No union without Karume, says son

Dar es Salaam. The son
of first Zanzibar President
Abeid Amani Karume,
Mr Ali Abeid Karume, has
revealed that his father
believed in union, because
he considered Africa as
one.

Mr Ali Karume said
this during a special prayer
to commemorate 48 years
anniversary of his father’s
death in Zanzibar yesterday.
“Without Abeid Karume,
the union wouldn’t have
happened, and that is the
truth because the isles were
ruled by sultans,” he said.

“To unite countries is not a
simple task, I remember Mr
Karume because he had a
heart of sacrifice. I see a lot
of countries failing to unite
because many leaders are
selfish.”

The special prayer was
also attended by the President
of Zanzibar, Mr Ali
Mohammed Shein, Prime
Minister of the United
Republic of Tanzania
Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa,
retired President of Zanzibar
and elder son of the
late Karume, Mr Aman
Karume, wife of the late
Karume Fatma Karume
and other invited dignitaries.
Mr Abeid Karume was
assassinated on April 7, 1972
in Zanzibar Town, after four
gunmen shot him when he

was playing Mancala, popularly
known in Kiswahili as
bao, at the headquarters of
the Afro-Shirazi Party.

It was alleged that people
who killed him were among
those who were opposing
his regime.
Details obtained from different
sources say the main
gunman in the assassination
was identified as Lieutenant
Humud Mohammed
Humud.

The sources said that
Lieutenant Humud, who
was 26 years old, was a
member of the Arab ethnic
minority that monopolised
power in Zanzibar before
the black majority seized it
in a revolution on January
12, 1964.
After his killing, the curfew
was announced, followed
by search of killers.
It was later reported that
Lieutenant Humud and
four other assassins were
later killed in gunfights with
security forces, but many
other men were picked up.
Almost all of them were
said to be members or
adherents of the former
Umma party, which merged
with Karume’s Afro Shirazi
party in 1964.
Among those arrested
in Mainland Tanzania
was Prof Abdulrahman
Mohammed Babu, founder
of the Umma party and a
onetime associate of Mr
Karume in the Revolutionary
Council.
Dar es Salaam. Kigamboni
District will soon start