They dared dream and now are the ‘fathers’ of TZ multiparty system

Dar es Salaam. Who was there during the dark times? There are those who are recognised as the ‘fathers of democracy’ in Tanzania, who were touching gently in the dark looking for match-box sticks to at least light small oil lamps so that the light of multi-party politics could shine on the nation.
Where you there in the late 1980s? There were a few brave people who said “it can be done” and put pressure until the Commission of Justice Francis Nyalali was formed to gather views on the required political system in Tanzania.
Where were you when few Zanzibaris woke up with a movement to demand political independence? It was called the Independent Committee for Political Reform (KAMAHURU). It started in the late 1980s and sprang up in 1992 with the formation of the Civic United Front (CUF).
The front line founders of KAMAHURU are Machano Khamis Ali, Shaban Mloo ‘Kuchi’, Hamad Rashid Mohamed, Soud Yusuf Mgeni, Juma Ngwali Kombo, Masoud Omar, Maulid Makame, Ali Haji Pandu, Juma Othman, Mussa Haji Kombo and Khatib Hassan.
During the start of the KAMAHURU movement, Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad was in imprison.
Where were you looking up at the Sun? NCCR was not a political party, but the National Committee for Constitutional Reform (NCCR), whose chairman was Chief Abdallah Fundikira and the Secretary was lawyer Mabere Marando.
Members of the NCCR included lawyer Ringo Tenga, veteran journalists Ndimara Tegambwage and Prince Bagenda including other veterans such as Christopher Kasanga Tumbo and Kasela Bantu.
He is not to be forgotten pre-independence activist John Lifa Chipaka, businessman Wilfred Mwakitwange, veteran James Mapalala, scholar Prof Mwesiga Baregu and young students at the time James Mbatia and Anthony Komu. There was also a young businessman, Freeman Mbowe.
 

The beginning of parties
From the Nyalali Commission to the constitutional reforms to allow the reintroduction of a multi-party system, you need not to exclude the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who stood firm to ensure the political era was born.
However, it was Mwalimu Nyerere, through the Presidential decree, who abolished the multi-party system and instead remained with one political party.
The decree was enacted as Act no. 45 of 1963. After 30 years of one party, Mwalimu Nyerere became the leading campaigner for multi-party politics.
However, in February 1992, the NCCR transformed itself from being the National Committee for Constitutional Reform to a political party. Its new name was known as the National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR-Mageuzi).
The contextual changes of NCCR, however, removed from the circle, veterans such as Chief Fundikira, Tumbo and Bantu, who decided to form their party known as the Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD).
Mapalala teamed up with scholar Dr Alec Chemponda, who formed Chama Cha Wananchi (CCW).
In Zanzibar, the struggles for registering KAMAHURU as a political party faced a severe test, as it carried the image of one side of the Union of Tanzania. Due to that, KAMAHURU had to join the CCW party to form the Civic United Front (CUF) party and that is why CUF is called the Citizens’ Party.
When the CUF leadership was formed, Chemponda felt himself as having nothing and instead he decided to form a new party called the Tanzania People’s Party (TPP).
He was like Tumbo who, when he saw there was a chance for him to become the leader of the Popular National party (PONA), he immediately defected to the UMD.
The PONA party was founded by Mwakitwange, who initially was part of the founders of the Tanzania Democratic Alliance (TADEA).
However, TADEA was founded under the shadow of a friend and then the great enemy of Mwalimu Nyerere, Oscar Kambona, who was living in exile in the UK.
When TADEA was formed, its first Chairperson was Flora Kambona (Kambona’s wife), Chipaka became the party’s Secretary General. Thereafter. Kambona re-joined the party to become its chairman.
Perhaps not being influenced by Kambona’s shadow, Mwakitwange thought it best to form another party. PONA came into being and Mwakitwange became its chairman while Peter Terry became its Secretary General. That is when they invited Tumbo to join the party and become the party’s boss.
Mtikila, with his colleagues, formed Chama Cha Demokrasia (CCD). However, when he realised that he did not match with fellow members of the party, he changed the name to English, becoming the Democratic Party (DP).
However, the DP was put on hold to get permanent registration because the party’s content bent on one side of the Union, contrary to the Constitution.
Marando’s plans to get former governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Mr Edwin Mtei, to become the leader of NCCR-Mageuzi, hit a wall when Mtei held a press conference and announced the arrival of a new party called Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).
The day when Mtei announced the arrival of Chadema, he was with the former Deputy Governor of the BoT, Bob Makani, as well as a young man with a strong political passion, Mbowe.
Mr Ulotu Aboubakar Ulotu founded the National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA) and Mr Emmanuel Makaidi emerged the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

 
The tonic of system
When multi-party politics were reintroduced, some politicians became tonic as they put in place ideologies that made it easier for many people to join other parties rather than the ruling party, CCM.
For instance, Mtikila’s speeches, which evoked strong emotions that led people to raid the shops of businessmen of Asian origin, were called speeches of incitement due to his remarks of calling his fellow Tanzanians “ma gabacholi”.
However, putting aside that approach of incitement, you will agree that Mr Mtikila was able to form a large section of followers who trusted him politically. The tapes with his speeches were distributed, soothing many hearts with his slogan “The Hour of Redemption Is Now.”
The history of the democratic struggles in the country cannot be written without Mr Marando being mentioned. He was able to make the NCCR-Mageuzi have many dynamic members as the party classified itself early as having the goal of taking power.
The invitation of the former minister for Home Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Augustino Mrema, greatly strengthened the NCCR-Mageuzi, especially towards the first General Election that involved a multi-party political system in 1995.
You can remove Mr Mrema from the list of the founders of democracy, but you will not do justice if you don’t mention him as among the names of politicians who you can identify as the frontrunners of democracy. Mr   Mrema’s action of defecting from CCM to the NCCR-Mageuzi, was the biggest in the 1995 General Election.
 He made CCM have the huge task of winning the presidency through the party’s candidate, Benjamin Mkapa
Mr Mrema made people stop their activities to accompany him wherever he went. Hundreds of his followers did not want the engine of his car to be started as they pushed his car wherever he went. Mrema had a huge influence.
Mr Makongoro Nyerere is an unsung hero of the multi-party system. At a time when the nation still had a dim light on having many parties, and people being deceived into believing that the parties were a source of bloodshed, Mr Makongoro served as a trump card to counter the idea.
Mr Makongoro, one of the sons of the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Nyerere, joined the NCCR-Mageuzi and campaigned for Mrema.
His action of joining the party while his father (Nyerere) was campaigning for Mkapa, not only made people haves confidence in the multi-party system, but also increased the good political flavour of the 1995 General Election.
In the journey of building democracy within 30 years, you cannot stop mentioning the name of the CUF Chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba as a democratic catalyst, as well as John Cheyo of the UDP.
Dr Aman Walid Kabourou of Kigoma, Dr Willibrod Slaa and Philemon Ndesamburo, you will not stop recognizing them for their role in making Chadema the first opposition party to lead city councils. Kaborourou (Kigoma Ujiji), Ndesamburo (Moshi) and Slaa (Karatu).
Lawyer Masumbuko Lamwai was a very good flavour in multi-party politics in 1995. For her party, Fatma Magimbi, as a woman, managed to emerge the Chief Whip of the Opposition in Parliament for the first time in the country’s history.
From the 1995 General Election to the 2020 polls, the politics of the country have been embellished by various democratic politicians with fantastic stirs, Edward Lowassa greatly amplified political competition in the 2015 polls.
Lowassa, who ran for the presidency on the Chadema ticket from CCM, made the opposition garner more votes than any other time from the presidency, the legislature to the councillorship.
Mr Zitto Kabwe was an influencer for young people to engage in politics, all this in general is the fruit of fathers who struggled to find match-box sticks in the dark to light an oil lamp to give light on democracy, then a pressure lamp was on including a fountain lamp, now politics are on electricity.
The light is bright, everything is in the open.