C&P
WHEN Tanzania’s President John Magufuli suddenly fired the director-general of the country’s intelligence and security service on Thursday this week, many were surprised but very few, if any, anticipated what was to follow.
Impeccable sources within the intelligence and the State House have confided to SAUTI KUBWA that the former Director-General of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), Modestus Kipilimba, who was immediately impounded, is currently detained at one of the country’s “safe houses” in Dar es Salaam.
Kipilimba is expected to appear in court to answer a number of criminal charges including abuse of office, money laundering, embezzlement of public funds, economic sabotage, bribery and other forms of corruption.
Kipilimba is the first TISS boss to face such an embarrassment in the country’s history. But Magufuli’s action is not unique in the region. He is borrowing a leaf from Omar al Bashir, Sudan’s ousted president, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who fired, incarcerated, and even assassinated their intelligence bosses on various grounds.
It is understood that he was very unpopular among the staff of his own intelligence system because most of his subordinates considered him corrupt and unqualified for the job although he had earned the president’s trust, although it has been rumoured that Kipilimba was recently implicated in secretly dealing with Magufuli’s political foes. This charge will definitely not surface in court.
“We are even surprised at how he managed to survive in this post that long because his weaknesses were known and reported to the president within six weeks of his appointment. But the president must have been comfortable with him because he was obedient enough to the president’s orders,” says one anonymous source.
Kipilimba served as TISS for three years. He has been replaced by Diwani Athumani, a police officer who has previously worked as Director of Criminal Investigations, Regional Administrative Secretary and Director General for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau.
Three years ago, when President Magufuli took office, he impulsively fired Athuman from the office of DCI on corruption grounds. When his advisors told him about the risks of rendering jobless such an officer, he appointed him to a junior post in Kagera region, making him a regional administrative secretary. When he differed with the then PCCB boss, Valentino Mokiwa, he fired him and promoted Athuman to the office.
His rise to the post of TISS boss surprises many, and few do expect him to do better than Kipilimba because, like Kipilimba, he, too, has proven himself as an “obedient advisor” to the president.
“During his tenure with PCCB, Athuman has proven to the president that he can as obedient and pleasing as possible to him. And given his background as a police officer, he is expected to observe more obedience than advice to the president. Kipilimba failed in so many ways and for so many reasons, but one of them was his excessive obedience to the president,” says another impeccable source.
By firing Kipilimba, President Magufuli is attempting to distance himself from several criminal accusations that have gripped the nation in the last four years, during which tens of government critics have been tortured and killed by rogue elements within TISS.
This is one of the charges that Kipilimba might face, but analysts wonder if such charges can be brought against him because in the cause of defending himself he might end up implicating the president who heh so far obeyed to every dot.
Kipilimba’s deputy, John Nyaulingo, was recently involved in a road accident that ended up having his legs cut off. He has not been seen in public for the past three weeks, with some sources claiming he passed away and was secretly buried. His post had been taken over by someone else. But some sources within TISS have told SAUTI KUBWA that, “Nyaulingo is not dead. He is just unable to perform his duties because he is crippled.”
Kipilimba’s sacking was not unexpected. In Mid June 2019, President Magufuli convened a meeting with all top officers within TISS. He rebuked Kipilimba in the presence of his subordinates.
Three weeks ago, the president conducted a secret survey among TISS staff. Most of them pointed an accusing finger to Kipilimba, balming him for destabilising TISS, haphazardly recruiting incompetent and untrained personnel, some of whom are his relatives and colleagues from his church.
From the time Kipilimba was appointed TIss boss in August 2016, but the opposition has been accusing him of corrupt practices particularly in connection with his former designation as the acting director-general for the National Identification Agency (NIDA). Magufuli turned a deaf ear to such allegations until it proved too much for him to bear.
Analysts link his action with the 2020 general election as Magufuli seeks a second term. His first term has proven hostile to the people and to himself, and he has continuously become unpopular due to his brutal politics that have turned a formerly peaceful Tanzania into a state of terror.
in the eyes of many, even Athuman is not an ideal choice for the post. As a police officer without the necessary intelligence skills, and with no institutional memory and lacking proper contacts in the system, Athuman is likely to commit similar errors to those of his predecessor. He is likely to employ fear and obedience as his main tools to lead TISS.
Others say Athuman is equally disposable and he knows it, having been fired and demoted by the same president three years ago. The president later tested and trusted his obedience during his brief stint at PCCB.
Should anything happen after next year’s general election, the police and army post may likely need fresh appointments. The police chief, Simon Sirro is nearing retirement, as the army chief Venance Mabeyo is working on a special contract. Athuman would be the president’s most likely appointment for the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP).