Top secret CIA files expose US covert operations in Tanzania’ data (Part 1)

[BARD AI]

The Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service is the national intelligence and security agency of Tanzania. The Agency works closely with other National and International intelligence agencies and security organs in the promotion and maintenance of peace, safety and security in and outside Tanzania’s borders.

An extraordinary database, which was put online last week, exposes previously top secret internal CIA reports outlining America’s longstanding concerns on China’s political, military and economic influence in Tanzania and the inner workings of former president Julius Kambarage Nyerere’s government.

The files show how the CIA had an unfavourable view of Nyerere, who was well-respected globally as a great statesman and leader of the pan-African movement.

The decades-old treasure trove of US intelligence reports reveal how the US was apparently uneasy with Nyerere’s leadership of the African liberation struggle, describing him as a “fanatic.”

The intelligence files suggest that the US government was increasingly frustrated by its inability to control or influence Nyerere, although he was a Western educated African leader.

In one secret special CIA report dated 21 May 1965, US intelligence officers expressed concern at Nyerere’s pan-Africanist position, just four years after Tanzania gained its independence from Britain.

“Tanzania under President Julius Nyerere has been drifting slowly but steadily leftward. Today, it has moved into the vanguard of Africa’s radical states and offers the Chinese communists an unusually promising opportunity to penetrate the (African) continent,” said the top secret CIA file titled “Tanzania Taking the Left Turn.”

“This process (of Chinese influence) has been under way at varying speeds since Tanganyika became independent … but has been accelerated by Nyerere’s determination to lead the struggle for the liberation of southern Africa and by Tanganyika’s union with Zanzibar. Far from coming under moderate Tanganyikan control, Zanzibar has continued to be a centre from which radical, pro-Communist influences radiate.”

In its files, the CIA makes a somewhat skewed opinion of Nyerere in the early years of Tanzania’s independence, describing him as a “weak executive who has surrounded himself with radical lieutenants.”

“On the question of African liberation, Nyerere is a fanatic. Beneath a charming personality which disarms many Westerners, he is a man of strong conviction, prepared to pay almost any price to achieve a united Africa ruled by black Africans,” said the dossier.

“Hypersensitive to any suggestion of outside interference, Nyerere has not hesitated to expel US diplomats and reject West German aid regardless of the consequences.”

The sensitive CIA documents noted how China beat the US by becoming the first nation to establish an embassy in Dar es Salaam after Tanganyika’s independence and hence “attained the most influential and trusted position.”

“China’s presence and prestige in Tanzania has increased steadily … The Chinese may eventually press too hard in Tanzania, but so far they have been more successful than the West or the Soviets in relating themselves to the Africans,” said the file.

MILITARY ESPIONAGE

In July 1971, the CIA conducted a secret intelligence case study in Tanzania titled “Chinese Communist Economic and Military Aid to Tanzania,” which shed more light into America’s decades-old fears about “all-weather” Tanzania-China relations.

“Communist China has established itself as the principal foreign presence in Tanzania during the past three years. The Chinese are now the primary source of arms and training for Tanzania’s military establishment,” said the report.

The intelligence files also reveal that the CIA conducted espionage activity to identify possible successors to Nyerere when he leaves office.

In November 1982, the CIA prepared a 25-page intelligence assessment report titled “Tanzania: Nyerere and Beyond” which looked into possible scenarios for Nyerere’s possible exit from power, including a military coup.

“President Julius Nyerere’s hold on power is slipping, in our judgement, mainly because he and his government are having increasingly difficulty dealing with Tanzania’s numerous and deepening economic problems,” said the intelligence report.

“US embassy officials in Dar es Salaam report that public criticism of Nyerere has become more widespread as these problems mount. Although we have seen no evidence of any organised opposition, discontent is growing among government officials, military personnel and the general public.”

The report also assessed various possible successors to Nyerere in 1982, including former prime minister Edward Sokoine, former army chief Gen. David Musuguri, planning and economic affairs minister Kighoma Malima, Tanzania’s ambassador to the United States Paul Bomani, prime minister Cleopa Msuya, Tanzania’s ambassador to Canada Benjamin Mkapa and personal assistant to the president, Joseph Butiku.

In October 1986, the CIA produced yet another intelligence dossier titled “Tanzania: Prospects for Change,” which was drafted just a year after Nyerere’s decision to voluntarily step down.

The US seemed to under-estimate Nyerere’s influence on key decisions in Tanzania from behind the scenes after his retirement, saying he would only do so for just a couple of years after his retirement in 1985.

“We believe that former president Julius Nyerere’s far-reaching influence will continue to affect the character of Tanzanian politics over the next two years, despite his decision to resign as chief of state … Nyerere still holds key decision-making power that can undercut the government’s authority and give continuing influence to his proteges and followers,” it said.

How Politicisation of ‘Tradecraft’ – that’s the Art of Intelligence – Could Hinder Tanzania Spy Agency’s Counter-Terror Capabilities

Evarist Chahali

07 NOVEMBER 2021

Balozi Wa Tanzania nchini Canada, shushushu mstaafu Jack Zoka “Amaliza Muda Wake.” Je Ametumbuliwa? | by Evarist Chahali | Medium
Press conference from the shadows

On November 5, 2010, the then Deputy Director General of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), Jack Zoka, held a historic press conference in which he denied accusations levied against the spy agency by main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).

It was historic because never in the East African nation’s history had the exceedingly secretive spy agency gone public. During the press conference, Zoka refuted Chadema’s accusations made by the party’s Presidential candidate in the 2010 general election, Dr Wilbrod Slaa, that TISS was plotting to rig the election in favour of the then incumbent, ruling party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)’s candidate Jakaya Kikwete.

Two years later, same Zoka did another press conference, this time refuting allegations that the spy agency was behind an incident involving Dr Steven Ulimboka, then chairperson of the Medical Association of Tanzania, who was abducted from his home, beaten, and dumped in a forest near the main city, Dar es Salaam.

Both news conferences did little to quell long-held negative attitudes towards TISS, which have gained currency in post-1992 political reform Tanzania.

TISS vs the Opposition from the early days

Tanzania adopted plural politics in 1992. The first multiparty election in 1995 saw a spy-turned-politician, Augustine Mrema, ex-Deputy PM, standing at the main opposition party NCCR-Mageuzi presidential candidate, after he defected from the ruling party. Mrema lost the election, and it did not take long before he was embroiled in a bitter inter-party fight, which eventually led to him to quit and joined Tanzania Labour Party (TLP).

There were perceptions that the former intelligence officer joined NCCR-Mageuzi on instruction from TISS with a mission to destroy the opposition.

The following elections, in 2000 and 2005, were dominated by complaints from the opposition that the ruling party was being helped by TISS to steal their votes. However, it was the 2010 election that saw the spy agency coming out from the shadows to defend itself. The 2015 and 2020 general elections were no different.

Is TISS pro-CCM?

Reliable contacts have noted that there exists a symbiotic relationship between the intelligence agency and the ruling party. On the one hand, under CCM’s leadership, TISS has been able to operate without oversight from the government. Because Tanzania is still a hegemonic political regime, the ruling party is more powerful than the government.

On the other hand, according to sources, the spy agency treats the ruling party remaining in power as a matter of utmost importance to national security.

However, the relationship has even deeper roots. According to sources, the spy agency played a crucial part in the formation CCM in 1977 from union between Tanzania Mainland’s TANU (Tanganyika African National Union) and Zanzibar’s ASP (Afro Shirazi Party).

Pre-1992 political reform environment still exists

While the political reforms in 1992 saw the introduction of multipartyism, and there are now nineteen registered political parties in the country, such a constitutional requirement that security organs should not engage in political activities is not fully adhered to. It is no surprise, for instance, that the Police Force has earned a moniker “poli-CCM” (portmanteau of police and CCM) because of their perceived favouritism to the ruling party amid infringing the rights of the opposition.

President as de-facto TISS chief and ruling party chairperson.

The President of Tanzania is known in intelligence circles as the sponsor, i.e., the main “consumer” of intelligence reports from TISS. The same president is also the chairperson of the ruling party CCM. With no oversight, there is virtually nothing to stop the president to use the intelligence from the spy agency for the interests of CCM.

Likewise, Regional Security Officers (RSOs) and District Security Officers (DSOs) collaborate closely with ruling party’s regional and district leadership, respectively.

Schadenfreude?

Two recent terror-related events in Tanzania, could serve well in explaining the hurdles in intelligence gathering as a result could affect TISS’ capabilities in dealing with existing and future terror threat.

The incident on October 15, 2020 in which Islamic State (IS) fighters in Mozambique staged their first claimed attack into southern Tanzania, killing at least twenty people in Kitaya, Mtwara Province, and the August 25, 2021 killings of three police officers and a private security guard, in the embassy district of Dar es Salaam before the assailant was shot dead, were “celebrated” by some Tanzanians on social media.

In the latter incident, some supporters of Chadema, whose chairperson Freeman Mbowe, has been charged with terrorism-related offences, reminded security organs to after “real terrorists,” reflecting on the charges being politically motivated.


How politicisation of tradecraft, that’s the art of spying, could hinder TISS’ capabilities to deal with terror threats

The growing irrelevance, uselessness and unpopularity of the increasingly reactionary security organs in Tanzania, including TISS, is making it difficult to effectively collect relevant intelligence regarding existing and future terror threats.

Effectiveness of any intelligence service heavily depends on its ability to recruit new sources, which could be difficult with current anti-TISS sentiments.

It is conceivable to think that those who plan to put Tanzania in harms way could find support in such an environment in which security organs, like TISS, are seen as enemies of the people.

Tanzania party accuses spy agency of vote theft

Nation Media Group

November 04, 2010

Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS) deputy director, Jacky Mugendi Zoka, adresses reporters when refuting allegations by Chadema Presidential candidate, Dr Willibrod Slaa that the unit had a hand in rigging the polls. Photo | Fidelis Felix

Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS) yesterday distanced itself from claims by the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) presidential candidate, Dr Willibrod Slaa, that the agency was being used to steal votes cast in favour of him.

On Wednesday, Dr Slaa told a news conference in Dar es Salaam that TISS has doctored presidential election results being announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) with an intention of showing that he has failed to win the elections.

TISS Deputy Director Jackie Zoka told a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Dr Slaa’s statement was intended to create disharmony between the agency and wananchi.

He said TISS has been forced to react to the allegations because they were serious and if not disproved people could take the claims by Dr Slaa seriously.

This is the first time in the history of TISS to respond to allegations levelled against the agency since the country’s independence 49 years ago.

Mr Zoka appealed to the people to brush aside Dr Slaa’s claims saying they were intended to create chaos among people.

“These allegations are very serious taking into account that they are made by a person who vying for the leadership of our nation,” said Mr Zoka.

He added: “If the allegations are left without any response there is likelihood that people could take them seriously, and it could also create an impression that a presidential winner to be announced by the national Electoral Commission (NEC) has been picked by the TISS instead of being elected by people.”

He said the whole electoral process, including voting, counting and declaration of election results, was being done in a transparent manner, adding that it does not bring to senses how TISS could be involved.

He said the voting was done in polling centres, counting of votes witnessed by political parties’ agents, filling of forms by the agents and sending the preliminary results to tallying centres.

Mr Zoka said the TISS was not involved whatsoever during this electoral chain of events. “How come TISS officials are involved in doctoring the results? These allegations are only intended to tarnish the good image of TISS,” said Zoka.

He said the fact that TISS was conducting its businesses covertly should not be the reason for tarnishing its image.

Mr Zoka asked Dr Slaa to produce evidence to support his allegations to make them credible.

He denied Dr Slaa’s claim that he received information from TISS officials, saying his claims were only aimed at breaching the prevailing peace in the country.

“In simple language we say Dr Slaa has been cheated,” said Mr Zoka.

He said the main task of TISS was to ensure national security and not a source of insecurity.

On Wednesday, Dr Slaa asked NEC to immediately rescind the presidential election results and call a fresh poll, alleging shortcomings and irregularities during and after last Sunday’s polling.

He alleged the security forces, including the police force, and NEC officials had been involved in the fabrication of election results in several areas.

The NEC chairman Judge Lewis Makame challenged Chadema to send the claims to the Commission for verification. “Where is his data showing that what we are announcing is different from what has been gathered from the polling stations?” Mr Makame posed.

“All the commission does is to verify the results before announcing them to the public. I cannot say anything more until we receive official complaints from the party,” he added.

NEC’s Director of Elections, Mr Rajabu Kiravu, said their duty was to verify the results and correct any mistakes, but not to favour any candidate or party.
“We are not doing favours to any party. We are here to correct mistakes and not otherwise,” he added.

At his press conference, Dr Slaa had also asked the NEC to conduct fresh elections in all the constituencies where problems had been noted or his party would go to court.

Latest results Wednesday placed Dr Slaa, 62-year-old firebrand politician, third after incumbent Jakaya Kikwete of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM – Revolution Party) and Ibrahim Lipumba, the candidate of the Civic United Front (CUF). The results showed Kikwete was leading in 145 out of the 171 constituencies announced. Tanzania has 239 constituencies.

The Chadema candidate accused the NEC of collaborating with members of the National Intelligence to “expertly steal opposition votes in several areas of the country”.

The party, he said, had evidence of the alleged involvement of the National Intelligence and NEC officials in fabricating election results in some constituencies.

According to Dr Slaa, at one such station in Same East constituency, registration number 002586, President Kikwete had garnered 190 votes, against only 26 votes for Dr Slaa.

The Chadema candidate also alleged a plot to increase CCM candidates’ votes at the district tallying centre level. This, he alleged, is where the votes from the polling stations had been altered.

“At Muheza, No. 40401 polling centre, the CCM presidential candidate got only 92 votes and Chadema scored 57, and this was recorded by our clerks and signed at the station. But the NEC announced 359 votes for CCM and 15 votes for Chadema,” he claimed.

Chadema demanded the resignation of the TISS director, accusing him of failing to treat all Tanzanians fairly. The party also urged the international community and election observers to release their reports immediately.

He named Segerea, where, he claimed, the NEC had failed to show results forms for 36 stations in Kiwalani ward, four in Kipawa, two in Vingunguti ward and two in Tabata ward.

In Morogoro Urban constituency, the Dr Slaa claimed, clerks’ data showed that the Chadema candidate had won, but NEC had announced the CCM candidate as the victor. He also alleged irregularities in Kibakwe, Kiteto and Lindi constituencies.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 2

Tanzania media demand action over attacks on journalists

3 April 2013

Media and human rights activists in Tanzania are up in arms over what they say is a rising tide of violence against journalists critical of corruption, who have been attacked and in some cases killed — crimes the police have been unable to solve. Local media groups have accused members of the security and law enforcement agencies of complicity, but a police spokesman has denied this and defended the slow pace of investigations into the attacks.
Senior politicians have been implicated in corruption scandals exposed by the media in recent years, and the government has banned newspapers and radio stations it has found excessively critical of its policies.
In the latest incident, the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum, Absalom Kibanda, was seriously injured in an attack by unknown assailants outside his home on March 5. He has consistently written against political corruption.

Two months earlier, a Kakonko District-based radio journalist, Issa Ngumba, was found dead, his body riddled with gunshot wounds. No one has been arrested or charged.
In September 2012, Channel 10 TV journalist Daudi Mwangosi was killed and his body ripped open when a riot police officer fired a teargas canister at close range during an opposition rally.
A group of Tanzanian media organizations have strongly condemned the attacks, expressed disappointment at the slow pace of police investigations, and urged the government to order an independent inquiry.

Media representatives have requested a meeting with the heads of security organizations, including the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services.
“The rate of these incidents has been on the increase and as a result we need to meet these top leaders and discuss what went wrong and what we can do to ensure safety for journalists,” said Reginald Mengi, chairman of the Media Owners Association of Tanzania.
The journalists’ killings have pushed Tanzania down in the global press freedom rankings. According to the 2013 World Press Freedom Index, it has fallen 36 places and is now ranked at 70 out of 179 countries surveyed.

Media groups have accused officials in the law enforcement and security agencies of complicity. “The pace at which security organs investigate such attacks is very slow… some members of security forces are seemingly culpable,” officials from the media group said.
But in an interview with TrustLaw on March 27, police spokesman and Dar es Salaam special zone police commander Suleiman Kova dismissed the allegations, saying the mandate of the police and other law enforcement bodies was to protect civilians and their property. Under no circumstances could they collude with criminals, he added.

“We are still investigating all the incidents including violent attacks against journalists. It would not be wise to pre-empt the work of a committee that we have assigned to investigate the matter.”
He confirmed the media groups’ request for a meeting with top security officials but said he did not know when it would take place.
Sceptical media officials cited, as an example of the pressure on their staff, freelance journalist Erick Kabendera, whose parents were questioned about their nationality by immigration officials who accused their son of ‘trading state secrets’ to European powers.

Tanzania is due to hold general elections in 2015 and powerful politicians within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party are embroiled in a fierce power struggle to succeed the outgoing president.
Some of these politicians have been implicated in corruption scandals, exposed by the media, including one involving the central bank, and another over the $172 million Richmond power generation deal, which forced Edward Lowassa to stand down as premier and two other ministers to resign in 2008.
The government has banned some newspapers and radio stations critical of its policies. The newspaper MwanaHalisi was banned for sedition last year after it reported extensively on state security agents it said were involved in an assassination attempt against Steven Ulimboka, chairman of the Medical Association of Tanzania.

Ulimboka said he was abducted by gunmen in Dar es Salaam last June, driven to the outskirts and beaten, at a time when he was mobilizing doctors across the country to strike for a pay rise.
In 2008 two of the newspaper’s editors, Saed Kubenea and Ndimara Tegambwage, were attacked with acid by unknown assailants while working in the newsroom.

Police said their preliminary investigation into the assault on Kibanda suggested it was planned since his personal effects, including a laptop computer, an Ipad and mobile phones, were not stolen. He was flown to South Africa for medical treatment after suffering broken teeth, eye damage and a hacked finger.
Kibanda and two former colleagues were due to appear in court on March 26 to face sedition charges in connection with an article published in the paper Tanzania Daima in which they are alleged to have incited policemen to disobey ‘irrational’ state orders to act against civilians. The case was adjourned until further notice.
The attacks on journalists have drawn international attention. “The work of journalists is essential to educate the public and to encourage the free flow of ideas in society… attacks against media professionals threaten the very foundation of democracy,” U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso Lenhardt said in a statement on March 8.
But the threats continue. Evarist Chahali, a columnist with the weekly newspaper Raia Mwema, has told the paper he has been informed by British police of death threats against him.
Chahali, who used to work for the Tanzanian Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), now lives in Scotland and has written articles for Raia Mwema that are highly critical of the way TISS operates.

Tanzanian government claims the Seven bullet riddled bodies
Lusaka Voice

07 September 2014

A combined team of the Zambia and Tanzanian police officers picking dead bodies of 7 men suspected to be Tanzanians found dumped in a bush in Yolo Village, 500 metres from the Tanzanian / Zambia border on Friday last week. Picture by Jonathan Mukuka
A combined team of the Zambia and Tanzanian police officers picking dead bodies of 7 men suspected to be Tanzanians found dumped in a bush in Yolo Village, 500 metres from the Tanzanian / Zambia border on Friday last week. Picture by Jonathan Mukuka
Tanzanian government authorities have claimed the 7 bodies of the their nationals shot dead by unknown people in the early morning of Friday last week.

The seven bodies of middle aged men riddled with bullet shots where found dumped in a bush in Yolo village about 500 metres away from the Tanzania Zambia border.

ZANIS reports that Muchinga Province Deputy Police Commissioner Bonny Kapeso has confirmed the development in an interview in Chinsali District today.

A combined team of the Zambia and Tanzanian police officers picking dead bodies of 7 men suspected to be Tanzanians found dumped in a bush in Yolo Village, 500 metres from the Tanzanian / Zambia border on Friday last week. Picture by Jonathan Mukuka
A combined team of the Zambia and Tanzanian police officers picking dead bodies of 7 men suspected to be Tanzanians found dumped in a bush in Yolo Village, 500 metres from the Tanzanian / Zambia border on Friday last week. Picture by Jonathan Mukuka
Mr. Kapeso said all the 7 bodies were claimed last night around 23:00 hours and taken back to Tanzania.

He said police at Nakonde have also handed over one middle aged man who was nursing bullet wounds at New Nakonde District Hospital and is suspected to have been with the dead men.

Mr. Kapeso however, could not give details as to how the man survived.

A suspect was picked early in the morning on Friday near Chaula filling station with bullet wounds on the left side of the chest similar to the bullet wounds found on the slain men who were found dumped in a bush in Yolo village about 500 metres from the Tanzania / Zambia border.

Mr. Kapeso said police are still investigating the matter to find out the motive behind dumping the dead bodies on the Zambian soil.

On Friday last week, residents of Yolo village woke up to a rude shock when they found seven dead bodies in the bush.

Yolo Village headman Laston Mugala told ZANIS in an interview that the 7 bodies were found by school- going children around 06:00 hours.

Mr. Mugala said they could not see or hear the sound of a vehicle that brought the 7 dead bodies and dumped them in a bush adding that marks of vehicle tyres dripping blood where visible over a long distance from Tanzania into Zambia where the bodies were dumped.

The seven bodies were kept at old Nakonde district hospital before they were claimed by the Tanzanian authorities.

How Dar saved Kenya from Al-Shabaab hit

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete to address Kenya's Parliament
The Citizen

APRIL 21 2014

Tanzania helped foil terrorist attacks intended to disrupt last year’s General Election in Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s swearing-in ceremony.
In an exclusive interview with the Nation Media Group in Dar es Salaam, President Jakaya Kikwete revealed, however, that the terrorists were arrested, scuttling the attack plans.
“I remember we had to deal with some groups that wanted to disrupt the Kenyan elections; they were trying to hide here and we had to arrest them before the Kenyan elections but these are issues that we always deal with quietly,” he said.

His account was confirmed by senior Kenyan security officials on condition of anonymity as the matter was of utmost secrecy.
Acting on information from the Tanzanian authorities, four suspects were picked up on the eve of the March 2013 elections.
About three others were arrested just before President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto formally took the oath of office at the Kasarani Stadium in front of thousands of spectators and over a dozen African Heads of State.
President Kenyatta and senior security officials have previously hinted that Kenya has on several occasions nipped in the bud, plans for major terrorist attacks, even though some, such as the Westgate Mall attack, succeeded.

In a recent interview, President Kenyatta praised security forces for stopping terror attacks but declined to divulge details.
In Dar es Salaam, President Kikwete said early this week that terrorism and religious extremism remain key threats to peace and stability in the region.
He said religious extremism went beyond the scope of domestic political tensions.
“The religious extremism has nothing to do with the Union. It is a phenomenon that we all have to grapple with all of us.
It is very much related to the Al-Qaeda movement; the number of cells that they have established all over the world.

It is something that we have been working on jointly, sharing a lot of intelligence information,” he said.
The threat of terrorism has forced the neighbouring countries to be on a constant state of alert and to build capacities to carry out investigations and remain ahead of those planning such attacks.
“It is a serious matter; a worldwide problem. That time they were targeting US establishments but these days they are targeting our own people and our own establishments, so it is something we are concerned about.”

Separate interviews with senior Kenyan security officials revealed how close working relations with Tanzania thwarted at least two terror attacks targeting Kenya early last year.
At least one terror suspect was killed in Tanzania and seven others arrested.
Following reports that some attackers were sneaking into Tanzania to plot attacks, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) enhanced exchange of information, leading to the arrests.

Late February 2013, at least 40 terror suspects crossed to Kenya after undergoing training in Somalia.
As a result of heightened covert security operations, about 10 of them were arrested but five managed to sneak into Tanzania.
One of them was killed by security agents there and another arrested and is presently in jail.
Tanzania was also closely monitoring its nationals who underwent terrorist training in Nguluni, Kenya, before they returned home.
Some are said to have fled to South Africa where they are suspected to be plotting some attacks.
Kenya’s Inspector General of Police, Mr David Kimaiyo, refused to comment on the matter but confirmed that the Kenyan security agents were working very closely with the neighbouring countries in dealing with transnational crimes.

Tanzania poll: John Magufuli of CCM defeats Edward Lowassa

Presidential candidate John Magufuli waves to supporters after addressing a rally by ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on October 23, 2015
BBC News
29 October 2015

Tanzania’s governing CCM party candidate John Magufuli has won the presidential election with 58% of the vote, the electoral commission says.

His main rival Edward Lowassa has rejected the official results that gave him 40% of the ballots cast.

The opposition Ukawa coalition candidate earlier claimed he had won with 62% of the vote.

The elections on Sunday were the most fierce the governing party faced after 54 years in power.

John Magufuli won on a promise to tackle corruption and unemployment
John Magufuli is celebrating his 56th birthday so the presidency is a perfect gift for him. He was never a CCM insider and confounded many when he was elected as the ruling party’s presidential candidate.

Jakaya Kikwete: Why I stood by the late President John Pombe Magufuli to the end
As works minister in the outgoing government, Mr Magufuli was reputed to be a no-nonsense, results-driven politician. He became known as “The Bulldozer” for driving a programme to build roads across the country.

He campaigned for the presidency on a platform of hard work, and will now have to tackle far bigger problems facing the East African state. This includes constant power outages, and corruption – an issue which led to many people turning against CCM in the election.

Abdallah Safari, vice-president of Chadema, one of the four opposition parties that make up Ukama, told the BBC that Tanzanians “have been robbed of their victory”.

BBC Tanzania analyst Zuhura Yunus says the result is a big blow for Mr Lowassa after four opposition parties put their faith in him, uniting for the first time to field a single candidate.


Edward Lowassa, a former prime minister, defected from governing CCM a few months ago
She says Mr Lowassa is convinced he won and the question now is whether he will challenge the result further, or throw in the towel.

European Union observers said that the elections were “generally well organised” but “with insufficient efforts at transparency from the election administrations”.

Teams from the African Union and southern African regional body Sadc said that the vote had largely been “free and fair”, despite all groups raising concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar’s local elections.

Puzzle of 7 bodies deepens

The Citizen

DECEMBER 22 2016

The mystery surrounding the seven bodies that were fished out of Ruvu River and disappearance of Chadema official Ben Saanane is yet to be resolved as the Police Force says it is still investigating both incidents.
Speaking with journalists yesterday for the first time on both cases, Acting Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Robert Boaz said it wasn’t true that the police are ignoring the two matters.
Three weeks ago, seven bodies of unidentified men aged approximately between 25 and 35 were discovered by locals in Makurunge Village floating on the river. They were wrapped in polythene bags fitted with rocks.

The DCI also refuted claims that the bodies were buried without any samples taken for DNA testing. “Doctors conducted post-mortem on the bodies before they were buried. Six bodies were severely decomposed, so we had to bury them at the village in which they were found. The remaining body, which was intact, was taken to Bagamoyo District Hospital. Since no one claimed it, it was buried by the district council 10 days later—on December 16,” he said.
However, Mr Boaz declined to make the postmortem report public, saying the matter was still under investigation. “There is a lot of investigation work that is still ongoing… I cannot reveal the postmortem report to the public for security reasons. We want to confirm who the victims were and what actually befell them. Our doors are also open to all those with more information on the matter to come forward,” he said.

Chadema and a group of young political activists identified themselves as “Union of the Thinking Generation” (UTG) on separate occasions this month accused the police of rushing to bury the bodies without taking DNA samples that families with missing relatives, including that of Mr Saanane, could use for identification.
Last week, Minister for Home Affairs Mwigulu Nchemba said that preliminary investigations have shown that the bodies were of undocumented Ethiopian immigrants. He reiterated his position on Monday this week when he visited Coast Region. However, he said the investigations to ascertain the matter were still ongoing. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa also ordered the police last week to step up their investigations to unlock the mystery behind the deaths which he termed senseless.

We have no torture cells in Dar, says police chief

Tanzania police arrest opposition party members in latest crackdown
The Citizen

DECEMBER 15 2016

Inspector General of Police Ernest Mangu yesterday denied allegations the government had set up torture chambers in Dar es Salaam.
Mr Mangu dismissed as “baseless and malicious” remarks made earlier in the day by Chadema Director of Legal Affairs Tundu Lissu, who claimed that people suspected of committing cyber offences were being dealt with in police torture chambers in the city.

“It’s simply not true. Whoever told you that should be the one who should shed more light on these so-called torture chambers and offer irrefutable proof that they do indeed exist…that’s all I have to say,” Mr Mangu told The Citizen by telephone when reached for comment.
Mr Lissu told a news conference that the opposition party had credible information the government had set up two “torture dungeons” in Mikocheni and Oysterbay in the city.
He said people arrested on suspicion of violating the cybercrime law were being questioned by a special police unit established to deal with terrorism and poaching, and whose mandate had been expanded to cover cybercrime.

“For six months up to the end of November a total of 142 people had been arrested in various parts of the country allegedly for insulting President John Magufuli on social media. They were brought to Dar es Salaam and sent to torture chambers,” the Singida East MP said.
Mr Lissu made the allegations when speaking about the disappearance of Chadema official Ben Saanane, who went missing last month.
Mr Saanane, who is an advisor to Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe on political and social matters, had not been seen since November 24.
Mr Lissu said Chadema still had no idea where Mr Saanane was, adding that the party had stepped up its efforts to trace him.

Mr Saanane also worked as a research and policy analyst with Chadema, work which Mr Lissu described as “very sensitive”.
“His disappearance must not be taken lightly. His last communication with Mr Mbowe was on November 14 when the chairman was about to travel to Urambo to attend the burial of former Speaker of the National Assembly Samuel Sitta.”
Prior to his disappearance Mr Saanane received several death threats, which he reported to police, Mr Lissu added.

He said the safety and security of Tanzanians was the government’s responsibility, adding that the relevant authorities owed the nation an explanation.
“If the government is holding him it should say so and state why he has still not been charged with any offence. If he’s not in custody, the government should establish who were the last people Saanane communicated with by telephone before he disappeared. The government has the resources and ability to do this,” he said.


Mr Lissu queried why seven bodies pulled out of the Ruvu River in Bagamoyo District last week were “hurriedly” buried before sufficient efforts were made to identify the dead men.
He said the explanation the bodies were badly decomposed was unconvincing, and called for the remains to be exhumed and examined by pathologists to establish the cause of death and possibly identify the deceased
“This is the only way we can be sure that one of the bodies recovered last week was not our colleague’s.”
In another development, Chadema asked the defence and security forces to immediately remove from service officers who have accepted positions in political parties, saying it was against the Constitution.
Mr Lissu made the remarks when commenting on the appointment of Colonel Ngemela Lubinga of the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) as CCM’s secretary of politics and international cooperation.
“The Constitution forbids members of the disciplined forces from involving themselves in party politics. All officers from TPDF and other security and defence forces who are now political party operatives should be removed from service immediately,” he said.

Public outrage over ‘kidnapping’ of Roma Mkatoliki

BBC News Africa on Twitter: "Tanzania rapper Roma Mkatoliki explains mystery disappearance, says he was abducted by armed men and tortured. https://t.co/yN2Zzj1rCG https://t.co/AE7GsaK1cS" / Twitter
The Citizen

APRIL 08 2017

The suspected kidnapping of three artistes, including Ibrahim Musa, alias Roma Mkatoliki, has sparked a public uproar.

Unknown assailants are said to have stormed a music studio in Masaki, where the three artistes were Wednesday evening, and whisked them away.

Over 20 artistes yesterday gathered and held a press conference in the city to condemn the ‘kidnapping’ of their colleagues and demanded answers from the authorities.

Ms Nancy Mshana, the wife of Roma, who was also present at the press conference, appealed for a joint effort bringing together security organs, the media and artistes in searching for her husband.

She broke down into tears and had to be escorted outside by one of her husband’s close friends. “Frankly, I’m at a loss of words. It’s hard to accept. I need your full support to ensure he returns home safely,” she pleaded.

Tanzania Artistes Association chairman Samuel Mbwana said no tangible information had been obtained from police. They reported the incident Thursday morning.

“More information will be provided by police tomorrow; therefore, I would like to ask everybody to stay calm and wait for the reports,” he said.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Simon Sirro is today expected to brief artistes on the ongoing investigation.

Mr Junior Makame alias J-Mada, the owner of Tongwe Studio, where the three were reportedly kidnapped, said unidentified men took a number of items, including a computer set before leaving with Roma and two other artistes.

“I received a call from an eyewitness at around 7pm. According to her, people dressed in civilian clothes raided the studio and took Roma and two other people and left with musical instruments,” he said.

Human rights bodies condemned the kidnapping yesterday and challenged the police to ensure the artistes are found and no similar incident happens again.

Some Members of Parliament have said they are not happy with “the silence” by the government.
Dr Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, executive director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), urged police to come out and explain because there was widespread suspicions the raiders were from the security organ.
She said the country has witnessed lawmakers arrested without reason, and now civilians are suffering the same fate.

“Let’s recall how Dr Steven Ulimboka was abducted. Days later he was found brutally injured. To this day, it is unclear who did that. Now, we don’t know the whereabouts of Ben Saanane; we should not keep quiet,” Dr Kijo-Bisimba said.

Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa, country coordinator at the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), told The Citizen they are going to court to ask for a notice demanding the police to search for him Monday, if the three are still missing.

He said his organisation is receiving and working on information related to the disappearance as they wait for the police to release a statement.
Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe warned that the mysterious disappearance of people could be aimed at instilling fear in critical members of the society. He said he would table a motion in Parliament for the establishment of a probe team.

“Up to now Ben Saanane is nowhere to be seen and some don’t seem to care; Roma was abducted and people belittle this. We cannot allow this to happen again,” he said.

Nzega Urban MP Hussein Bashe wrote on his Facebook page: “Who is behind all this? It must be a gang that has usurped power and is busy planting seeds of fear and discord in society to tarnish the good image of CCM.”

“We have the responsibility to reject fear. We have the responsibility to reject abuse by security organs. We have the responsibility to fight for the values our founding fathers Karume and Nyerere stood for. We have the responsibility to reject oppression.

Mr Bahame Nyanduga, chairman of the Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance, said they would issue a statement Monday.
Former Home Affairs deputy minister Khamis Kagasheki yesterday tweeted: “Mr Mwigulu Nchemba, what is the correct information on the whereabouts of Roma Mkatoliki? There is too much talk. Don’t allow useless debates to continue. Provide information.”

A late evening statement by the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports acknowledged the disappearance of the three artistes.
“The ministry is asking all stakeholders and the general public to cooperate with the police and provide any information that could lead to the establishment of the whereabouts of the artistes,” the statement reads in part. It said the incident was of a criminal nature.

Zitto vows to push House for probe into abductions

Tanzanian opposition leader urges united front ahead of vote – CBS17.com
The Citizen

APRIL 14 2017

Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe has urged the public not to lose heart after his request to table a private member’s motion on the recent spate of abductions and torture was turned down by Parliament.

Mr Kabwe, who expressed his intention to table the motion on Tuesday, said the House turned down his request Wednesday evening.

He wanted the National Assembly to form a team to probe the abductions and torture of civilians, which he said were being executed by a group of people from the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS).

Despite the setback, the Kigoma Urban MP has vowed to continue pushing for the probe team when Parliament resumes after the Easter break to discuss the President’s Office budget for 2017/18 fiscal year.

“I urge people not to lose heart because we will continue to push for the agenda, when a minister responsible for Tiss will table her budget in the House,” said Mr Kabwe.

On Tuesday, the Kigoma Urban MP claimed he had evidence that the perpetrators of the abductions and torture were a group of people from TISS.

“It’s the police who are given powers to arrest but now intelligence officers are also arresting people. I can testify that people who raided Clouds Media and the one who threatened Nape Nnauye with a pistol were from the presidential security unit,” he said.

However, the Minister in the President office dealing with Regional Administration and Local Governments, Mr George Simbachawene, stood up and reminded Mr Zitto that it’s a taboo to discuss national security issues and asked him to submit evidence on the involvement of intelligence officials in kidnapping and arrests.

But this prompted Nzega Urban MP, Hussein Bashe (CCM) to also interject: “Stop hypocrisy. I was personally arrested by national security and experienced that humiliation. What kind of evidence do you need? I am a CCM MP and will tell the truth forever. You can suspend me from the party if you wish.”

Some MPs have linked the abductions to operatives within the intelligence agency.
On Tuesday, Mr Kabwe told the House that the mysterious people who raided Clouds Media Group studios with the Dar es Salaam RC, and the man who drew a gun to threaten former Information Minister Nape Nnauye, were from the presidential security unit.

His claims add to speculation that has left the government exposed over its apparent failure to provide information or act to assure the public of their safety.

Former information minister Nape Nnauye last weekend said a secret squad working outside the security system was behind the abductions, and asked President Magufuli to form a probe team to establish who was behind the group.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 3

Pressure piles up on kidnaps

Missing – Ben Sanane
The Citizen

APRIL 12 2017

Pressure is mounting for the government to take measures over incidents of abductions which MPs allege are linked with intelligence officers.
The lawmakers alleged there is a group in the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (Tiss) which is executing the abductions and arresting of people, something which is outside the Tiss mandate. It was the second straight day that the matter of mysterious kidnaps and disappearance of members of the public was receiving attention in Parliament.

It adds to the growing saga which has left the government exposed over failure to provide information or act to assure the public of their safety. Former information minister Nape Nnauye last weekend said a secret squad working outside the security system was behind the kidnapping incidents and asked President John Magufuli to form a probe team to establish those behind the squad.
Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe (ACT- Wazalendo) claimed he had evidence that TISS operatives are involved in the spate of kidnaps ongoing in the country.

He said even the people who raided Clouds Media Group offices in the company of the Dar es Salaam RC and the one who drew a gun to threaten former Information Minister Nape Nnauye were from the presidential security unit.
“I hereby notify the National Assembly that I will table a private motion demanding the House to form a special probe committee on the trend,” he said citing Standing Order Number 120.

“Ben Saanane disappeared and police information I have indicates that he was kidnapped by intelligence officers. Yet, they are not supposed to enforce laws. “It’s a taboo to discuss intelligence and security issues here, but things are getting out of hand. The government is silent and there’s isn’t any update from even the parliamentary security committee,” said Mr Kabwe, before he was stopped on a point of information from Minister in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Governments) Mr George Simbachawene.

The minister informed Mr Kabwe that intelligence and security issues cannot be debated in the House.
He asked MPs who were discussing those issues to submit evidence to the chairperson. However, Mr Hussein Bashe (Nzega Urban-CCM) on a point of order said: “Let’s avoid hypocrisy in these issues. I am one of the people who have experienced arrest by the Tiss officers. I was humiliated, what kind of evidence do you need? I’m a CCM MP and will tell the truth. You can kick me out if you wish,” the visibly agitated legislator said as chairman Zungu asked him to calm down. The MPs feel the law was being broken by Tiss officers. According to section 5 (2) of the Security Services Act, it shall not be a function of the Service to enforce measures for security or to institute surveillance of any person or category of persons engaged lawfully in protest, or dissent in respect of any matter affecting the Constitution, the laws or the Government.
The latest incident of kidnapping happened last Wednesday when hip hop artiste Ibrahim Musa alias Roma Mkatoliki and three colleagues were abducted by unknown people.

Lissu shot in assassination bid

The Citizen

SEPTEMBER 07 2017

Opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu was yesterday shot and seriously wounded by unknown assailants as he arrived at his Dodoma home after attending Parliament’s morning session.
The Singida East MP was shot as he was about to disembark from his car in the municipality’s leafy Area D suburb.
His attackers sprayed the front passenger door of his black Toyota Land Cruiser with bullets after Mr Lissu apparently hesitated to alight from the vehicle.
This reporter counted at least 18 bullet holes on the door and its closed window. There were also bullet holes on the rear door and one of the tyres was shot out.
Thinking that they had killed the lawmakers, the gunmen, who were in a car with heavily tinted windows, sped away from the scene.

The MP was rushed to Dodoma Regional Hospital, where he was immediately wheeled into the theatre for surgery to remove bullets lodged in his body.

News of the attempt on Mr Lissu’s life broke at around 2pm and sent the sleepy capital into a frenzy, with hundreds of people thronging the regional hospital.
Health minister Ummy Mwalimu told reporters Mr Lissu was by 5pm still being operated on by a team of surgeons, who included the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya. Ms Mwalimu said that Mr Lissu would be transferred to Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam for specialised treatment.

Police, doctors speak out
The Dodoma Regional Medical Officer, Dr James Charles, said Mr Lissu, who is also president of the Tanganyika Law Society, was shot several times in the abdomen and leg.
Briefing reporters in a joint press conference with the police and Dodoma regional authorities, Dr Charles said a team of medical experts had been assembled to operate on Mr Lissu.
“He is in a stable condition. We will issue further updates in due course,” he said.
Dodoma Regional Commissioner Jordan Rugimbana banned unathorised gatherings in the municipality.
“We also don’t want crowds to assemble at or near the hospital because the area is too small to accommodate many people,” he said.
“People should stay calm and go about their normal activities. We will inform them if there are any new developments.”

Dodoma Regional Police Commander Gilles Muroto said preliminary investigations had established that the gunmen who shot Mr Lissu were in a white Nissan car and appealed to the public to volunteer information.
“We welcome people to volunteer information that will help us track down the attackers,” he said.
Attackers trailed Lissu’s vehicle
Mr Lissu left parliament grounds at around 1pm with his driver, according to Rombo MP Joseph Selasini. Shortly after entering the main road, the driver noticed a white Nissan minivan trailing them.
He alerted his boss, but continued driving until they arrived at the lawmaker’s residence.
“The assailants followed Lissu to his home. They stopped a few metres from Lissu’s car after it had stopped. They waited for Lissu to come out. When he didn’t, they opened one of the windows of their car and shot one of the front tyres of Lissu’s car. They then sprayed the front passenger door with bullets because they knew that was where Lissu was seated. They then sped away,” said Mr Selasini, quoting the MP’s driver.

Chadema, CCM, Magufuli react
Meanwhile, Chadema yesterday issued a statement condemning the attack.
“Chadema has received reports of the shooting of the party’s chief legal adviser with shock and dismay. We are closely monitoring his condition,” the party said.
The ruling CCM also condemned the shooting and called for speedy investigations into the matter.
President John Magufuli also said in a 6pm tweet that he wished Mr Lissu quick recovery and directed security agencies to stop at nothing to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 4

It was a political assassination attempt, Lissu tells journalists

The Citizen

JANUARY 06 2018

Tanzanian Opposition Chief Whip Tundu Lissu still has one bullet lodged in his body after a September 7, 2017 gun attack outside his Dodoma home.
Speaking to journalists at Nairobi Hospital where he has been admitted since then, Mr Lissu termed his attack a political assassination attempt.

“The attack on me was purely an assassination attempt, which I believe is politically motivate. It is by God’s grace that I survived,” said Mr Lissu, who left Nairobi Hospital after four months of treatment.
Reacting, government spokesperson Hassan Abassi took to twitter to respond to Mr Lissu’s allegations.
“Mr Lissu is still sick. It wouldn’t be wise to respond to him while he is in hospital ward,” wrote Dr Abassi.
“In Tanzania’s post-independence political history and in Tanzania’s parliament’s history, it has never happened for people to gun down a politician using semi-automatic rifles simply because of his different political views or of his outspokenness inside and outside the parliament,” he said.
According to him the attackers trailed him from home to Parliament and from Parliament to home with the intention of killing him.

“About 38 bullets were sprayed on the car that I was in and 16 of them hit me, half of them remained in the body. Dodoma and Nairobi hospitals have removed seven bullets. One will remain in my body because it is too dangerous to remove,” said he.
He said he has undergone 17 surgeries todate all aimed at saving his life so he would resume his activities.
“I still have one bullet lodged just below my spine. Doctors feel it’s not a threat to me and believe the effort to remove it would be much bigger danger than leaving it in the same place,” he said.
According to him Tanzania Parliament has not issued even a single cent on his treatment. This is despite the fact that his relatives have written an official letter asking for financial support.
He asked the international community to pile pressure on the government of President John Magufuli over its human rights record.

“The international community needs to condemn the spate of arrests, disappearances and killings of people that have been on the rise of recently,” he said.
He cited the disappearances of Mwananchi Communications Limited journalist Azory Gwanda and former Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe aide Ben Saanane as act of violation of human rights.
“Despite the disappearance of the journalist, no attempt has been made by the state machinery to trace his whereabouts,” he said.

Mr Lissu said it is the government constitutional mandate to protect its citizens.
Outspoken MP warned that Tanzania was “fast sliding down a dark road to dictatorship”, saying it was time for concerted efforts by the global community to condemn incidents of human rights violation.
Mr Lissu was attacked on September 7, 2017 outside his residence in Dodoma. He was returning from attending a parliamentary session.

The so-called ‘unknown’ people must be made known

SEPTEMBER 27 2017

The Citizen

Many Tanzanians have recently been gripped by the fear of the so-called “unknown” after a faceless gang of terrorists inflicted pangs, twangs and sufferings on some innocent people.
All hell broke loose when the “unknown” outlaws made an attempt on the life of the president of Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Mr Tundu Lissu, who also is the Member of Parliament for Singida East (Chadema), two weeks ago in Dodoma. Mr Lissu’s Toyota Landcruiser was spurted with 38 bullets, targetting the front seat. Eight of the bullets are said to have hit the opposition Chief Whip in Parliament, and left him for the dead, fatally injured.
The MP, who is also Chadema’s chief legal counsel, was shot in stomach and leg. He is currently undergoing treatment in Nairobi, where doctors have reported that he is recuperating well — and is out of danger.

Interestingly, no one has been arrested since this unfortunate incident took place early this month. Apparently, while these delinquents unleashed their terror, the authorities seemed have been caught in a deep slumber. Yet, the major question many are still asking is: Is it really true that these outlaws are not known? How is this possible in a country with all these security instruments, such as the police, army and Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), a.k.a Usalama wa Taifa. Although, this can be taken as a normal criminal wave, there is something fishy so to speak. How come that such cowards and misfits are able to hold a country to ransom for a long time as the authorities stay aside and watch?
The story of the heinous and horrendous acts by these outlaws is disgustingly long; and the list of the victims of this violent gang of crooks is very long, to include the massacre of Professor Juan Mwaikusa, Dr Sengondo Mvungi and Ben Saanane, whose plight, up until now, has never been known due to the fact that the authorities have always been tight lippped.

This gang of unknown yardbirds once abducted Dr Steven Ulimboka the former chair of Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) in 2012, Absalom Kibanda, former chair of the Tanzania Editors’ Forum (TEF) as he then was in 2013, rapper Emanuel Elibariki aka Ney wa Mitego this year; and this gang of cowards and criminals attacked Mr Lissu.
When it comes to these “unknown”, one thing is known, that they are more often than not after the critics of the government. So, their aim is clear. Now, when the known becomes unknown, there is a very big problem. Again, in this situation, the problem is very small.

The unknown is, therefore, known, though not to all. I will tell you why. Firstly, the criminals are still referred to as “unknown” people, and it is the duty of our security authorities to make them known so that they can be dealt with and disposed as soon as possible.
Secondly, it doesn’t make any sense, even to a common tweeker, for a country that has gotten all sorts of security institutions to be cowered and bamboozled by this gang of the so-called unknown.
Also, some people, especially the victims, know the people who attacked them. This means the authorities also know them just because when the victims reported these misfits they disclosed who they are. Some of the victims may have even reported to the authorities providing the colour and the plate numbers of the vehicles these criminals use.

This said, therefore, something is known about the “unknown”, save that we don’t want to know. Having said that, the rallying call to the nation is that we need to arrest this menace before it gets out of hand. The authorities cannot keep on losing out on public security.
We should not allow the another victim to follow after Mr Lissu. If we do, shame on us.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 5

Tanzanian journalist recounts his midnight flight from assassins

Mail and Guardian

Ansbert Ngurumo

16 Mar 2018

In early October 2017, I received a death threat. It wasn’t the first but it was the most serious. Confidential information was leaked that three hitmen had been tasked with getting rid of me, an apparent attempt to stop any further criticism of Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

I was lucky to have been tipped off.
“On a serious note, unknown assassins are threatening my life following my remarks criticising the government’s ban of newspapers,” I tweeted.

That tweet followed others that criticised the government’s reluctance to act against abductors and gunmen who have been threatening the lives of activists, musicians, politicians and journalists in Tanzania.

I had also tweeted about the government’s arbitrary closure or banning of newspapers in an effort to shield the president from criticism, something I reiterated in a two-hour live broadcast by Star TV on September 30 last year.

After learning that assassins had been sent to Mwanza, where I was, to shoot or stab me, I fled to Dar es Salaam. For the following two weeks, I moved to four different hotels, thanks to support from Good Samaritans, including the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition.

But, one evening, the manager politely asked me to vacate his hotel. He said he had been informed by attendants that “some government people” were asking about me. Two of them, he said, had hired rooms in the same hotel.

I started sweating. I smelt blood. I saw death. I called my friend Benedict and we left. In a state of panic, we had no destination in mind.
Then I called a journalist friend of mine. At midnight, he helped to move me to a secret residence.

Two weeks later, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists came to my rescue, helping me get to relative safety in Nairobi. While in Kenya, I received an invitation to go to Sweden and Finland. I have been in the Nordic countries since the last week of January 2018.

By the time my assailants became aware of my presence in Nairobi and had sent people to trace me, I was in Europe. For me, the Nordic invitation was God’s saving grace. I have used my time here to make plans to ensure my own security, and to exercise the freedom of expression that was denied me at home.

Because my sources briefed me that “the big man” was personally involved in the saga, I can confidently say that it is Magufuli’s auto-cracy that has forced me to stay away from my family. As I narrate this story, I have been six months out of the country. I feel homesick.

During this period — in which I have become a vagabond, in exile — two other journalists have been abducted by the same authorities for writing stories that the government did not want published.

The first two years of Magufuli’s presidency have been fatal for some of the president’s critics.
The first casualty was Alphonce Mawazo, a charismatic orator, activist and opposition leader in the Geita region, Magufuli’s home territory. Ruling-party zealots lynched him one afternoon in December 2015.

A political activist, Ben Saanane, went missing in November 2016 a few weeks after he had expressed doubts on his Facebook page about the authenticity of Magufuli’s academic credentials.

Three musicians were abducted in April 2017 for recording music the authorities believed were in bad political taste. They were released after a public outcry but they reported they were tortured. When they called a press conference, the information minister attended it and sat at their side. Their story was never told.

In May 2017, a political reporter and critic of Magufuli’s leadership, Josephat Isango, developed a sudden inflammation of the lungs and was dead within a month. Doctors revealed later that he had been poisoned.

On September 7 2017, unidentified gunmen shot an outspoken and critical MP, Tundu Lissu, also a big critic of Magufuli.

On November 21 2017, Mwananchi newspaper reporter Azory Gwanda was abducted after he had reported on mysterious killings in Kibiti district.

Many social media users have been arrested and prosecuted for writing negative posts about the president. Two of them were convicted and had to pay fines to avoid a jail term.

As of today, 13 MPs from opposition parties are facing charges associated with “insulting” the president or holding political rallies without the president’s approval.

Mbeya Urban MP Joseph Mbilinyi was recently sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for uttering words that the regional court deemed “insulting to the president” at a public rally.
For people who have known Tanzania for the past few decades, this is not the country they associated with peace and security.

People are in the grip of terror because of Magufuli. He tolerates no criticism. He rules with an iron fist and has turned the country into a police state.

In February, security forces shot and killed Aquilina Aquiline, a passing university student, while attempting to disperse an opposition demonstration in Kinondoni. No one has been held responsible for the 22-year-old’s death.
For human rights activists, politicians, journalists, artists, bloggers, social media users, religious leaders and academics in Tanzania, fear is no longer a future threat; it is an everyday reality.

There is no freedom of expression and association, despite existing legal and constitutional provisions. Magufuli only respects the law or Constitution when it’s in his favour.
Some editors of mainstream newspapers critical of the government have been taken to court and charged with sedition. His government has banned many newspapers, especially those involved in investigative or public-interest journalism, for allegedly criticising or misquoting the president.

In early 2016, when Magufuli sent a friend to warn me about my writings, I was not overly alarmed. “The big man is asking, what did he wrong you that makes you keep hammering him in your articles?” his envoy asked me.

But I kept voicing my concerns, particularly in my 15-year-old column, Maswali Magumu, Swahili for “tough questions”, about his autocratic endeavour to muzzle freedom of expression. I never envisaged this catastrophe.

As it stands now, the shrinking space for freedom of expression threatens progress and puts the country’s security at risk. It paves the way for grand corruption.

But Magufuli’s dirty tricks will not silence everybody. Tanzania needs bold and vocal minds to put a halt to a culture of cold-blooded killings, abductions and the torture of government critics. Those of us who can still speak up have a duty to do so.

TISS officials leaked sensitive documents to Dr Slaa

The Citizen

FEBRUARY 06 2018

Former Chadema secretary general, Dr Wilbroad Slaa has said that officials from Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (Tiss) were the ones who leaked to him some sensitive information about corruption in the government.

In 2007, Dr Slaa made headlines when he named several top government officials in his ‘list of shame’.
The list detailed the people alleged to have been involved in corrupt deals and the type of corrupt transactions that each of them was alleged to have been engaged in.

At several points, Dr Slaa presented documents in Parliament bearing the ‘Secret’ Mark, revealing a number of corrupt transactions in government.
Asked on how he got the documents during Clouds TV’s 360 talk show in Tuesday, February 06, 2018, Dr Slaa said some well-wishers within Tiss saw him as a person that one could trust in the advancement of ‘national interest’.

“I believed there were people in government and in Tiss who believed that some opposition guys had what it took to speak on their behalf. That was how I got all the secret documents,” he said.

According to him, at some point, he got into trouble with some ministers but since he had evidence about the corrupt deals, he just had nothing to worry.

Dr Slaa: I left Tanzania due to security reasons

The Citizen


FEBRUARY 06 2018

Dar es Salaam. Chadema’s former secretary general, Dr Wilbrod Slaa has said he left the country – immediately after resigning from politics – due to his own security.

For two years, Dr Slaa and his family have been in Canada where he was working in a supermarket.

Speaking on a Clouds TV’s 360 morning talk show, Dr Slaa said he was aware that his ditching of politics during the election period had created him many enemies who were a threat to his life.

“I went to Canada because it is a safer country where people live in peace and harmony. I felt comfortable and more secure,” he said adding: “I had some enemies but their number increased after I left the opposition. It should also be remembered that my security details were withdrawn,” he explained.

Deputy spy chief axed amid calls for reform of TISS’

IPP Media

18 April 2018

PRESIDENT John Magufuli has removed the second-highest ranking intelligence officer from the headquarters of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services in Dar es Salaam and transferred him to an upcountry region where he will now serve in the relatively lower-ranking position of regional administrative secretary (RAS).

The mini, but significant, shake-up comes amid renewed calls from some members of parliament for urgent reform of the country’s intelligence agency to re-define its role.

A brief statement issued by State House on Friday said President Magufuli has appointed Robert Msalika Makungu as the new RAS for Tabora Region.

Msalika takes over from Dr Thea Ntara, who is retiring from public service, and will subsequently report to Tabora Regional Commissioner Aggrey Mwanry.

The appointment takes immediate effect but the new Tabora RAS will be sworn in by the president at a later date, according to State House.

The three-paragraph statement from the president’s office interestingly omitted to mention that prior to being transferred to Tabora, Msalika served in the powerful position of Deputy Director General of TISS responsible for overseeing mainland Tanzania operations of the spy agency (internal security).

Msalika was appointed by Magufuli as deputy spy chief on 24 August 2016 — the same day Dr Modestus Kipilimba was named Director General of TISS for a five-year term.

This means that he served as Kipilimba’s Number 2 at the TISS headquarters in Dar es Salaam for a little less than two years before being removed from the position and transferred to Tabora.

Msalika once served as an intelligence officer in Tabora Region before being sent to Tanzania’s High Commission in Ethiopia.

He was subsequently recalled back home and handed the big promotion by Magufuli in 2016 as deputy spy chief, only to now be reassigned to Tabora as a RAS.

No reason was given by the president’s office for the top leadership changes made in the country’s intelligence service.

However, the changes come amid fresh calls from some MPs for the government to overhaul TISS.

Lawmakers have advised the government to amend the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service Act of 1996 to give TISS broader powers to enable it to focus on economic intelligence, while others want the spy agency granted more autonomy to avoid it being used for political purposes.

Former cabinet minister Nape Nnauye (CCM), Hussein Bashe (CCM) and opposition lawmakers ZittoKabwe (ACT-Wazalendo) and Peter Msigwa (CHADEMA) are among MPs that earlier this year called for reform of TISS in parliament.

Zitto issued a statement in February this year questioning the role of TISS amid a series of acts of violent attacks on opposition leaders, including last year’s attempted assassination of opposition MP TunduLissu, and yet-unsolved disappearances of individuals.

Zitto specifically mentioned Msalika and Kipilimba by name in his statement in February this year and said acts of abductions of individuals cannot take place without the knowledge of the deputy director general for internal security (DDGIS).

“These acts (of abductions) cannot take place without the knowledge/authorisation of the director general of TISS or the director of operations — positions that are currently being held by Kipilimba and Robert Msalika respectively,” he claimed.

Calls for reform of TISS were first raised at the height of the 2010 general election when the opposition CHADEMA party accused the intelligence community of political meddling to sway the presidential poll results in favour of the ruling CCM party.

The then TISS deputy director general, Jack Zoka, convened a rare press conference by the intelligence agency in 2010 and denied allegations by CHADEMA’s presidential candidate, Dr Wilbrod Slaa, that the intelligence agency was being used to rig the election to ensure CCM’s presidential candidate Jakaya Kikwete won the poll.

Zoka has since retired from TISS, while Dr Slaa was in November last year appointed by Magufuli as Tanzania’s high commissioner to Sweden.

The Minister of State in the President’s Office (Good Governance), George Mkuchika, was last week forced to explain to MPs the role of TISS following a string of questions from lawmakers.

According to the TISS Act, the spy agency is by law not allowed to enforce security measures nor“institute surveillance of any person or category of persons byreason only of his or their involvement in lawful protest, or dissentin respect of any matter affecting the constitution, the laws orthe government of Tanzania.”

Some opposition leaders have in the past claimed that they were being subjected to constant surveillance by the country’s intelligence agency and accused it of infiltrating their parties and sabotaging their plans to remove CCM from power.

The stated functions of TISS, according to the law, include to “obtain, correlateand evaluate intelligence relevant to securityand to communicate any such intelligence to the minister (responsible for intelligence) and topersons whom, and in the manner which, the Director-Generalconsiders it to be in the interests of security.”

The spy agency is tasked with advising cabinet ministers on security matters related to government departments under their portfolios.

TISS is also charged with informing the President “and any other person or authority … of any new area of potential espionage,sabotage, terrorism or subversion” against Tanzania.

How Mo Dewji was snatched from city hotel in 30 seconds

The Citizen

MONDAY OCTOBER 15 2018

Mr Mohammed Dewji’s abductors reportedly took less than 30 seconds to kidnap him from a Dar es Salaam hotel last week.

The whereabouts of Mr Dewji (pictured) were still unknown yesterday, three days after he was abducted by unidentified people.
The 43-year-old businessman was abducted at 5am on Thursday, and police said yesterday that 26 people had been questioned as part of the investigation into the incident.
According to reports from the hotel, it took between 20 and 30 seconds for the abductors to seize Mr Dewji at the parking lot and bundle him into their vehicle before speeding away.
Eyewitnesses revealed to The Citizen that there were three abductors, but only two disembarked from the vehicle to seize Mr Dewji.
Police said the abductors had two vehicles which were involved in the incident, of which one was parked outside the hotel premises and the other in the parking lot.

“When Mr Dewji’s vehicle arrived at the scene, the occupants of the vehicle which was parked inside switched on its headlights to alert their accomplices who were outside, who then drove inside and parked their car next to Mr Dewji’s. They alighted, grabbed him before bundling him into their car,” police said.
After kidnapping Mr Dewji, the abductors fired in the air before leaving the hotel premises with him using another exit gate, which was earlier shut.
Although earlier reports claimed that the abductors were white males, eyewitnesses said all abductors wore masks and spoke English.

What Minister Kangi Lugola said
Home Affairs minister Kangi Lugola has said Mr Dewji’s kidnapping is among 75 abductions reported to the police over the last three years.
He also confirmed the arrest of 26 people who were being interrogated in connection with the incident, which has sparked intense media interest both locally and internationally.
Mr Lugola directed police to release all arrested people who will not be directly or indirectly linked with the investigation.

He said Mr Dewji was still missing, but added that security organs were continuing with investigations and people should remain calm and allow the government and its agencies to do their work.
“Our President is committed to protecting Tanzanians and their property. You should not point a finger at us and ask why we have put more effort into Mr Dewji’s abduction than other similar incidents,” he said.
Some of the Tanzanians who have disappeared mysteriously in recent months include Chadema cadre Ben Saanane, Mwananchi Commnunixations Limited journalist Azory Gwanda and Kibondo District Council chairman Simon Kanguye.

Update by Special Police Zone Commander
The number of people arrested in connection with the disappearance of Mr Dewji has reached 26, according to Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Lazaro Mambosasa.
However, he did not name them as investigations were still going on.
Mr Mambosasa confirmed yesterday that another six suspects were arrested on Saturday in addition to the 20 suspects who were arrested a day after the incident.

Mr Mambosasa said the arrested people, including Mr Haji Manara, spokesperson of Simba Sports Club, in which Mr Dewji has a 49 per cent stake, were being interrogated as part of investigations.
Police said they were continuing with an intensive search at all entry and exit points, as earlier reports claimed that Mr Dewji was abducted by two white people, whose nationality is still a mystery.
“The investigation is ongoing and we will continue to arrest and interrogate people as we seek to get to the bottom of the matter,” he said.
“We have arrested 26 people until today (Sunday). Arrests are likely to continue as part of our investigations.”
Colesseum Hotel workers revealed to The Citizen that their supervisors have been arrested by police as part of investigations.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 6

Where are the others?

The Citizen

OCTOBER 21 2018

Dar es Salaam. As abductors yesterday released Tanzanian tycoon Mohammed Dewji, after holding him for 9 days, questions linger on as to the whereabouts of other missing Tanzanians including Azory Gwanda, Ben Saanane and Simon Kanguye.
In separate incidents, Mr Gwanda, Mr Saanane and Mr Kanguye were abducted by unknown people. But the government has maintained that investigations into their disappearances are still going on.
Mr Saanane, an activist and Chadema politician, was abducted in November 2016, Mr Gwanda (a Mwananchi Communications Limited correspondent) was abducted in November 2017, and Mr Kanguye, an opposition leader in Kigoma Region, was reportedly kidnapped by a gang that disappeared with him to an unknown destination.

As for Mo Dewji, news of his release by his abductors started streaming in early yesterday and later confirmed by government officials.
The abductors released him at the Gymkhana Club grounds in the heart of Dar es Salaam, where they also dumped the vehicle that was believed to have been used in his abduction.
The abduction occurred on October 11 as the tycoon went for a morning workout at the Colosseum Hotel gym.
Home Affairs shadow minister Godbless Lema on October 16 urged the government to allow independent forensic investigations into a series of abductions which have tainted the country’s image.
He also asked the police to track down those who attacked and shot Singida East legislator Tundu Lissu, in Dodoma last year.

Mr Lema urged the government to seek international assistance to carry out a holistic investigations into all incidents of abduction, saying the reluctance to do so would mean the government was complicit in the motive of the culprits.
However, the Home Affairs deputy minister Hamad Masauni has since told the media, “We don’t see any need for engaging international investigators. We have the best army and the best security service. We have not yet failed.”

Over the past two years, there has been a clamour by civil society, opposition politicians and the media, asking the government to investigate and possibly reveal people behind the attacks.
In mid last year, the shooting of opposition Chief Whip Tundu Lissu triggered a hot debate over cases of attacks blamed on “unknown” or “unidentified” people and in almost all cases the attackers have remained at large.
The unknown assailants sprayed 32 bullets at Lissu’s vehicle in Dodoma and most of the bullets wounded the firebrand lawmaker, in one of the most shocking incidents that have left the nation guessing who the assailants were or what their motive was.
Now that Mo Dewji has been released alive, it remains to be seen what the fate of the other missing Tanzanians would be.

My nasty encounter with Tanzanian repression

Angela Quintal and Muthoki Mumo
By Angela Quintal

Daily Maverick

13 Nov 2018

US President Donald Trump was berating CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on cable news when I heard a knock on my hotel room door. I opened it to find the hotel manager flanked by several men and women in plain clothes. They were there for a regular immigration check, she said.

“Wow. So many of you? I feel like a criminal,” I joked.

The manager smiled, but it was no joke. It was the evening of 7 November and we were in Dar Es Salaam, about to experience first-hand the repression, Afrophobia, and paranoia that have become the hallmark of Tanzania under President John Magufuli – the very antithesis of what the country’s founding father Julius Nyerere espoused.

My Kenyan colleague Muthoki Mumo and I are journalists turned press freedom advocates for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. We embarked on a 10-day visit to Tanzania on 31 October to meet journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians.

It was primarily a networking and fact-finding mission to gauge media freedom in Magufuli’s Tanzania. It was slated as preparation for a possible special report in 2019, as well as a high-level advocacy mission that would include our advocacy director and members of CPJ’s international advisory board.

A lot of preparation goes into CPJ missions abroad. We do not travel undercover and are always open about our visits. We even had a letter of invitation from the government-recognised press regulator, the Media Council of Tanzania, and double-checked the visa requirements.

We stayed at a hotel near State House which is frequented by cabinet ministers, government officials, and business people and we held several of our meetings there even though we spotted the ubiquitous intelligence agents lurking in the shadows. We had nothing to hide.

We also met others in their offices or in venues they believed were more convenient or less public.
It soon became clear that we had underestimated the scale of attacks on the Tanzanian press and government repression. Journalists spoke of anti-press laws, including the Media Services Act, the Cybercrimes Act– under which many were being prosecuted for “insulting” the president– as well as onerous content regulations aimed at bloggers that require hefty and unaffordable registration fees.

We were told about the suspension of newspapers, journalists charged with sedition, spies in newsrooms, and much, much more. Many spoke about last year’s 21 November disappearance of freelance journalist Azory Gwanda, who was investigating extrajudicial killings in Kibiti. Gwanda has not been heard from since.

Many journalists were frightened that they would suffer the same fate. Fear and self-censorship became a constant refrain.
While we were there, an outspoken Magufuli critic and opposition MP, Zitto Kabwe, was arrested and charged with incitement. Then Dar es Salaam’s governor, Paul Makonda, announced a special task force to hunt down gay people and the European Union’s top diplomat was recalled (read expelled) because of his pro-human rights stance.

A week into our visit we got a slight taste of what our colleagues have endured. We were raided in our hotel rooms by agents purporting to be immigration officials. Our passports and electronic devices were seized and we were denied access to a lawyer and embassy officials.

I managed to alert CPJ in New York so that our emergency protocols could kick in and called my partner in Johannesburg to ensure high-level government intervention. I also took to Twitter and Facebook to alert the world to our impending arrest. Little did I know that I would cause a social media storm.

We were bundled into the back of a minivan with several agents. The rear and side curtains were closed and there was an attempt to disorientate us by apparently driving aimlessly around Dar. We were eventually taken to a house in a suburb we recognised only because we spotted a sign for the new offices of Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition.

We were told earlier that the area was popular with Tanzanian intelligence and I had no doubt that we were in their custody. I also discovered later that an immigration spokesman had denied they were responsible for our detention. We drove down a dirt road and entered the premises of what appeared to be a safe house, through a large gate. Several men in plain clothes stood in the front yard. At least one appeared to be armed with a rifle.

Their animosity was palpable.
We were ordered out of the vehicle into the house and taken upstairs for interrogation. The men specifically targeted Muthoki, because she was a young black female and Kenyan to boot. Relations between Kenya and Tanzania have deteriorated over the years, with the Kenyan foreign minister officially protesting in late 2017 about the “hostile and aggressive behaviour towards Kenyan citizens”. Clearly things had not changed.

Muthoki was questioned in Kiswahili, accused of betraying black people, and asked whether I was really South African. They tried to separate us, but failed. Our phones and computers were confiscated, and we were forced to share our passwords so that they could access our devices and content.

The fact that Muthoki had wiped her cellphone in line with our digital security protocols was viewed with outright suspicion and she was accused of deleting confidential information. They tried repeatedly to access my emails, but CPJ had changed my password to avoid unauthorised access.

They boasted about their use of Israeli technology and claimed they could still retrieve our data. CPJ also ensured that our social media accounts were disabled after Tanzanian intelligence sent a false tweet from my Twitter account praising God and claiming we were released, in an obvious attempt to fool, but my niece countered this with a tweet of her own.

The agents claimed they had been watching us for several days and knew whom we had met. They repeatedly accused us of lying. They wanted to know why we were interested in Gwanda and whether we had visited Kibiti, the area where he lived, and where he had chronicled the violence in the area, including enforced disappearances and alleged extrajudicial killings.

They also asked about JamiiForums, whose founder Maxence Melo was charged under the Cybercrimes Act and continues to be persecuted. At no stage were we questioned about the so-called contravention of visa conditions.

We were alone at the mercy of a posse of men, some of whom were very abusive and hostile. The only woman agent had long gone home. We were taken back downstairs into a shabby sitting room and asked gendered questions. An intelligence agent was particularly abusive towards Muthoki. He even slapped and shoved her.

I tried to intervene and was told to back off. I was terrified that Muthoki would be sexually assaulted and I would be powerless to stop them. Muthoki’s interrogator suddenly left the room and she was unharmed.

Throughout our ordeal we remained outwardly calm and friendly. Rather than antagonise the men, we chose to joke and even discussed regional and liberation politics with some of them. It was an Oscar-winning performance.

After five hours in custody, our handbags were removed and we were told to sleep on the couches. The men’s superior, who later claimed his name was Yusuf Mohamed, reappeared after a long absence. His hostile questioning of Muthoki had been interrupted very early in our interrogation after he received a call and left the room, leaving it to the others to continue with the questioning.

He addressed me directly: “I did not know you were the Africa programme co-ordinator. You are so clever.”
I wondered whether that was a reference to my social media appeal. I asked that the air conditioner be switched on, and he replied: “You want an air conditioner? Do you want to go to the hotel?”
“Of course,” I said.

Mohamed announced that we were free to return, but that our passports would be sent to immigration to check whether we were in the country legally. He promised to personally return it later that morning. It was clear he had received orders to release us, although some of his subordinates were furious. I asked whether we could continue our meetings for the rest of our visit and he said yes.

I have no doubt that my Facebook SOS and tweet about our impending arrest contributed to our release. The statement issued by CPJ, as well as a range of efforts to ensure government and diplomatic intervention, were also key. The solidarity from partner organisations, activists, human rights defenders, journalists, among others, was amazing.

The driver, who returned us to our hotel at about 3am, even called for backup, fearing the media had descended on the hotel to await our arrival, but the hotel lobby was deserted when we finally arrived. The Tanzanian government had underestimated the backlash and was later forced into damage control mode. Hence the false claim that we had violated our visa conditions.

South African diplomats, who were later joined by their Kenyan counterparts, were at our hotel at 8am and we briefed them in full. They and local human rights lawyers stuck by our side until our passports were finally returned. I feared we would be re-arrested on trumped-up charges.
The South Africans were superb and even escorted us to the airport and waited until we were safely on the flight to OR Tambo International.

So on Monday, when Minister Lindiwe Sisulu ignored what we had told the SA High Commission and accepted Tanzania’s false justification that we had been detained for working with tourist visas, I was outraged. I took it more personally than the government-aligned Tanzanite newspaper’s ludicrous attempts to discredit us with a false and defamatory cover story branding us as spies.

While we could fly out of Dar, we remain concerned that the journalists we left behind did not have the luxury of doing the same. We fear they will be targeted when the furore dies down and that the suppression of the Tanzanian press will escalate in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Local journalists deserve the same support and solidarity that Muthoki and I received.

Yet if there is a silver lining, it is that many people the world over have finally woken up to Magufuli’s repression. Pressure must be stepped up to allow a free and diverse press to flourish and for the government to finally come clean about the fate of Azory Gwanda.

How Kenyan trader abducted in Dar got dumped in Mombasa

Nairobi News

July 3rd, 2019

The abduction of a Kenyan businessman in Tanzania last Monday took a new twist after he arrived in Mombasa on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Raphael Ongangi was abducted on June 24 as he and his wife were driving home after a visiting their daughter in a school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mr Ongangi, who is in a Mombasa hospital, said he was waiting for a delegation from Tanzania before he could talk about of his ordeal.

His abduction was linked to his association with Mr Zitto Kabwe, an outspoken critic of President John Pombe Magufuli, whom he once served as personal assistant.
According to the opposition politician, the government wanted someone who could access his phone and laptop, which they took from him in June.
“I have not been able to access my social media pages because I do so only using my devices, which were confiscated by detectives,” he said.

“I was surprised to see my pages active. The only other person who has access to the accounts is Mr Ongangi. It’s surprising that days after his abduction, my accounts are still active,” he added.

‘HELD BY GOVT’

During a media briefing in Tanzania on Monday, Mr Kabwe claimed that Mr Ongangi was being held by the government.

“We have been able to get the number plates of the vehicles that were used during the abduction of Raphael from CCTV cameras.
The vehicle belongs to a special force headed by Tanzania intelligence services,” he told journalists.

The Nation has established that Mr Ongangi was in Tanzania until early yesterday morning, when he left for Mombasa.

The day he was abducted, Mr Ongangi was driven to a house near Mikocheni SDA Church – via Nelson Mandela Road – where he spent the night.
Reports indicate that at 4am, yesterday, Mr Ongangi left Dar es Salaam for the Lunga Lunga/Horohoro border point, about a two-hour drive to Mombasa, in a group of cars belonging to a special Tanzanian security unit.

But the journey from Dar via the Lunga Lunga border can last anything between 12 and 14 hours.
The Tanzania government vehicles passed through the Tanzania/Kenya border without Mr Ongangi having to produce any travel documents.
According to our sources, the vehicles were not stopped for any inspection.

DUMPED NEAR SHOP

They arrived in Mombasa at around 1pm, and Mr Ongangi was dumped near his aunt’s shop, from where he walked to her thoroughly shaken. The family immediately rushed him to hospital, where he is under observation.

Mr Ongangi was with his wife, Ms Veronica Kundya, when they were ambushed by gunmen claiming to be police officers. They forced Ms Kundya to the back seat of the couple’s car and drove them to Safari Beach, near Msasani fish market.

The gunmen then moved Mr Ongangi to another car and sped off with him, telling Ms to wait for communication from them. CCTV cameras show three cars, two motorbikes and the couple’s car around the scene.

President Magufuli appoints Diwani Athumani Msuya head of intelligence

The Citizen

SEPTEMBER 12 2019

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has today, September 12, appointed Commissioner Diwani Athumani Msuya as the new head of Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services replacing Dr Modestus Kipilimba.

In statement issued and signed by the head of Presidential communications Gerson Msigwa, the new director-general of TISS’s appointment takes immediate effect and he has already been sworn in by the President at State House in Dar es Salaam.

Before his latest appointment as director-general of TISS, Commissioner Diwani Athumani Msuya was the head of the anti-graft agency, PCCB.
The sacking of Dr Kipilimba makes him the shortest serving DG of TISS since Tanzania’s independence in 1961 though the organ was first established by the British Colonial government in 1948.

Prior to his appointment as the head of intelligence services Dr Kipilimba was the director of the National Electoral Commission’s voters register (NEC) whereas Diwani was the Director of Criminal Investigations in the Police Force (DCI).

After the fifth phase government assumed power in the tail-end of 2015, there were several changes that saw Dr Kipilimba become the acting director of National Identification Agency (Nida) before he was appointed as the Director General of TISS in 2016.

Diwani who becomes the ninth to serve in that capacity was first appointed as the RAS for Kagera before he was he was brought back to Dar es salaam to lead the anti- graft agency PCCB.

Over the years, TISS has been headed by Emilio Mzena (1961 to 1975) Dr Lawrence Gama (1975-78) Dr Hassy Kitine (1978-80).
The agency was later under current Minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs Augustine Mahiga (1980-83), Lieutenant General Imran Kombe (1983-1995).
After Kombe the organ’s reigns were taken over by Apson Mwang’onda (1995-2005) then Othman Rashid (2005-2016)

FORMER TANZANIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: IN A FREE AND FAIR VOTE, THE OPPOSITION WINS

Vanguard Africa

October 26, 2020

“Jasusi, who is going to win the election?.” This is a question I have been asked a lot lately. “Jasusi” is a Swahili word for spy – the moniker I am stuck with because of my past as a former Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) officer in Tanzania.

Since the day I was forced to quit – after my life was put in danger due for insisting on anti-corruption measures – I have emerged as perhaps the agency’s harshest critic. That has come at a steep price, with my name being at the top of government hit lists and one attempt on my life in 2013.

I am writing this article partly as a former TISS officer who had been actively involved in Tanzanian elections since the multiparty system was introduced in 1992. To be blunt: the situation in Tanzania over the last 5 years, under President John Magufuli, has moved from bad to worse.

I was involved in the 1995, 2000 and 2005 elections as a TISS officer. And for the first time, I can go on record to categorically state that the much-feared intelligence agency was deeply involved in rigging those elections by employing sophisticated techniques that would honestly require a separate article to explain.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to prove how TISS is responsible for these electoral frauds. However, it is inconceivable to think they would not do it again in the coming election. And it is for this reason that this article goes further than just predicting who might win between the ruling CCM’s candidate Magufuli, and Tundu Lissu, the main opposition candidate. What I seek to explain here is what needs to be done in the likely event that the election turns out to be neither free or fair.

Sources within Tanzania’s intelligence circles assert that this year’s election is like no other because it would be “run directly by TISS.” What this means, if true, is while the spy agency is a serial voter fraudster, its work has been made easier since it has been put in charge of the election, albeit illegally.

One needs to understand the symbiotic relationship between TISS and CCM, the country’s long-ruling party. Both being corrupt, they rely on each other to cover the other’s back. Like elsewhere in the world, intelligence agencies work in secrecy. However, in the case of TISS, the secrecy combined without proper oversight only helps the inherent corruption to flourish.

On the other hand, the ruling party – arguably one of the most corrupt in the world – heavily depends on TISS for its very survival. Until recently, the spy agency classified top CCM leaders and its influential members as exempt from investigations as it seeks to “keep the nation safe,” while opposition leaders and its members are by default “subject” (in other words: individuals to keep tabs on).

Now to the big question as to who is likely to win the election. Without hesitation, I can say that Tundu Lissu is the most likely winner. Apart from possible sympathy votes from Tanzanians who see him as a “living miracle,” after having survived a hail of bullets in a plot against his life in September 2017, Magufuli’s 5-year tenure has been possibly the worst in the country’s history. Never before have Tanzanians lived in such state of fear. They do not know when or where the infamous “watu wasiojulikana” (unknown assailants) are going to strike.

To Lissu’s credit, he has not run his campaign on a “revenge agenda,” even in spite of the fact that the Magufuli regime completely ignored the need to investigate the assassination attempt made against him. Some prominent ruling party leaders have also made Lissu’s near death experience an object of mockery. What is more, Magufuli has on several occasions threatened voters if they dare to vote for Lissu or other opposition candidates.

While Magufuli has been boasting of his infrastructure projects – such as reviving the national airline, building rail and power infrastructures, and saying he was putting in place a foundation for a strong economy – there has been no transparency in the tender procedures. What is more, a majority of Tanzanians do not see these projects as anywhere close to meeting their top priorities; indeed, most Tanzanians live in abject poverty.

If Wednesday’s election had any semblance of being free and fair, Tundu Lissu would win. Resoundingly. However, in light of the heavily unequal political playing field, I strongly doubt that Magufuli and his allies in the intelligence agencies will allow that to happen — to allow the will of the Tanzanian people to be duly respected.

The shamelessly partisan National Election Committee (NEC), for one, will leave their mark.

In conclusion, while Tundu Lissu and his party hope for the best, that he might pull off the win, expect the worst should Magufuli steal this election. Tanzania’s political opposition, which has until recently, as well as our citizens who are demanding change, should be prepared to exercise their rights and demand an end to these serial election frauds. The world should also be watching, and Tanzania’s development partners ready to stand up and be heard if Lissu and his colleagues are once again robbed. Tanzania deserves better.

Magufuli wins re-election in Tanzania; opposition cries foul

Al Jazeera

30 Oct 2020
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has won the presidential election, the National Electoral Commission said late on Friday, a contest dismissed by the opposition as a “travesty” because of widespread irregularities.

Magufuli received 12.5 million votes in Wednesday’s election – or 85 percent – while his main challenger, Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party, got 1.9 million votes, or 13 percent, the electoral commission said.

“The commission declares John Magufuli of CCM [Chama Cha Mapinduzi] who garnered the majority of votes as the winner in the presidential seat,” said commission chairman Semistocles Kaijage.

Magufuli had been seeking a second five-year term and promised voters he will boost the economy by completing ambitious infrastructure projects he started in his first term.

Lissu previously said he will not accept the eventual election results.

The vote “marked the most significant backsliding in Tanzania’s democratic credentials”, Tanzania Elections Watch, a group of regional experts, said in an assessment released on Friday. It noted a heavy deployment of military and police whose conduct created a “climate of fear”.

“The electoral process, so far, falls way below the acceptable international standards” for holding free and fair elections, the group said.

Few international observers were allowed to watch the vote.

The US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, said on Friday “we remain deeply concerned about reports of systematic interference in the democratic process”.

“We continue to review credible allegations of the use of force against unarmed civilians,” he said in a tweet.
Magufuli’s CCM party, a version of which has held power in Tanzania since independence from Britain in 1961, had already retained power in the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar with 76 percent of the vote.

Dozens of opposition party officials and members were arrested in Zanzibar on Thursday and at least one is in hospital with severe injuries after allegations he was beaten by police, who have not commented on the incident.

The US embassy in the East African country said on Thursday there had been “credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation” in Wednesday’s vote for a president and politicians.

The election was marred by allegations of arrests of candidates and protesters, restrictions on agents of political parties to access polling stations, multiple voting, pre-ticking of ballots, and widespread blocking of social media.

Officials at the electoral commission were not immediately available for comment on allegations of irregularities.

On Wednesday, the commission denied allegations of fake ballots saying they were unofficial and unsubstantiated.

‘Gloomy days’
But observers say Tanzania’s reputation for democratic ideals is crumbling, with Magufuli accused of severely stifling dissenting voices in his first five-year term. Opposition political gatherings were banned in 2016, the year after he took office. Media outlets have been targeted.

Zitto Kabwe, leader of the main opposition party in Zanzibar, ACT-Wazalendo, and Chadema’s leader in parliament Freeman Mbowe were among dozens of opposition candidates who lost their seats to the ruling party.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 7

Tanzania update: Impending leadership transition

US INTELLIGENCE REPORT

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL

11 March 2021


According to off-the-record discussions with multiple trusted sources in the government of Tanzania
and family members of President Magufuli, the president tested positive for COVID-19 last week, went
into cardiac arrest on Wednesday 3 March and has been unresponsive on a ventilator for the past
eight days. The government has issued no statement regarding Magufuli’s condition or whereabouts
and there were been reports of internet blackouts on 10 March, as social media and overseas media
commentary on the situation gained traction.

We note that this is a rapidly evolving situation and we will continue to monitor developments and
update this briefing note accordingly.


Latest developments
• From 3-7 March, the president was unconscious and showing signs of heart failure, according
to senior government sources and family members of the president. He has long suffered from
heart problems, collapsed on a number of occasions through his first term presidency, and has
a pacemaker.


•However, sources claim that nobody has had access to the president since Sunday night (7
March), adding that those closest to him have received no information regarding his
whereabouts since then. This reportedly includes his wife and children. The vice president
also reportedly does not know the whereabouts of the president. The Tanzania Intelligence
and Security Services (TISS) have taken control of the situation and information flows.


• On the same day (7 March), President Magufuli was transferred from State House, where he
had been on a ventilator for at least four days, to the intelligence services hospital on the
orders of Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan.


•The president’s close family were reportedly brought to the State House on the previous
night (6 March). Religious leaders were called for a special prayer session and traditional
healers from the president’s Sukuma ethnic group were also brought to Dar es Salaam from
his ancestral home.


•Media reports over the past 48 hours have suggested that Magufuli is now in Kenya for medical
treatment. However, no sources that we have spoken to considered it likely. In the words of
a former presidential advisor: “We would never take a president to Kenya for medical treatment
during a trade war… They would get all the information on the president’s condition and leak all the
details or use it against you. They would never take him to Kenya – he doesn’t like Kenyans. The
intelligence agents managing this don’t like Kenyans –they don’t even share intelligence”.


• One well-placed senior government official told our research team on 11 March that the
president is still at the intelligence services hospital in Dar es Salaam. While this information
is single-sourced at present, we consider it credible as other trusted sources have separately
confirmed that: (i) the head of the intelligence services hospital has not returned home since
Sunday 7 March; and (ii) the president’s bodyguards have also not returned home since last
week, and their mobile phones have reportedly been confiscated.


•The same senior government official noted that doctors have been flown in from India to treat
the president.


Leadership void and transition
• As of 6 March, the VP’s security has reportedly been strengthened through the redeployment
of half of President Magufuli’s security detail to the Office of the Vice President. The VP was
also transferred from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam on 6 March under heavy security. This move
reflects the early stages of a potential transition of power to the vice president.

•Eight cabinet ministers, three senior officials in State House, and Chief Secretary Ally Bashiru have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in recent days. The Speaker of Parliament is also currently ill with COVID-19, as is the Director General of TISS. Finance Minister Philip Mpango was filmed having a coughing fit, unmasked, while giving a press conference approximately one week ago, and reportedly also has COVID-19.


• As a result of the debilitation of senior government figures, as well as the absence of President
Magufuli, the business of government and related decision-making will be significantly
hampered for at least the coming month.


•Multiple sources within the security services and cabinet that we spoke to assessed that the
most likely scenario is now a transition of power. In the event that the president makes a
recovery, his frail health and pre-existing heart condition make it very unlikely that he will be
able to resume his presidential responsibilities for an extended period.


• An emergency cabinet meeting was held on 9 March, but this reportedly focused primarily on
the 2021/22 budget discussions, and there was no discussion of the president’s health situation,
despite the calling of an emergency meeting by the VP.


•According to the constitution, the VP will convene the ruling CCM party’s Central Committee
to discuss her replacement as VP once she assumes the role of president, and to forward the
name of her proposed replacement as well as that of the prime minister to parliament for
confirmation.


•Assuming a transition of power takes place, the relative weakness (in political terms) of Suluhu
Hassan will also contribute to a slowdown in decision-making, as jostling for influence and new
power dynamics become the focus of senior CCM figures. Such a transition of power may
take many weeks, particularly if uncertainty over the president’s condition continues.


• Nevertheless, we consider it credible that a transition at the presidential level could result in
a rapid shift regarding the country’s COVID-19 policy. If we do see a presidential transition in
the coming weeks, there is at least the possibility of a marked shift on COVID-19: for example,
a decision to formally allow testing, to engage in vaccine procurement, and/or to introduce
COVID containment measures more like those we see in Kenya or Uganda (such as mask
wearing or a ban on mass gatherings). Such a policy reversal would be significant not just for
Tanzania but for the whole region, as it would bring an end to the current situation whereby
Tanzania’s denialist stance makes it an outlier with steadily accumulating spill-over effects. The
current policy stance has been driven by the president as an individual, rather than by any
broad-based consensus, and hence could be quickly reversed.


• Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who hails from Zanzibar, is not as influential within
government as her position would suggest, but we still expect her to assume power in the
short term, and we are therefore likely to see the East African Community’s first female head
of state, albeit under a political dispensation in which power shifts to some extent from State
House towards the CCM senior leadership, as well as TISS.


Emerging power dynamics
•On Friday 5 March, the Director General of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services
(TISS), Diwani Athuman, reportedly held a briefing meeting with newly appointed Chief
Secretary, Dr Bashiru Ally, and proposed a tight transition plan should President Magufuli fail
to recover. We note that both individuals have since been diagnosed with COVID-19,
according to government sources.


• Athuman reportedly recommended that the long serving Attorney General and former
Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Andrew Chenge, become the next vice president
(with current VP Samia Suluhu Hassan assuming the presidency). In the agency’s view,
Chenge’s appointment would help stabilise political support for the transition process from
members of Magufuli’s Sukuma ethnic group, who have been significantly favoured and placed
in key positions under the Magufuli presidency. We note that Chenge has a controversial track record in Tanzanian politics, and has been implicated in several of the country’s largest
corruption scandals.


• Analysis conducted by TISS in 2020 found that the CCM was losing support among the youth.
As a result, the agency is also reportedly proposing that youthful CCM heavyweight and
former environment minister, January Makamba, be appointed to the role of prime minister
in order to boost the party’s appeal to young Tanzanians.


•TISS subsequently briefed VP Suluhu Hassan on her arrival in Dar es Salaam, reportedly
advising her to (i) embrace the various factions within CCM in the name of stability, including
that of former president Jakaya Kikwete (with whom the VP reportedly does not align); (ii)
re-engage the international investor and diplomatic community with a view to improving
relations with both groups; and (iii) reverse repressive measures enacted to stifle the political
opposition.


•It appears that the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS) are controlling the
information – and increasingly the situation – relating to the leadership transition. Since DG
Athuman was taken ill with COVID-19 early this week, the director of operations has assumed
temporary leadership of the agency. His leadership style is reportedly ruthless, confrontational, and brutal, compared the more moderate style of Athuman.


•TISS is dominated by members of the Sukuma ethnic group, who have been recruited under
the Magufuli administration. Their power and influence over the business of government has
grown significantly under Magufuli, and former intelligence officials note that they are now
concerned about losing this influence.


• The same sources claimed that TISS – particularly in the temporary absence of Athuman – is
seeking to maintain their influence with the support of key Magufuli loyalists, such as Minister
of Energy, Medard Kalemani, and PS for Finance, Doto James (who is also Magufuli’s nephew).
This group of Magufuli loyalists and their TISS allies are reportedly seeking to secure influence
in the transition process through a likely strategy of pressure and intimidation of other factions
and key figures in the ruling CCM – including the Vice President. While we do not consider it
likely that the VP will be forced to step aside, it is credible that pressure will be brought to
bear to ensure that she leads according to the preferences of this faction, assuming a
presidential transition takes place.

Last moments of the ‘Bulldozer’ John Pombe Magufuli​

Friday, March 19, 2021

Nation Media Group

Tanzanian President John Magufuli was discharged from Nairobi Hospital while on life support and flown to Dar es Salaam late last week after doctors concluded that he could not be resuscitated, the Nation has established.

The President, who was flown to Kenya secretly on March 8 after suffering acute cardiac and respiratory illnesses, was under intubation when a decision was made to fly him back home.

Magufuli’s entry and exit from Kenya was a guarded affair, that only select National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials and members of the National Security Advisory Committee were aware of.

Sources say he died at Mzena Hospital shortly after arrival on Thursday last week, contradicting the Tanzanian government’s official account of the death occurring on Wednesday this week.

“Dear Tanzanians, it is sad to announce that today, March 17, 2021, around 6pm, we lost our brave leader, President John Magufuli, who died from a heart disease at Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam,” Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on state broadcaster on Wednesday, shortly before midnight.

While the Tanzanian government had long denied that President Magufuli was sick, the Nation was the first media house to report the admission to Nairobi Hospital of “an African leader” on March 9.

Magufuli’s condition​

In her announcement, Ms Suluhu said President Magufuli was taken ill on March 6, appearing to corroborate the Nation’s account.

President Magufuli, had not been seen in public since February 27, raising speculation on his whereabouts and health.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa on Friday said he had spoken to the president and blamed reports of his sickness on “hateful” Tanzanians living abroad.

On Monday, the Vice-President urged Tanzanians not to listen to “rumours” from outside, but added that it is normal for anybody to get sick with flu, fever or other diseases.

On arrival at Nairobi Hospital, emergency medical personnel performed an intubation, a procedure in which tubes are forced down a person’s lungs to help in breathing.

Magufuli’s condition had suddenly deteriorated after spending less than 24 hours at Mzena Hospital, when a decision was reportedly made to fly him to Cape Town, South Africa, which has better facilities.

Secretly flown to Nairobi​

With a flight time of three hours to Cape Town, doctors advised time was not on the side of the seriously sick leader, who by the time, could not talk.

Another country had to be selected fast.

Nairobi Hospital was deemed the nearest option with better facilities and personnel, but the transfer had to be done discreetly in order not to create tension in Tanzania.

These decisions were made at the very highest levels of government between the two States, so discretely that even Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry was not aware of the arrangements.

Magufuli’s air ambulance and an accompanying entourage landed at Wilson Airport on Sunday night, when the runway had already been closed to other planes.

People aware of the matter say landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was deemed as being too indiscreet, as the facility operates round the clock. Wilson Airport in Lang’ata shuts its runway to commercial and private planes at 8pm.

During the roughly one-and-a-half hour trip from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, President Magufuli used a medical air evacuation plane belonging to a regional company with headquarters in Nairobi.

Chemistry teacher​

On the second plane was President Magufuli’s personal detail, including his aides and bodyguards.

Once in Kenya’s capital, the President was driven to Nairobi Hospital where he was admitted under an alias at the North Wing’s presidential suite, instead of the specially constructed Covid-19 wing facility across the road.

Exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu, Magufuli’s main rival in the October 2020 General Election when the President won a second five-year term, has consistently stated on his Twitter handle and in interviews with the Nation that the President was flown to Kenya to receive treatment for coronavirus and was then flown out in a coma.

“Magufuli was taken out of Nairobi Hospital while comatose and on life support,” Mr Lissu said yesterday in a response to the Nation’s queries.

Initially a chemistry teacher and later industrial chemist, President Magufuli’s political career saw him turn into a science sceptic.

Prayers for Covid​

He did not lock down his country or give face-mask wearing guidelines when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Tanzania. The government also allowed schools, sports events and political rallies to continue.

By May last year, President Magufuli had declared victory over the viral disease “through prayers”.

He raised doubts on the gadgets used to determine coronavirus cases, claiming some returned positive readings from papaya and goat samples.

When vaccines arrived, he said Tanzania would not tap into the Covax facility or engage other producers, until local scientists proved them effective.

But after 10 of his senior government officials mysteriously died between January and February, some complaining of breathing difficulties; President Magufuli appeared to loosen the stance.

Some of his government ministers appeared at public functions wearing face masks, even though it was not mandatory for the public.

Secrets, the CCM legacy and the Magufuli illness

Nation Media Group


Friday, March 19, 2021

When President John Joseph Pombe Magufuli was taken ill and sought treatment at a Dar es Salaam hospital, the country’s State House kept silent and left the rumour mill to fill the void.

The President’s last function was the swearing-in of ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Secretary-General Bashiru Ally as chief secretary and ambassador on February 27, a function reported on the State House website.

In between, and for six days, nobody seems to account on the whereabouts of Dr Magufuli.
The secrecy is part of the CCM ideology, borrowed from the Chinese Communist Party and which was loved by Tanzania’s first generation of political leaders under Julius Nyerere – an admirer of Mao Zedong, a founding member of China’s Party.

Like Mao, Nyerere wore the collarless shirts and abhorred corruption and capitalism. He crafted his party to follow the Chinese path.

The secrecy surrounding Dr Magufuli’s illness mimics that of Chairman Mao, who first disappeared from the public. His health was considered a state secret.

The announcement of Mao’s death was delayed as the government called for national unity.

While there were rumours on the whereabouts of President Magufuli, the Tanzania PM said he was well and working.

Legacy of secrecy
As one of the oldest post-independent outfits still in power in Africa, CCM rose from the merger of Afro-Shirazi party and Nyerere’s Tanu in February 1977.

Until 1992, its chairman was nominated as the country’s President and confirmed in a national referendum.

CCM continued with Tanu’s policy contained in the 1967 Arusha Declaration, which set the country on the socialism path.

After that, there was little separation between the party and the government. The system’s main critic Oscar Kambona was in exile in Kensington, London.

Despite the emergence of other political parties, CCM continues to win, and rig, elections – depending on whom you ask.

But it is the legacy of secrecy and fear that continues within the State that recently emerged when Magufuli fell sick.

The closest admission that he was ailing came from Vice-President Samia Suluhu on March 15 when she went to inspect projects in Tanga.

She told a rally that it is “normal for a human being to undergo checkups for flu, fever and other illnesses”.

On life support
That was after exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu tweeted that Magufuli “is sick somewhere (and) is on life support”.

On that day, police had arrested Mr Charles Manjura, a phone technician, for spreading rumours that Dr Magufuli was sick.

Freedom of expression has been under attack as Dr Magufuli entrenched his rule.

A former CCM youth winger, he was one of the early leaders who went through the military orientation in the party – and which largely influenced their politics.

Such is the nature of members of the powerful Elders Council, which dictates politics in Tanzania.

During its days, CCM was the supreme policy-making organ. It was above parliament and every other state institution.

The military and the intelligence were practising members of CCM. Most are still in that default setting.

It is the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) that is being blamed for misleading the world that Magufuli was out of the country.

Misinformation
Whether that was deliberate misinformation is not clear. The media sourced the story from Lissu as a veil of secrecy fell on Tanzania.

“Strong rumour out of Tanzania that the story of Magufuli in Kenya was concocted by TISS to deflect attention from fact he is in a coma in Dar. That would be some trick,” wrote Nic Cheeseman, a professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham, the United Kingdom.

Ms Suluhu is from the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, which has its own president and parliament.

Zanzibar also sends five representatives to the Tanzania Parliament.

There has been tension between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania, with most recent polls in the island marked by violence and fraud accusations by the Civic United Front (CUF).

In 2017, Magufuli threatened to cut electricity supply to the islands if Zanzibar failed to pay a TSh121 billion debt.

How this relationship will grow with Suluhu, whose name loosely translates to “solution”, as the new president of Tanzania remains to be seen.

The death of Dr Magufuli will open new debate on the ruling party and the future of the union.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 8

The complex legacy of Tanzania’s John Magufuli



The late president has left behind a nation divided in its memory of a leader who was simultaneously revered and loathed.

Al Jazeera
29 Mar 2021

Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania – An emotionally charged week in Tanzania culminated on Friday with the burial of late President John Magufuli.

From offices and pubs to beauty salons and corner shops, millions of Tanzanians for days were glued to the steady stream of images on their television sets showing eulogies and dirges as the coffin of the late leader was carried from the commercial hub of Dar-es-Salaam, through the capital Dodoma, to his final place of rest, his hometown of Chato.
Throughout, large crowds of mourners thronged the streets and stadiums to bid their last goodbyes to a president who spent much of his tenure roaming the country to meet his constituents.

Often, Magufuli would use these tours to address people’s needs, relying on his power to demand solutions on-the-spot for the citizens’ various complaints. But in other cases, during visits to opposition strongholds, he was known to castigate voters for not backing his ruling CCM party, and was even on record saying he would not resolve residents’ problems in such constituencies.

And thus, Magufuli has left behind a nation divided in its memory of a leader who was simultaneously revered and loathed.

Since Magufuli’s death, new President Samia Suluhu has repeatedly promised to continue Magufuli’s work. But that has left many wondering – which part of her predecessor’s legacy is she referring to?

“Magufuli was a complex person to analyse. He has left behind a mixed-bag legacy,” said Jenerali Ulimwengu, a veteran journalist and political commentator. “Was he a control freak? Was he a developmentalist? The debate about his legacy will linger on for a long time.”

Coronavirus handling
On the evening of March 17, then-Vice President Hassan appeared on state television to announce that Magufuli was dead and declared two weeks of national mourning. At the time, the president had not been seen in public for more than two weeks. The absence sparked rumours that the 61-year-old was either already dead or lying comatose in a hospital abroad.

Many speculated Magufuli had contracted COVID-19, the disease whose outbreak he handled with constant controversy. Hassan instead told the nation the president had died from a chronic heart condition.
But for many, the pandemic is almost certain to be one of the most defining issues of Magufuli’s presidency.

As the coronavirus last year took hold across the globe, Magufuli downplayed its severity and pointedly rejected the idea of locking down. Tanzania officially stopped reporting case numbers in April 2020, remaining open to travellers and without restrictions on social gatherings.

Magufuli also made a number of headline-grabbing statements, including that the virus was a Western hoax and could not survive “in Christ’s body”. He also mocked mask-wearers and told Tanzanians to treat flu-like symptoms with steam inhalation and other traditional herbal medicines.

Last week, Krisp, a scientific research institute, said the most mutated variant of the coronavirus yet was found in travellers arriving in Angola from Tanzania.

‘Accidental president’
A former teacher and industrial chemist, Magufuli was known as “the bulldozer” for his no-nonsense approach to building roads during his stints as minister of works (2000-05 and 2010-15).

In 2015, he became an unexpected presidential candidate for the CCM, the party that along with its predecessor had uninterruptedly been in power since independence but was rocked at the time by internal divisions and corruption scandals.

Faced with the prospect of defeat, the CCM turned to Magufuli whose hard-nosed reputation was seen as an antidote to the ignominy which plagued the party’s upper ranks.

Having leap-frogged the political heavyweights, Magufuli went on to win the 2015 election – but the happenstance of his “accidental” presidency did nothing to dampen his vision. Magufuli was impatient to see results, and his zeal to fight corruption and develop Tanzania’s infrastructure is what many will remember him for.

“Death has robbed us of the leader you might have become if our prayers had been answered,” lamented columnist and commentator Elsie Eyakuze, in an intimate open letter to Magufuli last week

Since the 1960s, there had been talks of constructing a mega-dam over the Rufiji River, but time and again the project stalled. Within two years of becoming president, Magufuli had signed off on the blueprints and construction began in 2019, financed not by donors, but by the government.

There is other evidence of the bricks-and-mortars of Magufuli’s time in office, too. Supporters point to the construction of numerous highways and improvements to thousands of feeder-road areas. They also call attention to the country’s first electric railway that is currently being built and credit him with the revival of the national carrier, Air Tanzania.

‘Freedom is non-negotiable’
Consistently, Magufuli made progress which will continue to affect the lives of millions of Tanzanians for years to come. Yet consistently, he was willing to deploy his constitutional power to curtail civil and political freedoms and bend the law to do his bidding.

During the same period that saw the undertaking of the massive infrastructure projects, Magufuli banned teen mothers from classrooms; outlawed opposition rallies and broadcasting of parliament sessions; and introduced legislation which rolled back civil rights.

The 2015 Statistics Act criminalised publishing statistics and independent research without government approval. Amendments to the Electronic and Postal Communications Act restricted freedom of speech online, while the 2016 Media Services Act handed sweeping powers to the government to fine or shut down media houses with little oversight.

Amnesty International called the trend, which gained traction in the second half of Magufuli’s first term, “an outright abuse of due process of the law and a perversion of justice”.

At the last election in October 2020, independent observers were effectively locked out, but one observer, Tanzania Election Watch, retrospectively confirmed at least 18 arrests of opposition party officials, as well as “arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, sexual violence and violence against women”.

The vote, which Magufuli won with 84 percent, was fiercely contested by opposition figures, who claimed the results were not credible. Members of the international community, including the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, condemned intimidation and harassment of opposition figures and their supporters, alongside a nationwide internet shutdown.
Meanwhile, many of Magufuli’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects were marred by allegations that public procurement procedures were routinely bypassed in the race to complete the projects.

On one hand, Magufuli made it his mission to purge the civil service of corruption, but within few years of his time in office, his sleepy hometown of Chato, with a population of less than 28,000, was transformed by the erection of a regional hospital, an airport and industrial facilities more befitting of an urban centre serving three or four times as many residents.

Ulimwengu points out Magufuli’s contradictory approach to the fight against corruption – he was quick to clamp down on wrongdoing, but also antagonised the controller audit general and the press.

“He shot himself in the foot,” said Ulimwengu. “By weakening key institutions and make himself at the centre of fight against corruption, he diminished his own power of intervention.”

For prominent Kenyan economist David Ndii, there is nothing complex about Magufuli’s legacy. “It’s a bad one,” asserted Ndii.

“Freedom is non-negotiable. Freedom is a fundamental foundation of development. I define development as freedom,” he said.

“This idea that you can develop people while beating them up, it doesn’t fly,” added Ndii. “There is no compromise on this authoritarianism, this paternalism that people need to be beaten up and tortured and locked up and all manner of things, it’s a very primitive, colonial mindset.”

Meanwhile, Michaella Collord, junior research fellow in politics at the University of Oxford, urged caution in perceiving the Hassan presidency as a new chapter for Tanzania, arguing that part of Magufuli’s legacy is a continuation of his predecessors’ legacies.

“Even though Magufuli did bring major changes, there was also continuity with the past,” she said.

“For instance, [former] President [Jakaya] Kikwete and the CCM government acted in an authoritarian manner before Magufuli took over, passing authoritarian legislation like the Cybercrimes Bill, temporarily banning newspapers and cancelling the Zanzibari elections in 2015 after it became clear the opposition was winning.”

Similarly, Collord dismissed suggestions that the departure of Magufuli would automatically bring about a fully peaceful and business-friendly democratic environment.

Even if Hassan were to allow for more political contestation within the governing party and for renewed opposition activity, Collord said she believed this will be constrained by the legacy of Tanzania’s authoritarian past – which predates Magufuli’s presidency.

STATUS QUO

Police chief: How Mbowe planned to hire former commandos


Mbowe pic
Chadema’s national Chairman, Mr Freeman Mbowe at the High Court.

The Citizen

16 September 2021

Dar es Salaam. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ramadhani Kingai yesterday told a court in Dar es Salaam that Freeman Mbowe, who is Chadema leader, sought recruitment of retired or expelled army commandos to carry out acts of terrorism in various part of Tanzania.

Mr Kingai, who is also Kinondoni Regional Police Commander (RPC), was giving evidence in a high-profile case in which Mr Mbowe and three others are charged with the unbailable terrorism-related offences and economic sabotage.

Mr Mbowe, who is accused of financing terrorism, has remained in custody for about two months.

He was arrested in Mwanza in July just hours after his party was about to hold a public forum to push for the writing of a new constitution of Tanzania.

He was transported to Dar es Salaam before being taken before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court along three other men–Adam Kasekwa, Halfan Hassan and Mohamed Lingw’enya.

Prosecution has alleged that between May 1 and August 5, 2020 at Aishi Hotel, Hai District in Kilimanjaro Region and in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Arusha, Mr Mbowe conspired with other men to commit terrorism offences.

Prosecutor also alleged that Mr Mbowe planned blow up fuel stations and market areas in various regions.

Yesterday, Mr Kingai told the court that sometimes in July 2020 he received a phone call directing him to report to the office of the former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mr Robert Boaz, for some consultations.

Inside the DCI’s office, the witness told the court, he was introduced to Lieutenant Denis Urio whom, according to Mr Boaz, had crucial information about the planned criminal acts.

“Lieutenant Urio told us of a special criminal group that was being coordinated by Mr Freeman Mbowe with the intention of harming government leaders. He told us the group was planning to blow up fuel stations and markets, and block vehicles on highways so that they could conduct robberies,” claimed ACP Kingai.

He added: “He (Lieutenant Urio) said the criminal acts were set to be carried out in Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Moshi, Arusha and Mwanza regions.”

The witness told the court that after listening to Lieutenant Urio, Mr Boaz directed him to open an investigation file concerning the statements.

Mr Kingai told the court that Lieutenant Urio told them that Mr Mbowe had promised to reward him (Lieutenant Urio) with a high rank position in the army after the 2020 General Election when he would be in power.

He also claimed that the alleged criminal group was preparing to blow up fuel stations and markets towards the 2020 General Election with the intention of showing that Tanzania was ungovernable.

According to the witness, Mr Boaz directed the formation of a police team to follow up on the conduct of the suspects before they could cause damage.

He said upon arrest, the second accused person Adam Hassani Kasekwa was found in possession of a pistol with three rounds of ammunitions and 58 pellets of narcotic drugs.

Mr Kingai told the court that he was the one who recorded the cautioned statement of the second accused person, Adam Kasekwa, and asked the court to admit it as evidence.

The request was strongly opposed by lead defence counsel Peter Kibatala who asked the court not to admit the statement because it was not made voluntarily.

The lawyers claimed the accused gave the statement after he was tortured under the supervision of Mr Kingai.

Mr Kibatala also asked the court to reject the statement because it was taken outside the time prescribed by law.

Mr Kibatala alleged that while Mr Kasekwa was arrested on August 5, 2020 in Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region, the accused statement was recorded two days later (August 7, 2020). The law requires that cautioned statement of an accused person be recorded within eight hours after his or her arrest.

Presiding judge Yusuph Siyani had to temporarily adjourn for hearing of a case within a case to decide on admissibility of the cautioned statement.

Freeman Mbowe: My eight months behind bars

March 07, 2022

The Citizen

Tanzania opposition leader Freeman Mbowe, who was arrested over alleged terrorism links, has narrated his eight-month ordeal in remand prison.

The Chadema chairman was released last Friday March 4 after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropped the charges against him and three others.

Mr Mbowe said he had expected that the case would have ended in a way that would have enabled the world to know the truth.

He said the charges brought against him came as a shock to him and his family, adding that he spent most of his eight months in jail praying to God that justice be done, and the truth revealed.

“Many people were pleading from time to time that the charges be dropped, but I wanted the case to continue until the truth was revealed. I wanted to hear what evidence my accusers would provide,” he said after he was invited to address a Sunday service at the Azania Front Cathedral in Dar es Salaam.

Mr Mbowe said despite the case drawing domestic and international attention, many people were not aware of the seriousness of the terrorism charges.

“I was accused of one of the most serious crimes one can be charged with in Tanzania, and many people just heard the word ‘terrorism’, but apparently the seriousness of the charge did not fully sink in,” he said.

“Terrorism charges carry jail sentences of anywhere between 15 and 30 years, without the option of a fine. One can easily spend the rest of their lives in prison.”

Mr Mbowe said he was astonished by the outpouring of sympathy during the eight months he spent in remand, adding that there was a time when he received up to 200 visitors daily.

This surprised even warders, who said they had never seen an inmate receive such a large number of visitors, he said.

“I’ve seen pain, I’ve seen happiness. I had time to read, to write, and, most importantly, time to reflect…I was at peace, and I was happy.”

A few hours after he was released, Mr Mbowe met with President Samia Suluhu Hassan at State House in Dar es Salaam.

President Hassan and Mr Mbowe were seen in pictures released on Friday evening by the Directorate of Presidential Communications, and were said to have discussed “matters of national interest”.

Without giving details, Mr Mbowe said the two political leaders agreed to preach peace and justice.

He said many people were not at peace due to lack of justice.

“There should be justice in general elections, justice in courts, justice in the security forces, justice for the rich and the poor, justice everywhere. I am glad the President has accepted my request,” Mr Mbowe said.

On the negative publicity generated by his visit to State House, Mr Mbowe said it was the result of deep-rooted suspicion, mistrust and fear.

“There is a lot of fear in our country. Someone can’t meet with somebody else because they will be branded a traitor, but these fears are justified considering the situation the country has been through,” he said.

Mr Mbowe was set free on March 4 together with his three co-accused after the DPP withdrew terrorism charges against them.

“The Court is informed that the Director of Public Prosecution on behalf of the Republic will not further prosecute Halfan Bwire Hassan, Adam Hassan Kasekwa, Mohammed Abdillahi Ling’wenya and Freeman Aikaeli Mbowe for offences to commit terrorist acts,” reads part of the nolle prosequi notice signed by Senior State Attorney Robert Kidando.

The four faced six counts, which included conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, while Mr Mbowe faced a separate charge of financing acts of terrorism in the Economic Sabotage Case Number 16 of 2021.

Among other allegations, they were accused of plotting to blow up fuel stations and public places such as markets with the intention of making the country ungovernable.

 

[BARD AI]

Part 8

Tanzania needs some cathartic healing from Magufuli trauma​

The East African

11 February 2023

Former Tanzanian President the late John Pombe Magufuli.

Now, calls are being made for the excesses made during the John Magufuli era to be accounted for, and it is certainly a good thing.

There are just too many injustices that were committed in those five to six years that have not been explained, and I doubt that the task of bringing them to some light can be attempted in a haphazard manner.

The list is daunting, and one may not even know where to begin. There are so many grievances that have been expressed in so many varieties of circumstances that we may be easily lost in the labyrinth without touching the core of the problem.

If we choose to start now, we will soon find that the core of the problem is the deliberate and conscious decision that Magufuli had made to never leave the office of president once he was there. This is not a figment of my imagination; his campaigners did not have the wisdom to keep their mouths shut.

So upbeat were they about this project that they proclaimed it from the rooftops.

The grand plan​

That was the grand plan that provided the broad tableau against which everything else was arranged, including amassing a huge war-chest — financial booties from such spurious programmes as “plea bargaining” — and the recruitment and deployment of cadres in strategic posts even when they did not qualify for those positions.

In this endeavour many people suffered, some more terribly than others. Those who lost their freedom through spurious cases brought against them by the state authorities; those rounded up and given cases of offences ostensibly non-bailable, such as money laundering; those forced to negotiate with state authorities to — literally — buy their freedom; cases of “money laundering” that did not look like anything we know that particular offence entails.

Cases of kidnapping, disappearances of people Magufuli wanted dealt with, often rich individuals making financial and other commitments to the president to secure their release; dead bodies in gunny bags washing up on Indian Ocean beaches.

Journalists like Eric Kabendera, Azory Gwanda taken or threatened; political activists like Ben Sanane disappeared after questioning Magufuli PhD claims; Tundu Lissu shot 16 times in broad daylight a couple of hours after Magufuli said “such people don’t deserve to survive”.

Thousands of people thrown out of jobs they had been doing and delivering in; many people humiliated in public at the whims of Magufuli; hundreds of cashew-nut formers dispossessed of their crop without payment; tens of forein currency businessmen doing foreign-exchange deals shorn of their money without receipts and without hope of being made whole one day, some of whom died from shock…

That is one catalogue of woes, affecting mainly individuals who had rubbed Magufuli the wrong way.

His cavalier fashion​

Though a number of people he treated in his cavalier fashion were not, seriously speaking, entirely clean in their dealings — some had their own skeletons — the complaint of this writer is that he often set himself up as the thief to catch the thieves: there is no way he could claim to be above reproach.

It is now becoming clear that Magufuli, being a quintessential product of the “lootocracy”in the state, knew how to play the system and who to work with.

There is a government body called TANROADS, which oversees all the roads constructed in the country, and which is where Magufuli’s heart lay, because the president had access to its funds since he was minister for infrastructure.

Truth be told, there are many people — some of them could be called educated — who think Magufuli was the next best thing after sliced bread, but I happen to disagree and maybe there is now an opportunity offering itself as a result of what President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been doing, including the recent revelation that some of the money looted out of the “plea bargaining” scam can be traced all the way to the Middle Kingdom.

Self-examination​

It does not seem to me that there is a way out of this situation without some soul-searching, an exercise in self-examination where we inspect our inner selves and bring out what we have kept under the rugs of our hearts.

It seems to me that we need what they called a truth and reconciliation commission in other countries, from whose rich experiences we could borrow a few leaves.

With all the injustice that I have laid out — there are many more that have already been alleged by others — we may have a compelling reason to call for such soul-searching.

Too many people were hurt, some permanently. And it is unacceptable that we just shrug our shoulders and let bygones be bygones.

Some of the scars will be borne, not by individual but by the national psyche, which needs special cathartic healing of its own.

 

[Kaparo]

Hii pdf ni kubwa kidogo!

 

[Ambiele Kiviele]

Hata ukila ukashiba baada ya kumaliza kusoma hii PDF bado utasikia njaa

 

[Proved]

Interesting...

 

[Ivan Stepanov]

Hakuna kama Julius.Na hatakuja tokea.Sio kama haiwezekan lla kuwa kama yule bwana Inabid uhesabu gharama.

 

[raraa reree]

Kivumbi leo

 

[Lax]

Nimeona jina la chahali mablocku

 

[Pakawa]

Phew hii pdf…
The whole Truth
sisiem mkuye huku kuna uyumbe wenu
Mkijani ukimaliza kusoma utahisi tofali limeupiga utosi

 

[Fursakibao]

CHADEMA Leo mnajiita CIA. CIA gani wanakuzungu chepesi namna hii.

Mmeokoteza matukio ya JF mkachapisha alafu mnatuletea utopolo eti ni CIA file.

Nijibuni haya maswali.-

Kwani mmeanzia Kwa Nyerere mkamruka Mkapa na JK mkamuelezea mwamba karibia robo tatu ya file lenu?

Mbona huyu hjamtaja au Kwa vile kawaweka mfukini?

Matukio mengi yametokea mbona hamkutaja wapemba walivyozamishwa kwenye mitumbwi wakati wa Ben?

Kwanini mmeeleza matukio yanayohusu CHADEMA tu wakati Kuna matukio mengi yalitokea?

CIA gani walishindwa kugundua kuwa yule dogo alikamatwa na Ngada huko Kwa Xi?

CIA gani wameshindwa kugundua kuwa kachero mwezao washamba walimpiga chini?

Nijibuni hayo mkimaliza tuendelee maswali ni mengi....

 

[Madwari Madwari]

Hakuna kama Julius.Na hatakuja tokea.Sio kama haiwezekan lla kuwa kama yule bwana Inabid uhesabu gharama.

Imagine mtu anakuwa Rais ya nchi ambayo wananchi wake wengi hawajaelimika. Halafu anakuja kustaafu anarudi kijijini kulima shamba na dada yake. Tukae tujiulize hawa viongozi wetu wangepewa kiti cha Julius. Tanzania ingekuwa Congo.

 

[Madwari Madwari]

CHADEMA Leo mnajiita CIA. CIA gani wanakuzungu chepesi namna hii.

Mmeokoteza matukio ya JF mkachapisha alafu mnatuletea utopolo eti ni CIA file.

Nijibuni haya maswali.-

Kwani mmeanzia Kwa Nyerere mkamruka Mkapa na JK mkamuelezea mwamba karibia robo tatu ya file lenu?

Mbona huyu hjamtaja au Kwa vile kawaweka mfukini?

Matukio mengi yametokea mbona hamkutaja wapemba walivyozamishwa kwenye mitumbwi wakati wa Ben?

Kwanini mmeeleza matukio yanayohusu CHADEMA tu wakati Kuna matukio mengi yalitokea?

CIA gani walishindwa kugundua kuwa yule dogo alikamatwa na Ngada huko Kwa Xi?

CIA gani wameshindwa kugundua kuwa kachero mwezao washamba walimpiga chini?

Nijibuni hayo mkimaliza tuendelee maswali ni mengi....

Halafu nilitegemea CIA file itoe siri lakini nimesoma sijaona jipya haya mambo yote yaliyotajwa yalikuwa kwenYe magazeti.

 

[Fursakibao]

Halafu nilitegemea CIA file itoe siri lakini nimesoma sijaona jipya haya mambo yote yaliyotajwa yalikuwa kwenYe magazeti.

Kwa kifupi matukio yote hayo yako humu JF😂😂😂 ovyo sana Hawa jamaa