How Hussein Mwinyi won the race for Zanzibar ticket

Dodoma. It is now official! Dr Hussein Ally Mwinyi will be CCM’s flag-bearer for the Zanzibar presidency in this year’s General Election.

Dr Mwinyi, who currently serves as Defence minister in the Union Government, trounced former Zanzibar’s Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha and former Permanent Secretary in the office of Zanzibar’s Second Vice President, Dr Khalid Mohamed, during the intra-party election to secure the victory.

The ruling party’s decision-making organs started their meetings in Dodoma on Thursday under the chairmaship of President John Magufuli. The Central Committee (CC) meeting submitted the three nominees to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that yesterday voted to pick the winner.

A total of 164 NEC members took part in the voting exercise and Dr Mwinyi bagged 129 votes, representing 78.65 per cent of the total votes. Dr Mohamed got 19 votes while Mr Nahodha received 16 votes.

Dr Mwinyi, the son of former President Ally Hassan Mwinyi, said the landslide victory he received was a clear indication that the party was headed for a win in October.

“I am happy that all my colleagues are ready to work with me during campaigns. I promise that I will be together with all my challengers. Together, we must work hard to secure victory in the coming elections,” he said soon after the announcement of the results.

He said he was aware of the task ahead but exuded confidence that with the entire CCM’s Nec behind him, the ruling party was destined for victory in the election.

Dr Mwinyi, Dr Mohamed and Mr Nahodha, along with Prof Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa and Khamis Mussa Omar were nominees among the top five by the party’s special NEC committee last week.

The five names were submitted to the CC which finally arrived at the three names that were then submitted to the NEC.

The NEC also approved President Magufuli as the party’s sole candidate in this year’s Presidential election for the Union Government.

Names of President Magufuli and Dr Mwinyi will be presented to the party’s General Congress that starts today.

Easy to sell

NEC delegates say it will be easy for them to market Dr Mwinyi’s candidacy to voters, saying he emerged the strongest aspirant. Some 32 individuals had shown interest to vie for Zanzibar presidency on the ruling party’s ticket.

“We have done well. It was a transparent exercise. I am confident that it will be easy to sell Dr Mwinyi to voters,” said MrTauhida Cassian Galoss Nyimbo from Zanzibar.

Gaudencia Kabaka, a NEC delegate and chairperson of the party’s women wing echoed similar sentiments.

“He has received a lot of votes and this gives us hope that it will be easy to sell him to voters,” she said.

She commended the party’s national chairman for conducting the meeting in a transparent manner and urged all other hierarchies within the party to follow suit.

“For the first time in our party’s history, the Nec meeting was broadcast live. This must be emulated even during elections for special seats MPs and even in other intra-party elections. It will surely remove doubts among contestants and ensure that we remain united after the exercise,” she said.

No choice for candidates

DrMagufuli and DrShein took turns to distance themselves against claims that they had fronted certain aspirants as their preferred candidates prior to Nec’s voting exercise.

Contrary to widely-held assumptions, DrMagufuli said yesterday that claims that he was fronting Prof Mbarawa as his preferred candidate were misinformed.

“When you are a leader, people will always have something to say against you…Some used say that I had my own choice of candidate. Now that Prof Mbarawa’s name ended at the CC, I don’t know what they will say now,” said DrMagufuli, noting that some allegations were being advanced by opposition parties.

Like DrMagufuli, DrShein said there had been claims that he was in support of KhamisMussa Omar, who, like Prof Mbarawa, also ended at the CC level in the party’s nomination process.

“President Magufuli was being accused of fronting Prof Mbarawa while claims had it that I was shouldering MrKhamisMussa Omar. The truth is that I have never done such a thing.

“Party members decided to pick nomination forms as part of their democratic rights,” he said.

According to DrMagufuli, yesterday’s NEC’s decision formed an important part of Tanzania’s history. “This is an important meeting that will define the future of our country….I am confident that one of the three candidates that CC is presenting to NEC delegates here will eventually become President of Zanzibar,” he said.

Kinana pardoned

President Magufuli pleaded with NEC members to extend an olive branch to the party’s former Secretary General, MrAbdulrahmanKinana after the latter apologized over remarks that resulted into the party issuing him with a disciplinary action.

In February, 2020, MrKinana alongside another retired Secretary General, MrYusuphMakamba and former Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe were implicated in a vocal clips scandal that reportedly ‘insulted’ the Head of State.

MrKinana was given a stern warning and put under 18 months supervision for going against party regulations. MrMakamba was pardoned while MrMembe was expelled from the party ranks.

But MrKinana said in Arusha recently that after a thorough consideration, he believed he needed to apologise to the ruling party’s national chairman and ask for his forgiveness.

And speaking at the NEC meeting yesterday, DrMagufuli said he was deeply touched by MrKinana’s statement and asked delegates to pardon him.

The delegates unanimously agreed to pardon Mr Kinana and Dr Magufuli informed the CCM Secretary General, Dr Bashiru Ally, to immediately invite Mr Kinana to the party’s General Congress.

He however said that the party has nothing to do with a member who has decided to leave once and for all.

This was in apparent reference to Mr Membe who recently returned his CCM membership card to the party’s offices in Rondo-Chiponda, Lindi.

“Let him leave for good,” said Dr Magufuli, without naming the member.

Profile: Dr Hussein Mwinyi over the years

 Dr Hussein Mwinyi who was born in Zanzibar has served as a Minister in different Potfolios since 2000.

He graduated with a degree in Medicine in Turkey at the University of Marmara in Istanbul and proceeded for specialization in Internal Medicine in UK from King’s College at Hammersmith Hospital in London.

Before joining Politics he worked as a medical Practitioner at Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton UK, Muhimbili National Hospital Tanzania and Hubert Kairuki Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam. He also taught as a senior Lecturer at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University Medical School.

Dr Mwinyi has been the Minister of Defense and National Service for ten years from 2008 to date. He speaks fluent English, Swahili and Turkish. He is married and has four children.

Political Highlights

• 2000 – 2005 Member of Parliament for Mkuranga District.• 2005 – To date; MP for Kwahani constituency in Zanzibar.

• 2000 – 2005 Deputy Minister of Health.

• 2005 – 2008 Minister of State Vice President’s office (Union Affairs).

• 2008 – To date Minister of Defence and National Service.

Education

• Master’s degree in Internal Medicine (Member of the Royal College of Physicians – UK).

• Post graduate Diploma in Cardiology from Royal Post graduate Medical School Hammersmith Hospital (U.K).

• Doctor of Medicine (Bachelor Degree) from Marmara University, Faculty of Medicine – Istanbul (Turkey).