"...This is
the most sad day in the history of our country. It
marks a life ceased and a service ended. ...I thank everyone who stood by us, and helped
us, and all those that sent messages of support and encouragement during Mwalimu's
illness, and condolences on his demise. ...
"Now
that he is no more we have all joined hands across the country, regardless of tribe,
faith, gender or race to mourn his passing away in unity, solidarity, peace and
tranquillity just like Mwalimu taught us. We have learnt well, and this is clearly a good
beginning for life after Mwalimu.
"There
are very, very many in this country who, like me, consider ourselves lucky that our lives
were touched by Mwalimu. I for one have no
hesitation to say, with pride, that I learnt politics at the hand of a true master; a man
who proved that politics does not have to be, as conventionally portrayed, a dirty game;
an upright man, a man who would stand for what is right and just though heavens fell.
"In his 77 years of mortal
life, Mwalimu did much for our nation, for the African continent, and for the world. He made us free and contributed to the freedom of
others beyond our borders. Like Nkrumah he believed the indignity of one African was the
indignity of all Africans; and that as long as there was an African country under colonial
domination, the freedom of one African country was meaningless. He mobilised our national
will, spirit and resources for the total liberation of Africa.
|
"He built a united nation with a
vision of equality and respect across racial, religious, tribal, and gender divides. Until this day, the union between Tanganyika and
Zanzibar remains an enduring example of African unity. We shall defend and strengthen this
Union with all our might.
"His commitment to unity within
the country, and African unity, had an almost missionary zeal. To him the imperative of
unity, solidarity, and co-operation between poor and weak countries in pursuit of greater
democracy on a global scale, and the sovereign equality of nations, was paramount. We are
not less human just because we are poor, he consistently told his political and economic
interlocutors.
"Love begets love, trust begets
trust, respect begets respect, he taught us. Mwalimu, as a result, was loved, trusted and
respected by all tribes, all races, all religions and all regions of Tanzania. ... His
concern, perhaps even obsession, with removing inequalities in society, and in the world
is legendary. ...
"This is a sad occasion. But I am sure if Mwalimu
could speak to us now, he would be exhorting us to pick up his mantle and carry on the
struggle against poverty, against injustice, against bigotry. He would exhort us, as he always did in his life
time, to cherish and protect the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
" So sad as we are, this must also be a celebration
of the life of an outstanding man - an extraordinary man who more than any other devoted
his whole life and being to the service of others, within and beyond Tanzania. ...
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| The week of Mwalimu's final
journey,18-24 October, is a very special week for southern Africans to rededicate
themselves to the struggle for Africa's future, as it contains a number of significant
dates that touch different member countries and the whole of the SADC region. On 22 October 1959, exactly 40 years
ago, when most of Africa was still under colonial rule, the visionary young African leader
made a commitment on behalf of his people: "We, the people of Tanganyika, would like
to light a candle and put it on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our
borders giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate and dignity where
there was before only humiliation."
|
When Mwalimu Nyerere made that speech, almost all of Africa was
still under colonial rule, except for nine countries (Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea,
Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia). Political pressure for independence had begun
and the "wind of change" was gathering strength, but most of the southern
African political parties and liberation movements which later fought and won majority
rule were still banned or had not yet been constituted.
Mwalimu's dedication and commitment
to the liberation of the sub-continent, to African unity and to pan-Africanism is
unsurpassed.
True to his vision, it can be said now, 40 years later,
that he "carried the torch that liberated Africa".
|
Those are the words of the SADC Chairman, President Joaquim
Chissano of Mozambique, whose Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) was based
in Tanzania for over a decade prior to independence from Portugal. On that day, 22 October
1959, Chissano, then a student, turned 20 years old; this week he turned 60, and it is his
generation that has been handed the torch. ·
19 October is the commemoration of the death of President Samora Machel and
34 others in a plane crash in South Africa in 1986.
·
24 October is the date of Zambia's independence 35 years ago, in 1964 |
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