what a self respecting government must do
for the simple reason that the international community would not accept
this. Hugo Chaves managed because he sits on a huge reserve of oil. Castro
managed to do it because he does not allow free and fair election.
Should our government try to play hardball, all foreign aid would be
squeezed, all credit lines cut and the country would be demonized by the
CNN, the BBC and, well, by the Security Council of the UN. All of a sudden
the international community would remember that Karume did not win a
fair election in Zanzibar. And that in 1995 election officers forgot to
turn up at the polling stations in Dar es Salaam. They forgot to turn up
in Zanzibar town in 2000 general election too. The international
community would want Mahita to appear in the Hague for the death of 23
people in Pemba. The EPA and RICHMOD sagas would be played time and again
on the CNN and the BBC and the SKY and the El Jazeera and the SABC for the
world to see how comical our leaders can get when trying not to prosecute
looters of public funds, a comedy that would make Mobutu Sese Seso green
with envy. You should not even be surprised that the international
community would condemn Tanzania for interfering in the internal affairs
of the Comoro, never mind that the government of Comoro invited Tanzania
to interfere and the AU sanction the expedition. After all, when Mugabe
sent troops to protect Kabilas administration against the invasion of
Uganda and Rwanda, it was Mugabe who was condemned by the international
community, not the invaders! Mind you, Mugabe was acting under the SADC,
and he was not even alone, Angola and Namibia were in Kinshasa too.
So, should our President play hardball, the international community
would see to it that our economy takes a huge nose dive, a free fall, with
hyperinflation becoming the order of the day. The pay of professors would
mean nothing, as you would then need a wheel-burrow full of money to
simply buy a kilogram of sugar. Professor Lipumba and Mr. Mbowe would be
invited to the Buckingham Palace and the White House and consultants would
be offered to advice CHADEMA and CUF on how to unite so that they can
unseat Kikwete. NGOs would be given plenty of money to undermine the
government, just to teach us and everybody else a lesson that you never
mess up with the big brothers.
Come 2010 the international community would demand free and fair
election in Tanzania. Most of us would be voting with our stomachs, too
tired of hyperinflation to remember that we had pressed Kikwete to act
against the mining companies and against corruption. We would be
scrambling to help the West make a regime change democratically. The
election would be declared free and fair only if Lipumba wins.
Again, enough of the fantasy. As I said, this would never happen here. But
it seems to me that it is happening in Zimbabwe. This is not to say that
Mugabe is not stealing an election. Obasanjo too stole an election for
Yradua (do you remember how Obasanjo and his VP used to fight like mad
cats? Oh, how would the international community have loved it had it
been Mugabe and his VP were giving such a comedy). Kibaki, just next door,
stole one too, and the international community told the victim of stolen
election to negotiate with the one who stole it, and divide the loot. We
know what Museveni is doing in Uganda, and that he survives on western
handout in spite of all! The only reason that the international
community is focusing on Mugabe is because he messed up with the big
brothers. And he stole an election, of course. Why is it that Musharraff
forced his way into Pakistanis statehouse and he is still respected in
the West? Do you remember how he interfered with the judicial system?
My dilemma is, how can one condemn Mugabe without at the sametime greasing
the Western machinations? And, are the people of Zimbabwe not free to even
vote with their stomach? When we were fighting for Uhuru, Nyerere insisted
that we want freedom, even of making our own mistakes. If Zimbabweans make
a mistake of voting against Mugabe, forgetting that the economy would
not have been in such a mess had it not been for the western embargo and
sabotage who are we to tell Zimbabweans that vumilieni tuu, mbegu lazima
ife kwanza kabla mti wa uhuru haujaota?
Yet, I cannot bring myself to condemn Mugabe, even though I believe he
stole this election. I made a mistake of celebrating Chilubas victory
back then, thinking it heralded a new democratic dispensation in Africa.
Later, I discovered that Chiluba was actually bankrolled by the Boers who
wanted to undermine ANC in Lusaka.
So, it is a dilemna. When I hear African leaders making statements about
Mugabe, I do not know which part of the statememt was dictated from the
Down Street No 10 and which part reflects our desire for a free and fair
election. A desire for free and fair election can only be noble. But there
is no nobility in becoming a pawn in other nations' games. I respect those
who genuinely grieves the people of Zimbabwe and call for free and fair
election. As for me, I am fed up with the Western machinations on the
question of Mugabe, and I choose not to condemn him for stealing this
election, and I am not proud of my stand either".
"To express my dilemma on Mugabe I will use a hypothetical scenario. Let us
assume (as economists are known for) that President Kikwete decided to be
tough and play hard ball on corruption and on matters of national economy
and national pride. He starts by securing all sources of energy, and by
borrowing a leaf from Putin, he locks in the Chief Executive Officer of
IPTL for tax fraud, and demand that owners of IPTL sell the company to the
government at a token price after obtaining evidence that the IPTL-TANESCO
deal was influenced by corruption.
Further, after obtaining convincing evidences that most of mining
companies have been cheating on tax through over-invoicing capital imports
and under-invoicing exports, Kikwete orders an arrest of all chief
executive officers of the concerned mining companies, and place them in
remand at Ukonga pending final investigation and prosecution. Most of the
arrested officers are Canadians and Australians. Meanwhile, two marine
officers from the UK are arrested for killing a prostitute at Silversand
Beach Hotel, and the President insists that the Marines must be treated
like any other suspect in the murder case, and thus must stay at Ukonga
Prison pending investigation and prosecution. Tanzanian High Commissioner
in London has been recalled home for talk after the government discovered
that Her Majestys government knew all along that the Radar sold to
Tanzania by the company owned by Her Majestys government was exorbitantly
over-priced, and thus cheating poor Tanzania of her very scarce foreign
currency. Meanwhile, an officer representative of the company that sold
TPDF faulty helicopters that lead to death of members of TPDF has been
arrested for fraud, and has been placed in Ukonga pending further
investigation. The US government has strongly protested against this
arrest, but President Kikwete refused to play ball, insisting that men in
uniform have died and the law of the land must take its course regardless
of the nationality of the suspect.
Ok, enough of the fantasy. Our government would not do such things, even
though European and American governments would not hesitate to take such
actions themselves. A member of TPDF cannot kill a prostitute in London
and get away with it. No way. And so on. But the Government of the United
Republic of Tanzania cannot do what a self respecting government must do
for the simple reason that the international community would not accept
this. Hugo Chaves managed because he sits on a huge reserve of oil. Castro
managed to do it because he does not allow free and fair election.
Should our government try to play hardball, all foreign aid would be
squeezed, all credit lines cut and the country would be demonized by the
CNN, the BBC and, well, by the Security Council of the UN. All of a sudden
the international community would remember that Karume did not win a
fair election in Zanzibar. And that in 1995 election officers forgot to
turn up at the polling stations in Dar es Salaam. They forgot to turn up
in Zanzibar town in 2000 general election too. The international
community would want Mahita to appear in the Hague for the death of 23
people in Pemba. The EPA and RICHMOD sagas would be played time and again
on the CNN and the BBC and the SKY and the El Jazeera and the SABC for the
world to see how comical our leaders can get when trying not to prosecute
looters of public funds, a comedy that would make Mobutu Sese Seso green
with envy. You should not even be surprised that the international
community would condemn Tanzania for interfering in the internal affairs
of the Comoro, never mind that the government of Comoro invited Tanzania
to interfere and the AU sanction the expedition. After all, when Mugabe
sent troops to protect Kabilas administration against the invasion of
Uganda and Rwanda, it was Mugabe who was condemned by the international
community, not the invaders! Mind you, Mugabe was acting under the SADC,
and he was not even alone, Angola and Namibia were in Kinshasa too.
So, should our President play hardball, the international community
would see to it that our economy takes a huge nose dive, a free fall, with
hyperinflation becoming the order of the day. The pay of professors would
mean nothing, as you would then need a wheel-burrow full of money to
simply buy a kilogram of sugar. Professor Lipumba and Mr. Mbowe would be
invited to the Buckingham Palace and the White House and consultants would
be offered to advice CHADEMA and CUF on how to unite so that they can
unseat Kikwete. NGOs would be given plenty of money to undermine the
government, just to teach us and everybody else a lesson that you never
mess up with the big brothers.
Come 2010 the international community would demand free and fair
election in Tanzania. Most of us would be voting with our stomachs, too
tired of hyperinflation to remember that we had pressed Kikwete to act
against the mining companies and against corruption. We would be
scrambling to help the West make a regime change democratically. The
election would be declared free and fair only if Lipumba wins.
Again, enough of the fantasy. As I said, this would never happen here. But
it seems to me that it is happening in Zimbabwe. This is not to say that
Mugabe is not stealing an election. Obasanjo too stole an election for
Yradua (do you remember how Obasanjo and his VP used to fight like mad
cats? Oh, how would the international community have loved it had it
been Mugabe and his VP were giving such a comedy). Kibaki, just next door,
stole one too, and the international community told the victim of stolen
election to negotiate with the one who stole it, and divide the loot. We
know what Museveni is doing in Uganda, and that he survives on western
handout in spite of all! The only reason that the international
community is focusing on Mugabe is because he messed up with the big
brothers. And he stole an election, of course. Why is it that Musharraff
forced his way into Pakistanis statehouse and he is still respected in
the West? Do you remember how he interfered with the judicial system?
My dilemma is, how can one condemn Mugabe without at the sametime greasing
the Western machinations? And, are the people of Zimbabwe not free to even
vote with their stomach? When we were fighting for Uhuru, Nyerere insisted
that we want freedom, even of making our own mistakes. If Zimbabweans make
a mistake of voting against Mugabe, forgetting that the economy would
not have been in such a mess had it not been for the western embargo and
sabotage who are we to tell Zimbabweans that vumilieni tuu, mbegu lazima
ife kwanza kabla mti wa uhuru haujaota?
Yet, I cannot bring myself to condemn Mugabe, even though I believe he
stole this election. I made a mistake of celebrating Chilubas victory
back then, thinking it heralded a new democratic dispensation in Africa.
Later, I discovered that Chiluba was actually bankrolled by the Boers who
wanted to undermine ANC in Lusaka.
So, it is a dilemna. When I hear African leaders making statements about
Mugabe, I do not know which part of the statememt was dictated from the
Down Street No 10 and which part reflects our desire for a free and fair
election. A desire for free and fair election can only be noble. But there
is no nobility in becoming a pawn in other nations' games. I respect those
who genuinely grieves the people of Zimbabwe and call for free and fair
election. As for me, I am fed up with the Western machinations on the
question of Mugabe, and I choose not to condemn him for stealing this
election, and I am not proud of my stand either".
