The late Maalim Seif through the lens of Mzee Mwinyi

A few weeks ago saw the third Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad Memorial Conference in Zanzibar.

Various things have been talked about the late Maalim although I find myself struggling to put one’s finger on what Maalim meant for Zanzibar and Tanzania.

This is attributed to him being around for donkey’s years such that his politics seemed to have been consumed by navel-gazing.

In attempting to probe Maalim, I found it quite illuminating what the second head of state of Tanzania, Mzee Ali Hassan Mwinyi, has to say extensively on him in his autobiography.

Mwinyi is also an ex-president of Zanzibar albeit for a short period of time.

The first section of the Kiswahili book on Maalim reads as follows in my own translation.

“When I was forming my government as acting president and later president of Zanzibar, there were already colleagues who had doubts about Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad.

I decided to have him as chief minister since in my heart I like reconciliation, toleration and unity. His presence in that position helped stabilise Zanzibar after the climate had been contaminated.

When he was chief minister in the government I was leading, he had a positive stance on the Union that wasn’t concerning.

For instance, on the 17th January 1985, whilst at his Dar es Salaam residence, he was interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), where he said that all Tanzanians, mainland and Zanzibar, were happy with their Union which they see as fulfilling their demands and expectations and that even when problems arise they know that they will be dealt with and ended on a good understanding.

By his own words, he said that those questioning the legitimacy or benefit of the Union were engaging in distortions, malice and had lost hope.

He went on to say that the Union had helped eliminate any discrimination on the basis of religion, race, part of the Union one came from or ideology.

He said the fifth-phase government of Zanzibar, unlike the one before, had good relations with their Union counterparts and where a problem arises, discusses and finishes it in a transparent manner instead of dealing with it by hiding.

I think it is only Maalim Seif who can explain what befell him to the point that his position changed in the manner that it did. The time he was chief minister in the government I led, I had no problem with him.

But, it should be understood that I am a very tolerant person and that it takes a lot of effort to stir up. And possibly this gave him hope that after me will be him.

It is possible that after missing the presidency after me it angered him; it is possible that he lost hope and settled on political animosity.

It is sad as he was a young man and possibly had he been patient, he may have become president after Sheikh Idrissa Abdulwakili, who voluntarily served for one-term only.

But he himself and his fellow youth who were in a hurry to capture power were being accused of various types of inflammation. They were said to lack respect and enough loyalty to their President Sheikh Abdulwakili.

This matter troubled me a lot since I personally was involved three times to urge Abdulwakili to continue with Maalim Seif as chief minister. It was clear that Sheikh Idrissa didn’t like it but accepted out of respect to me.

He was also aware that Mwalimu Nyerere liked Maalim Seif and saw him as one of the young leaders of CCM who could rise to national leadership. The need for Maalim Seif to continue as chief minister arose also out of the electoral environment of 1985.

But Maalim Seif at that time did not see far.

Although he was only 42, he was in a rush. He refused to withdraw his name from the race to be named as the CCM candidate for president of Zanzibar in order to allow Abdulwakil who was above 60.

Just compare him with the chief minister after him, Omar Ali Juma, who in 1990, with the right to seek the presidency of Zanzibar, decided to withdraw and state that he was still young and that he needed more preparation before becoming president.

Let’s go back to 1985. Maalim Seif refused to withdraw his name; it meant nomination votes being cast for them in CCM whereafter Seif got eighty per cent of the vote from Pemba and Abdulwakil received almost the same from Unguja. Abdulwakil would top the votes and become the party nominee and later president.

And in the general election, the victory of Abdulwakil wasn’t much different from the party pattern of voting, a sign of disaffection from Pemba that Seif wasn’t the CCM candidate.

In that environment, it appeared that in order to help unify Zanzibari’s, Maalim Seif should continue as chief minister.

In order for that goal to be attained, it was important that Sheikh Abdulwakil and Maalim Seif have an understanding, they cooperate sincerely, there is mutual respect and they work together as one team to unite Zanzibari’s.

But Maalim Seif believed he deserved to be the president of Zanzibar, and didn’t give his president the respect and cooperation as was supposed to be.

After tolerating each other for about two years, the situation was bad. Acts of incitement started to be heard from the month of July 1987.

The highest point of their misunderstanding was January 1988 and it became apparent that there was a plot by Maalim Seif and his colleagues, within and outside the government, which gave Idrissa Abdulwakili much concern.

He condemned this situation with the expectation Maalim Seif will rectify himself. It wasn’t the case. On the 12th January 1988, during the Revolution Day celebrations, Abdulwakil announced that he had information of preparations to invade Zanzibar using mercenaries on the pretext of liberating Zanzibar from foreign rulers, meaning mainland Tanzania.

President Abdulwakil wanted them to know that Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania and that an invasion of Zanzibar is an invasion of the whole of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The situation didn’t change and ten days later, Abdulwakil was forced to dissolve the cabinet. On the 25th January he appointed Dr Omari Ali Juma, who was also a young man from Pemba, to be chief minister in place of Maalim Seif...

To be continued............