The untold moral dilemmas of student political life (1)

Over the decades, the relationship between university students and their direct masters that extends to governments has often been tempestuous on our continent. Students have had all kinds of battles including running ones with authorities.

Upon reading a few historical accounts from prominent figures, I drew the conclusion that the magnitude of some of the dilemmas faced by university students are colossal at such a young age.

It could be the reason some choose to be stay under the radar as was the case even with Julius Nyerere when he revealed ‘he was a good boy at university’.

The first account I begin with is that of Ambassador Juma Mwapachu (pictured) from his most recent book. He was a law student at the University of Dar es Salaam when they incurred the wrath of Nyerere.

He writes: After closing the studio room on Friday of October 21, having performed my broadcasting duties at Radio Tanzania from 6pm to midnight, the RTD minibus drove me to the ‘Hill’, my College.

I was dropped there at about 12.30am. I was stunned to find various groups of students talking, noisily, about a demonstration. I was told that the University Student Union had held a meeting with students about the government passing a law requiring graduates to surrender 60 percent of their salaries after completing compulsory six months of National Service.

The surrender of the salaries will be for 18 months. The Student Union was directed at the Prime Minister, Rashid Kawawa, for not following proper parliamentary procedure, in passing a law, of first tabling a ‘green paper’ followed by a ‘white paper’ to allow debates and presentation of opinions of interested parties.

The argument was that the violation of parliamentary procedure was as a result of the Government adopting a new Constitution in 1965 which introduced a One-Party State. The demonstration was directed at protesting the violation and withdrawal of the National Service legislation.

 I was told that buses had been hired to ferry students to the area near the PM’s Office. I thought about the matter as I walked to my hostel room.

In my mind, there was nothing wrong in protesting about violation of parliamentary procedure. So, the next morning, Saturday 22nd October, 1966, I joined the demonstration. The Police directed us, about 390 of us, into the State House Grounds.

There we found the grounds were prepared for us. We were instructed to sit down on the lawn. There were few seats in front of us where the President sat. He was accompanied by Amir Jamal, Minister of Finance.

He did not waste time. He asked, ‘who is the student leader?’ The University Student Union President, a third-year political science student coming from Ukerewe, stood up. Mwalimu asked him, ‘what is the problem?’ The Student Union President, holding a memorandum, told Mwalimu that the demonstration was intended to meet the Prime Minister to protest at the manner the National Service legislation was being handled and that the students were concerned at the move to impose 60 percent of salaries of young graduates for 18 months which would be inequitable considering that poor parents are expectant of financial support from their sons and daughters.

Mwalimu quickly retorted, ‘so you want your pound of flesh’ reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. He repeated, ‘you want your pound of flesh’. He was angry and shaking. His glasses fell off his face. Amir Jamal picked them up from the lawn.

The President went on to say, ‘well, if it is money that concerns you, I am beginning now to slash 20 percent of my salary. As for you, you do not deserve to be at our university. I am dismissing all of you minus any Ugandans, Kenyans and foreign students if they are here. Police arrest all these fellows.

Take them to the Police Station and take a photo of each of them. The buses are ready to take them to the university to collect their belongings and take them to their homes in the villages wherever their parents live. The Police must escort them to ensure they go to where their parents are’.

He stood up and left us for the police to do its work. Later the same day Mwalimu Nyerere directed that we should not be employed by any organisation. It was for an indefinite period. Out of the lawns of the State House we were loaded in buses and driven to Central Police Station. Our photographs were taken, just like people found guilty of crime and being sent to prison.

Everyone had to write on a piece of paper given to us where we come from. It is there where we would be driven to by the hired buses under police guard....