Chadema's demise? A case of political chauvinism

By H.M Dinya

“It is unbefitting to call the Chairman a liar, in this he told a lie." This was a reply by Chadema's Vice Chairman, Mr Tundu Lissu, referring to his party Chairman, Mr Freeman Mbowe, while speaking with a journalist at JNIA in Dar es Salaam on January 6.

It seems Mr Mbowe is no longer ‘free’ this time around; he is facing a formidable political opponent.

The two giants of Chadema will soon graduate into political foes if things continue like this, hitting below each other’s belly like confused boxers.

The famous firebrand lawyer, activist, and the remaining top opposition party politician was responding to a question asked by one of the media people who caught up with him at the airport while he was arriving from abroad.

The accusations and counter-accusations accusations have been a continuation of two antagonistic camps within the largest opposition party in Tanzania and the most active one, which led to its national leaders' election scheduled to take place on the 21st of this month.

Like other political and world affairs analysts, I have been following with keen interest the Mbowe-Lissu camps' political jabs at each other.

A few days ago, Mr Mbowe too threw his political jabs at his vice chairman, calling him naive, unwise, impolite, and driven by political stardom that he thinks he is the only one fit to lead their party.

It seems these are the words that have infuriated Mr Lissu making him spit the venom against his chairman today.

Mr Lissu has been campaigning as ‘Mr Clean’ against the corrupt Chadema establishment led by Mr Mbowe.

He makes enough political vibes to appear more patriotic to the party than anybody else.

A few days ago down the line, Mr Ezekia Wenje and Mr John Henche, both up-and-coming young men and Chadema’s National Executive Committee members (but each one standing tall defending their candidates—Henche for Mr Lissu and Wenje for Mr Mbowe) also spit fires against another’s opposite camp in the now heading to be a do-or-die neck-to-neck Chadema party election since it’s formation 32 years ago.

Political Chauvinism:

What is happening can rightly be termed political chauvinism. Chauvinism is defined as excessive and unreasonable patriotism, similar to jingoism.

The word is derived from the name of Nicolas Chauvin, a French soldier who, satisfied with the reward of military honours and a small pension, retained a simpleminded devotion to Napoleon.

If one analyses what is happening among Chadema’s top leaders, he will find that all of them are engulfed in ‘political chauvinism’ as each claims to be more patriotic than the other.

Mr Lissu started all this when he appeared before the public, announcing his candidacy for the party’s top leadership in December last year.

I watched that meeting, and he accused his chairman, without mentioning his name, of corruption and incompetency in leading the party amid new challenges of disappearing stories of its members, rigged elections, and uncertainty on the new Tanzanian constitution.

He sees himself as the only one equal to the task, the hero who can take the ruling party by its horns and put Chadema in power.

The story of Mr Abdul money painted Mr Mbowe and his cronies as corrupt leaders receiving bribes from Mr Abdul and by inference from the ruling party.

This opened Pandora’s box, as a few days later, Mr Mbowe announced he would contest the top position in the party, citing, among other things, that he is not ready to leave the party—his party, as he calls it—in unsafe hands. He made sure he appeared as super patriotic as possible.

Weighing in between the unfolding scenario at Chadema, which is episode one, I can only conclude that what is happening is a ‘political chauvinism’ and it will end up killing the party from within without a single political bullet forward from without.

Chadema, as it now stands, bears the seeds of its destruction, which, if not curbed on time; it will be a total destruction, just to borrow Bob Marley’s words in one of its songs. Unfortunately, Bob Marley called it “the only solution”.

I don’t know if both Mr Lissu and Mbowe as well as their so-called ‘chawas’ realise that they are indulging in political chauvinism and that they aren’t serving their party’s interests at all.

In the long run, their political chauvinism will not even serve their interests. What does it help Mr Lissu and Mbowe when they turn into name-calling each other?

To whose interests were spilling the beans of what was happening inside their party’s inner top leaders meetings?

How do all these help their party to exhibit democracy, which is a logo of their party, and propel it to victory in the general election later this year?

The Swahili have a saying, “Mvunja nchi ni mwananchi” meaning the one to destroys the country is a citizen of that country.

I can connote it as “Mvunja Chama ni Mwanachama," meaning the one who destroys a party is a party member.

How true is this when one sees, watches, and hears Mr Liasu and Mbowe spotting forever against each other?

By chance, the Arabs too have their saying, “When you see the turban is wet, do not ask about how the lower garment is." If the top leaders of Chadema are against each other, what about the party members?

A relief for CCM?

Yeah, of course it is. When a party claiming to be more democratic than any other party in the country has its leaders engulfed in political chauvinism, it’s time for CCM to live another Waswahili’s saying that goes, “Ndugu wakigombana shika jembe ukalime, wakipatana chukua kapu ukavune”

Meaning when relatives are quarrelling, don’t interfere; take your hoe and go to the farm. When they end their quarrel, it’s time to take your bucket and go harvesting.

The political chauvinism being displayed by Chadema party leader is an opportunity for CCM to deal with its affairs. By the time the election comes, it will be time to harvest.

To conclude my article, I bluntly tell Chadema, that you will have no one to blame. You will surely reap what you are sowing today by allowing political chauvinism.

H.M Dinya is a political analyst.