Lowassa claims Magufuli asked him to rejoin CCM
Dar es Salaam. Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa has revealed that President John Pombe Magufuli tried to persuade him to rejoin the ruling political party CCM when the two met in a tête-à-tête at State House in Dar es Salaam recently.
A press statement released on Monday this week (January 15, 2018) – and which is signed by Mr Lowassa – says a member of the central committee (CC) of the main political opposition Party for Democracy and Development (Chadema) downplayed President Magufuli’s call upon Mr Lowassa to rejoin CCM.
“I didn’t agree. I told him that my decision to shift to Chadema from CCM was real and not a probability,” reads the statement in part.
According to Mr Lowassa, he went to the State House on January 9 after receiving an invitation to do so from the Head of State. He did so with an intention to eventually brief members of the Chadema Central Committee what transpired at the meeting with the president – who also doubles as the national chairman of the party in power, CCM.
Mr Lowassa says in his statement that he used the opportunity to discuss with President Magufuli various issues of national importance, including apparent breach of some provisions of the Union Constitution, and suppression of multiparty democracy.
The former prime minister also said that he discussed with the president the ongoing violation of human rights and freedoms, including summary or peremptory dismissal of public employees, invasion of people’s privacy, intimidation and physical attacks of opposition political leaders, as well as the persisting social and economic hardships which ordinary Tanzanians continue to suffer from.
“It is my hope that the president will take into consideration all these issues, and work on them for the benefit of the county,” the statement says.
Mr Lowassa also said that he wishes to inform members of the public in general, and Tanzanians who hanker for transformative change in particular, that he is much stronger than he has ever been – and that he will not be derailed or sidetracked in his efforts to serve all Tanzanians.
“I continue with my belief in the Chadema as a political institution, and stand for transformative changes through Chadema,” reads his press statement.
Last week, Mr Lowassa – who was the Chadema presidential election flagbearer in year-2015 – met with President Magufuli at State House where he was quoted as declaring support for the Head of State in national development.
If nothing else, this raised hackles among some observers, and sparked public debate – with some people criticizing the decision to meet with the president virtually on the sly, saying that he had sidelined the political opposition at a time when it is struggling to create political space vis-à-vis the 5th-phase government of President Magufuli.
On the other hand, some analysts praised the move, saying the Magufuli/Lowassa meeting demonstrates political maturity.
