Maalim Seif: The ‘accidental’ politician who mastered the stage

There are very few politicians in the history of this country that seamlessly moved from the one-party era to emerge both powerful and influential in the multiparty era. Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad was one such politician. By his own account, he was an “accidental” politician who never thought he would spend any time of his life in politics.

Over the years there were many politicians who graced the political stage of this country but few very few were forces of nature who cheated time and remain relevant regardless of the changing circumstances.

The majority of these waned like flickering lights in the wind with the passage of time. Take those dizzying days of the struggle for multipartism. Many political characters appeared on stage but times have been harsh on many of them as there are countless of them who have fell through the cracks of time.

Joseph Kasanga Tumbo, James Mapalala, Chief Said Abdallah Fundikira, the late Rev Christopher Mtikila, and those who joined the opposition ranks later like one Augustine Lyatonga Mrema, to name but a few. They fared differently on the political stage with the passage of time with the majority of them incapable of holding their audience enthralled through it all. Years in detention did not fade Maalim Seif into political oblivion.

In the world of politics where changes can happen faster than the weather, Maalim Seif saw off many challengers and pretenders from time to time emerging relatively unscathed.

When the time came and he could not outwit one of them and opted for another political tent after an internecine strife, his political influence was in no doubt or any danger.

It is no hyperbole saying that Maalim Seif was a consequential politician than some of those who have ruled this country. His message was the same through time.

He knew exactly where his power came from.

To his most fervent supporters, he was a president Zanzibar never had, one who was alleged cheated out of power by state machinery. To his critics, he did not give room to new blood in political contests, but nonetheless gave his political opponents a run for their money every time he was in the political ring. Most would agree though, that often times, Maalim Seif helped Zanzibar and the rest of the country avoid some worst nightmares because he was a true statesman, one who never prioritized his own interests above those of the people he vowed to serve or represent.

Even through some dark chapters in Zanzibar, especially after elections whose outcomes were bitterly contested, in some cases leading to violence and deaths, he was always willing to talk to his political opponents, sometimes risking misunderstandings from his supporters. The political history of Zanzibar, like in many other parts of Africa, multipartism has deepened the political divide, is one where there are deep wounds and healing them is no task for mere mortals. Such are the burdens of leadership.

It is fitting that his last political act came with him being part of a unity government.

On his way out he was casting a spell to save Zanzibar from future political tragedies caused by election disputes.

No one can accuse Maalim Seif of being glib when he talked of forgiveness and working together with his political adversaries. He had talked the talk and walked the walk. Through it all, he was there, a messenger of the cause of those he was representing.

Where does one start writing an epitaph for Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, his life and the times he lived? William Shakespeare, through characters in the Twelfth Night, offers apt words as he writes that “…some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em”.

Time, of course, will throw up alterations now and then as it has always done but Maalim Seif’s legacy is in no doubt. His political fire burnt bright to the very end.