Ally Kleist Sykes 1926 – 2013 Mzalendo Muasisi wa TANU Aliyemwandikia na Kumkabidhi Julius Nyerere Kadi ya TANU Na. 1

Ally Sykes

Ally Kleist Sykes

1926 – 2013

Mzalendo Muasisi wa TANU  Aliyemwandikia na Kumkabidhi  Julius Nyerere Kadi ya TANU Na. 1

Historia ina kawaida ya kujirudia. Ally Sykes mmoja wa waasisi wa TANU, mmoja wa wale watu wasiozidi takriban saba walikuwa katika kamati ya ndani ya TAA iliyounda TANU, mmoja wa wafadhili wakuu wa TANU, mmoja wa askari na hapa nalitumia neno ‘’askari’’ kwa maana yake halisi kwa kuwa ni Ally Syke ndiye TAA hadi TANU ikimtegemea kwa kutekeleza mambo ya hatari dhidi ya Waingereza, amefariki dunia.  Ally Sykes ndiye alikuwa akipewa kazi za hatari za kumwaga ‘’sumu na upupu’’ dhidi ya serikali. Sumu na upupu huu yalikuwa makaratasi aliyokuwa akichapa nyumbani kwake usiku makaratasi ambayo Waingereza waliyaita makaratasi ya ‘’uchochezi.’’ Waingereza na makachero wake walikuwa wanamjua Ally Sykes vizuri. Waingereza walikuwa wakijua kuwa alikuwa na medali ya mlenga shabaha bingwa aliyopata Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia. Huyu ndiye Ally Sykes mzalendo muasisi wa TANU ambae sahihi yake ndiyo iko katika kadi ya TANU ya Baba wa Taifa, amefariki Nairobi Jumapili iliyopita alikokwenda kwa ajili ya matibabu.

Siku ile ile ya Jumapili milango ya mchana mchanga kabisa kabla ya adhuhr taarifa ikawasili Dar es Salaam kuwa Ally Sykes amefariki dunia. Ghafla mji  wa Dar es Salaam alikozaliwa na akaendesha harakati zake dhidi ya ukoloni wa Waingereza ukgubikwa na simanzi. Kila simu iliyokuwa ikipokelewa na wengi ilikuwa ni kutaka kuthibitisha kifo kile. Binafsi simu zikaanza kumiminika kwangu za kunipa pole.

 Hadi kufika jioni habari zikawa zimeenea mji mzima kuwa ni kweli Ally Sykes hayuko tena duniani. Haukupita muda siku ile ile maiti ya Ally Sykes ikawasili Dar es Salaam kwa ndege ya kukodi ikiwa imesindikizwa na mkewe Bi Zainab na baadhi ya wanae wakiongozwa na mtoto wake wa kwanza wa kiume Abraham Sykes. Siku ya pili Jumatatu magazeti yote yalikuwa yametoka yakiwa hayana taarifa yoyote ya kifo cha Ally Sykes. Hii iliwashangaza watu wengi sana isipokuwa mimi. Sikushangaa kwa kuwa nilikuwa najua siasa za historia inayomzunguka Ally Sykes kwa miaka mingi hususan kuhusu mchango wake binafsi na wa kaka yake marehemu Abdulwahid Sykes katika harakati za kuasisi TANU na kudai uhuru wa Tanganyika.

Historia ina kawaida ya kijurudia. Haya ya kupuuza kifo cha Ally Sykes yalimkuta pia kaka yake Abdulwahid alipofariki mwaka 1968.

Ally Sykes alikuwa mtu maarufu kupita kiasi. Alikuwa kwanza ana umaarufu wa kuzaliwa. Kazaliwa Dar es Salaam Gerezani, mtoto wa mjini. Kisha alikuwa maarufu kwa nasaba. Baba yake Kleist Sykes alikuwa mmoja wa watu mashuhuri katika siasa zote za Dar es Salaam katika miaka ya ya mwanzo ya 1900 hadi alipofariki mwaka 1949. Baba yake alikuwa maarufu kwa kuwa alilelewa na Affande Plantan askari kiongozi katika jeshi la Wajerumani lilokuja Tanganyika na Herman Von Wissman wakati Wajerumani walipoingia kuitawala Tanganyika. Kleist alikuwa ndiye katibu muasisi wa African Association mwaka 1929 chama kilichokuja baadae kujibadili na kuwa TANU Ally Sykes akiwa mmoja wa hao waasisi. Baba yake Kleist aliasisi Al Jamiatul Islamiyya Fi Tanganyika (Umoja wa Waislam wa Tanganyika) na kupitia jumuia hii akajenga shule ya kwanza ya Kiiislam Dar es Salaam, shule ambayo ilisomesha Qur’an pamoja na masomo ya kisekula. Hii Al Jamiatul Islamiyya ndiyo iliyotoa viongozi wa kwanza kuiendesha TAA na baadae TANU katika harakati za kudai uhuru.  Ally Sykes kwa mazingira na makuzi haya akawa maarufu kama alivyokuwa baba yake. Lakini kubwa zaidi na hili ndilo kwa bahati mbaya ndilo linalojulikana zaidi kwa sasa ni utajiri ambao Allah alimruzuku toka akiwa kijana mdogo sana katika miaka ya 1950 alipoanza biashara kwa kuanzisha kampuni yake binafsi iliyoitwa Sykes Sales Promotion Consultancy.

Inajulikana na wengi Ally Sykes na kaka yake Abdulwahid Sykes ndiyo watu wa mwanzo kumpokea Julius Nyerere alipokuja Dar es Salaam mwaka 1952. Nyerere alifika nyumbani kwa akina Sykes kwa utambulisho na hii ilijenga urafiki ambao ulipitiliza na kuwa udugu mkubwa wa mapenzi ya dhati si baina yao tu bali hata kwa wake na mama zao. Mama yake Nyerere Bi Mugaya hakuwa akipungua nyumbani kwa Mama Abdu Bi Mrurguru biti Mussa Mtaa wa Kirk. Halikadhalika Maria Nyerere hakuwa akipungua nyumbani kwa aidha kwa Bi Zainab mkewe Ally Sykes Mtaa wa Kipata au kwa Bi Mwamvua mkewe Abdulwahid Sykes Mtaa wa Aggrey. Wakati huu Abdulwahid ndiye akiwa rais wa TAA na harakati za kuanzisha TANU zimepamba moto achilia mbali hila na fitna za Waingereza kuwatokomeza viongozi shupavu wa TAA kama Hamza Mwapachu, Dk. Vedast Kyaruzi, Dk. Wilbard Mwanjisi nje ya Dar es Salaam kukivunja nguvu chama. Ndiyo maana TANU ilipokuja asisiwa mwaka 1954 Ally Sykes kadi yake ya TANU ikawa namba 2, Nyerere namba 1, Abdulwahid Sykes kadi yake namba 3, Dossa Aziz kadi namba 4, John Rupia kadi yake namba 7. Historia hii haikuja bure ina maelezo marefu ambayo hapa hayataweza kuenea.

Kipindi hiki Ally Sykes alikuwa Katibu wa Tanganyika African Government Servants Association (TAGSA) na vilevile alikuwa mwakilishi wa chama hicho katika Kamati ya Uajiri ya Serikali (Government Establishment Committee). Thomas Marealle ndiye alikuwa rais wa TAGSA na Rashid Kawawa alikuwa mwanakamati. Wanasiasa hawa vijana Ally Sykes akiwa mmoja wao wenyewe walijipa jina, ‘’Wednesday Tea Club’’ wakikutana kila siku ya Jumatano kunywa chai pamoja na kutumia wakati ule kupanga mikakati ya kuwang’oa Waingereza katika ardhi ya Tanganyika. Kupitia Ally, Abdulwahid na Dossa Aziz Nyerere akaweza kujuana na wenyeji wa Dar es Salaam maarufu katika hao ni Sheikh Hassan bin Amir, Mshume Kiyate, Jumbe Tambaza, Sheikh Suleiman Takadir, Clement Mtamila, Bi. Titi Mohamed, Tatu biti Mzee na wengineo. Lakini historia ina kawaida ya kujirudia.

Kifo cha Ally Sykes kimepuuzwa na vyombo vya habari kama nilivyoeleza awali kuwa hata kifo cha kaka yake Abdulwahid Sykes alipofariki mwaka 1968 magazeti ya TANU (wakati ule ‘’The Nationalist’’ na ‘’Uhuru’’) chama alichokiasisi kwa jasho, damu na fedha zake magazeti haya yalipuuza kifo hicho. Kuna watu katika TANU katika kipindi kile walikuwa wanajaribu kuifuta historia ya kupigania uhuru wakitaka kuondoa mchango wa Abdulwahid na Ally Sykes katika historia ya uhuru. Hata hivyo  ‘’Tanganyika Standard’’ gazeti ambalo ndilo liliokuwa likilinda maslahi ya ukoloni Tanganyika, ndilo lililoandika taazia ya Abdulwahid Sykes. Mhariri wa Tanganyika Standard Brendon Grimshaw hakuweza kustahamili fedheha ile, aliandika taazia ambayo itaishi zaidi ya miaka miaka mia moja na zaidi. Taazia ile ilitikisa fikra Makao Mkuu ya TANU Mtaa wa Lumumba na ikawakera wengi. Grimshaw alisema katika taazia yake kuwa TANU imeundwa pakubwa kwa mchango wa ukoo wa Sykes.

Narudia tena. Historia ina kawaida ya kujirudia. Mwaka wa 1968 wakati Abdulwahid anafariki Waislam walikuwa wako katika taharuki kubwa ya kile kilichokujajulikana kama ‘’mgogoro wa East African Muslim Welfare Society (EAMWS) taharuki iliyojaa simanzi kwa kuwa Mufti wa wakati ule Sheikh Hassan bin Amir mmoja wa masheikh viongozi katika TANU alikuwa kakamatwa na kufukuzwa nchini kwa amri ya Nyerere. Wakati haya yakijiri, Tewa Said Tewa na Bi.Titi Mohamed viongozi wa juu wa EAMWS walikuwa wakiandamwa na Nyerere na hapakuwa na uelewano mzuri baina yao. Ajabu ni kuwa umauti umemkuta Ally Sykes katika hali kama ile ile iliyokuwapo wakati kaka yake alipofariki dunia mwaka 1968 wakati nchi ikiwa katika mgogoro wa EAMWS kishindo ambacho kilidumu takriban miezi mitatu. Ally Sykes kafa wakati nchi ipo katika taharuki kwa kile kinachodaiwa ‘’uadui baiana ya Waislam na Wakristo.’’ Kwa hiki kifo cha Ally Sykes bila shaka wahariri wa magazeti walikuwa wameshughulishwa katika kutafuta habari mpya za ‘’kuchomwa makanisa’’ na ‘’ugomvi wa kuchinja,’’ hawakuwa na muda wa kufuatilia msiba wa muasisi wa TANU marehemu Ally Sykes. Lakini iweje hali iwe kama vile miaka saba tu baada ya uhuru kupatikana nchi iingie na taharuki ya kiasi kile na hivi sasa taharuki ile ijirejee upya tena ikishuhudiwa na waasisi wa harakati za ukombozi?

Ilikuwa nimemaliza kuandika kitabu kuhusu maisha ya kaka yake Ally Sykes kitabu kilichokujajulikana kama ‘’The Life and Times of Abdulwahid Sykes (1924 – 1968) The Untod Story of the Muslim Struggle Against British Colonialism in Tanganyika.’’ Ally Sykes alinikabidhi nyaraka zake katika utafiti wa maisha ya Abdulwahid Sykes.

Nyaraka hizi mpaka Ally Sykes anakufa zilibaki kuwa sehemu ya malalamiko yangu kwake kuwa hazikustahili kuwa mikononi kwake na kazifungia katika ‘’safe’’ zake. Nilikuwa nikamwambia mara kadhaa inagawa hakutaka kunisikiliza kuwa nyaraka hizi ni mali ya taifa la Tanzania lazima azikabidhi serikalini kwa kuhifadhiwa na kuwekwa Tanzania National Archive (TNA) kama urithi wa kizazi kijacho. Yeye siku zote akinambia, ‘’Mohamed hizi nyaraka ninaogopa nikiwapa serikali watazichoma moto.’’ Alikuwa na sababu ya kusema vile. Nyaraka za Ally Sykes zinakwenda nyuma kiasi cha miaka mia moja kuanzia siku babu yake Sykes Mbuwane alipotia mguu katika ardhi ya Tanganyika kutoka meli ya kvitia ya Wajerumani pale Pangani akitokea Msumbiji. Nyaraka zile zina barua za wanasiasa wa mwanzo katika Tanganyika achilia mbali habari za baba yake. Ukianza kufunua majalada yale hutachoka kupekua karatasi baada ya karatasi. Nyingine zimechoka kwa umri mrefu.

Katika majalada yale utakutana na wazalendo na machifu, utakutana na wasiasa wenye asili ya Kiasia na Waingereza wenyewe waliokuwa watawala. Nyaraka zile utawaona na utawasikia watu hawa wakizungumza na wewe: Dk Joseph Mutahangarwa, Chief Abdieli Shangali wa Machame, Paramount Chief Thomas Marealle wa Marangu, Chief Adam Sapi Mkwawa wa Wahehe, Chief Harun Msabila Lugusha, Dk. Wilbard Mwanjisi, Abdulkarim Karimjee, Dk Vedas Kyaruzi, Liwali Juma Mwindadi, H.K. Viran, Stephen Mhando,  Dossa Aziz, Ivor Bayldon, Yustino Mponda, Ivor Bayldon, Rashid Mfaume Kawawa, Bhoke Munanka, Rashid Kheri Baghdelleh, Robert Makange, Saadani Abdu Kandoro, Malkia Elizabeth, Chief Secretary Bruce Hutt, Gavana Edward Twining, Gavana Ronald Cameron, Mwalimu Thomas Plantan na ndugu zake – Schneider Abdillah Plantan na Ramadhani Plantan, Mwalimu Mdachi Shariff, Mwalimu Nicodemus Ubwe, Kassela Bantu, John Rupia, Hamza Kibwana Mwapachu, Othman Chande, Leonard Bakuname, Stephen Mhando, Oscar Kambona, Peter Colmore, Albert Rothschild, Ali Mwinyi Tambwe, Alexander Thobias, Japhet Kirilo, Joseph Kimalando, Ian Smith, Roy Welensky, Jim Bailey, Kenneth Kaunda, Meida Springer, John Hatch, Gretton Bailey, Brig. Scupham, Dome Okochi Budohi, Annur Kassum, Nesmo Eliufoo, Yusuf Olotu, Joseph Kimalando, Julius Nyerere na wengine wengi wakubwa kwa nyadhifa walizokuja kukamata katika Tanganyika huru na wale walioanguka njiani.  

Ukikaa na Ally Sykes na mkapitia jina moja baada ya jingine utapata habari za wazalendo na watu hawa na historia yao yote na kwa hakika hiyo ndiyo historia ya uhuru wa Tanganyika na historia ya kweli ya TANU. Ally Sykes alikuwa anawajua watu hawa vilivyo. Atakuambia yupi alikuwa kibaraka wa Waingereza na yupi alikuwa mpiganaji wa kweli. Atakueleza nani alikuja katika siasa kwa uzalendo na nani alikuja kwa ajili ya kutafuta maslahi yake binafsi.

Ally Sykes kabla hajafa alikuwa keshamaliza kuandika historia ya maisha yake. Mswada huu unaitwa, ‘’Under the Shadow of British Colonialism in Tanganyika.’’ Mchapaji alipomaliza kuhariri mswada ule aliomba kitabu kibadilishwe jina kiitwe, ‘’Dreams Unfulfilled.’’ Mhariri alinipigia simu kutola Nairobi akanambia kila akimsoma Ally Sykes alikuwa anamwona Ally Sykes katika majonzi kwa kuwa ndoto aliyokuwanayo wakati akipigania uhuru wa Tanganyika ndoto ile haikukamilika. Aliniomba nimuombe Ally Sykes jina la kitabu libadilishwe.  Kwake Ally Sykes suala halikuwa kugawana vyeo ndani ya chama cha siasa na kisha katika Tanganyika huru. Suala lilikuwa kwa Mwafrika kuwa huru katika nchi yake bila ya kubughudhiwa na mtu yeyote yule. Mwaka 1953 ilikuja shinikizo kubwa kutoka kwa Ivor Bayldon kuunda chama kitakachojumuisha wananchi wa rangi zote katika Tanganyika. Ally Sykes alikuwa akisema laiti kama wangekubali kumeza chambo kile  historia ya Tanganyika ingekuwa nyingine na TANU isingeliasisiwa pale New Street mwaka 1954 katika nyumba ile ambayo ilijengwa na kukamilika mwaka 1933 wakati wa uongozi wa baba yake; na Nyerere asingelikuja kuwa kiongozi  wa nchi hii. ‘’Laiti Bwana Abdu na Hamza Mwapachu wangelikubaliana na ule mpango wa akina Ivor Bayldon na Nazerali uongozi wa nchi huu ungelitoka ndani ya Baraza la Kutunga Sheria la wakoloni, usingelitoka kwetu sisi Waafrika wazalendo wenye uchungu na nchi hii na huenda rais wa Tanganyika angelikuwa Chief David Kidaha Makwaia na Nyerere angelibakia kuwa mwalimu wa shule pale Pugu.’’ Ivor Bayldon baada ya kushindwa kuwapata wanachama wa TAA alikuja baadae mwaka 1955 kuunda United Tanganyika Party (UTP) chama kilichokuja kupinga TANU. Hii ndiyo namna nyaraka za Ally Sykes zinavyozungumza na wewe unapozisoma na pale yeye mwenyewe anapokupa maelezo hutaacha kupigwa na butwaa na mshangao.

Nilipata kumuuliza Ally Sykes kama anajua ni fedha kiasi gani alizopata kutumia katika TAA na TANU jibu alonipa ni kuwa hajui wala hajuti.  ‘’Hizo fedha si kitu kikubwa. Kubwa ni njama ambayo niliundiwa na Waingereza wawili Dk Hughes na Dk Frank kutaka kuniua wakati nikifanya kazi Kibongoto Infectious Disease Hospital, Moshi. Unajua Waingereza kwa kweli walikuwa wamechoka na hili jina letu. Kila Gavana aliyekuja kutawala Tanganyika alikuwa lazima atapambana na jina hili. Baba yetu aliitwa kuhojiwa na kila gavana aliyekuja kutawala Tanganyika kuanzia mwaka 1927 hadi 1947. Kati ya mwaka 1929 hadi 1947 Mzee Kleist aliitwa kuhojiwa mbele ya ‘’tribune’’ mara tatu kuhusu harakati za wafanyakazi, yeye akiwa katibu wa Railway African Civil Service Union. Waingereza walikuwa wamechoka sasa na sisi wakaaamua kuniua kwa kuniambukiza kifua kikuu. Hawa madaktari wawili walikuwa wakiniita mimi ‘’rafiki yake Nyerere’’ ambaye kwao wao alikuwa adui mkubwa sana. Wakati ule kunasibishwa na Nyerere halikuwa jambo jema. Hicho kilikuwa kitu cha hatari na cha kutisha sana. Mimi sikuwa nakataa kuwa Nyerere alikuwa rafiki yangu. Kwa Waingereza hiyo ilikuwa kama vile kujinasibisha udugu na Adolf Hitler.  Hii ilikuwa mwaka 1956 na ingawa mimi nilikuwa nimepewa uhamisho kufanyakazi Kibongoto, Moshi ili kuniweka mbali na TANU pale New Street bado nilikuwa nikijitahidi kukijenga chama pale nilipokuwapo. Mimi na Bwana Abdu, Dossa, Mzee Rupia, Nyerere na Baraza la Wazee wa TANU chini ya Mwenyekiti wake Sheikh Suleiman Takadir tulikuwa tukiitumikia TANU kwa nguzu zetu zote na ni wakati huu ndipo nilipompiga muuguzaji wa kike Mzungu Ocean Road Hospital kwa ajili ya ubaguzi wake na matokeo yake nikasimamishwa kazi na niliporejeshwa nikapelekwa uhamishomi Mtwara kama adhabu…’’

Mtu usingeweza kuchoka kumsikiliza Ally Sykes anapohadithia historia ya mapambano dhidi ya ukoloni. Ilipokuwa sasa inakaribia kupatikana kwa uhuru anasema, ‘’Allah akanifungulia milango zaidi kwa kuwa sasa nikishirikiana na rafiki yangu Peter Colmore na kampuni yake ya High Fidelity Productions kutoka Nairobi tukawa tumeshika biashara yote kubwa ya uwakilishi wa makampuni makubwa yaliyokuwa Afrika ya Mashariki - Coca Cola (East Africa) Ltd; The Cooper Motors Corporation Ltd; The Shell Company of East Africa Ltd, Aspro Nicholas Ltd; Gailey and Roberts Ltd; Bata Shoes Company Ltd; Kenya Broadcasting Service, Cotton Lint and Seed Marketing Board, Raleigh Industries of East Africa Ltd; na tulikuwa wawakilishi Kenya wa Tanganyika Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) lakini mafanikio yana matatizo yake hii nilikujajua baadae sana uhuru ulipopatikana. Sisi tuliokuwa mstari wa mbele tukawa hatuhitajiki tena na husda na fitna ikaingia baina yetu sisi waasisi wa TANU na Nyerere…’’ Haikuwa rahisi kuacha kumsikiliza Ally Sykes akiieleza historia ya TANU, uhusiano wake na Nyerere na yote yaliyotokea hadi aakafutwa kabisa katika historia ya uhuru wa Tanganyika.

Hatuwezi kummaliza Ally Sykes. Ally Sykes aliishi maisha kamili. Allah alimruzuku kila kitu na akampa dunia. Mguu wake ulikanyaga pale alipotaka.  Mimi binafsi nimeshuhudia nguvu zake kwa macho yangu mwenyewe. Wazungu wakimtetemekea na akiwatuma kazi na wakimtumikia kwa adabu na unyofu wa hali ya juu. Mmoja wa jamaa za Ally Sykes, Mzee Ahmed Rashad Ali  alipata kunambia kuwa Ally Sykes akiwatuma Wazungu toka ujana wake na anapowaita kuja kula nyumbani kwake wakija na adabu zao kamili. Juu ya haya yote Ally Sykes alikuwa na ibra moja – hakuwa mtu wa kujiona. Hukuweza kupima nguvu na uwezo wake kwa kumtazama. Nilisikitika sana mazikoni pale Makaburi ya Kisutu. Wale waliompuuza Ally Sykes na kuufanya mchango wake si lolote si chochote ndiyo walipewa heshima ya wao kuwa mbele pale makaburini  katika kumsindikiza katika safari yake ya mwisho na kusoma hotuba. Rafiki zake aliokuwanao siku zote, Abdallah Awadh, Ali Mbarak, Shomari, Abdu Faraj, Boi Juma Risasi, Harudiki Kabunju, Hussein, Abdu Kifea, Abdallah Jabir, Muharram Kocha, Muharram Mkamba, Abdubari, Salim Hirizi kuwataja wachache waliwekwa mbali na jeneza na kaburi na watu wa Itifaki wa Ikulu nafasi yao ikachukuliwa na wanasiasa na viongozi wa juu wa Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).  Ilikuwa aibu kubwa kwa CCM kuonekana hawapo katika kumzika Ally Sykes mwanachama wa TANU kadi namba mbili na mzalendo wa kweli aliyemwandikia na kumkabidhi kadi namba moja ya TANU Baba wa Taifa Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

Ally Sykes alimpenda na kumuheshimu sana kaka yake na katika maisha yangu ndiyo mtu pekee niliyemsikia kila akimtaja kaka yake anatanguliza neno, ’’Bwana.’’ Kwake yeye Abdulwahid alikuwa ‘’Bwana Abdu’’ kila alipomtaja.  Ally Sykes amezikwa pembeni mwa kaburi la kaka yake Bwana Abdu.

Tuamwomba Allah amlaze Ally Kleist Sykes mahali pema peponi.

Mohamed Said

22 Mei 2013

ALLY KLEIST SYKES 1926 - 2013

Ally Kleist Sykes na Mohamed Said picha ilipigwa siku ya Eid El Fitr 19 September 2009 nyumbani kwake Mbezi Beach Ally Kleist Sykes na Mohamed Said picha ilipigwa siku ya Eid El Fitr 19 September 2009 nyumbani kwake Mbezi Beach ‘’Bwana Ally Sykes (1926 - 2013) alisoma kitabu changu Uamuzi wa Busara wa Tabora na baada ya kukimaliza alinipigia simu na tukawa na mazungumzo ya muda mrefu akilaumu kuwa uandishi wa wanahistoria wa Tanzania pamoja na mimi tumeshughulishwa sana na kuandika mchango wa Mwalimu Nyerere katika harakati za kudai uhuru wa Tanganyika na kusahau kabisa mchango wa wazalendo wengine. Katika kukikosoa kitabu changu akasema nimemweleza Said Chamwenyewe nusu nusu kwa hiyo sikuwatendea haki wasomaji wangu na hata hao wazalendo ambao mie nilitaka kuwafufua na kuwarejesha katika historia ya kupigania uhuru wa Tanganyika. Bwana Ally Sykes akanambia inahitaji kitabu kizima kueleza yale yaliyopitika kabla na baada ya yeye na marehemu kaka yake Abdulwahid Sykes kujuana na Julius Nyerere mwaka 1952 na wakafahamiana na kati yao ukajengeka udugu na mapenzi makubwa si baina yao tu bali hata na mama zao na wake zao udugu uliodumu hadi uhuru unapatikana. Akamaliza maneno ya kw akusema inahitaji mwandishi makini sana kuweza kuandika historia ya kweli ya uhuru wa Tangnayika. Mimi nilikaa na Ally Sykes na tuliweza kuandika maisha yake. Ni historia nzuri ya kusisimua sana. Kitabu nilikipa jina ''Under The Shadow of British Colonialism the Life of Ally Kleist Sykes'' lakini wachapaji walipokipitia wakasema kibadilishwe jina kiitwe ''Unfulfilled Dreams .’’ Mswada huu bado haujachapwa hadi leo takriban miaka 17 baada ya kumaliza uandishi. Naweka hapa chini utangulizi wa kitabu chake kama ulivyo katika mswada. Introduction My name is Ally Kleist Sykes. I was born in Dar es Salaam on 10 th September 1926 from Kleist Sykes Mbuwane, the son of a Zulu mercenary, Sykes Mbuwane and Bibi Mruguru bint Mussa who my father married in February 1923. My father’s other name is Abdallah but he never identified himself by this name. This is the name written on his tombstone, which today identifies his grave at the Kisutu Muslim graveyard in Dar es Salaam. I was named Ally after my father’s elder brother Ally Sykes, or Kattini Mbuwane, as he was known back home in Mozambique. My grandfather is from the Shangaan a Zulu clan, which originated from South Africa but settled in Mozambique. The reason, which caused the Zulu migration to Mozambique, was to run away from civil upheavals caused by the reign of Shaka, the Zulu King. My father was the second child; the first one was Ally Kattini who was born from Mbuwane’s first wife back home. My uncle Kattini was blind. When Mbuwane came to Tanganyika he came with him but he was later sent back home. The village, which my people settled, is known as Kwa Likunyi. I had the occasion to visit the village of our origins in 1952 and I was able to trace some members of our family. At that time the country was under the harsh rule of the Portuguese. I will narrate the story of my travel to trace my people later on. The history of my family begins at a village called Kwa Likunyi in the then Portuguese Mozambique about a hundred years ago. I learned most of the history of my forefathers from my father, Kleist Sykes.  Kleist Sykes was born in Pangani in 1894. His mother, my grandmother, was a Nyaturu from Central Tanganyika. My father always considered himself as an aristocrat of sorts and had his own exceptional way of carrying himself. He behaved and even dressed differently in comparison to other Africans. He was always immaculately dressed and all his existing photographs show him in suit and tie. He considered himself a modern man, a man of the times. He was very conscious of his Zulu origins and loved and longed for the country which he never set foot on.  My father sentimental and melancholy used to talk about his father, Sykes Mbuwane, who he never even knew because Mbuwane my grandfather, died soon after my father was born. My grandfather, Sykes Mbuwane, the Zulu mercenary and warrior from Inhambane died in Uhehe. Mbuwane died crossing River Ruaha returning from the campaign against Chief Mkwawa. He had seen cows crossing and he thought the water was shallow. Measuring himself up the Zulu warrior and others attempted to cross the river and were swept away and drowned. My father’s narration about his people was stories of wars and power of the white men over Africans. He used to narrate to us this history when we were young. I now can understand why that part of history was important to him. That history was the only thing he could hold on about his people and tribe.  Kleist was sentimental and melancholy because apart from us, his children he never had a living relative in Tanganyika. Whatever relatives he had were left behind in Inhambane, Mozambique at the turn of the century even before he was born. Part of that history and indeed the history of our family has also been recorded together with the history of Tanganyika itself.  Kleist preserved this history through his own pen. And it was from Kleist’s pen that many years after he had passed away that we now have an accurate account of those days long passed. Before he died on 23 May 1949 my father left behind his memoirs in his long flowing Germany handwriting picked from a Germany school he attended in Dar es Salaam, as a child in early 1900s. These memoirs [1] were later revisited by Abdulwahid my elder brother with his daughter Aisha Daisy Sykes, then an undergraduate student at Dar es Salaam University under the tutelage of Illife the renowned historian from Cambridge University. A month before he died on 12 October 1968 Abdulwahid had had already assisted Daisy to complete her research assignment of prominent Africans in Tanganyika for a history seminar on the life of her grandfather. The aim of this project was to document the life history of our father, Kleist Sykes and his achievement in politics, education and business. It was from his diaries, personal papers as primary sources and with the assistance of Daisy that Iliffe was able to research and write accurately on African Association and early colonial politics.[2] This work was submitted to the History Department of University of Dar es Salaam in September 1968. It was later published in 1973 in a book edited by Illife.[3]  It is a pity that Abdulwahid who was the main informant on the biography did not leave to see the fruits of his work. Prior to publishing of my father’s biography, little was known about the founding fathers of the African Association. Dar es Salaam 24 March 1997 Kushoto ni Ally Sykes akiwa na miaka 17 na kaka yake Abdulwahid miaka 19 wakiwa katika unifomu za King's African Rifles (KAR) katika kikosi cha Burma Infantry Vita Kuu ya Pili 1938 - 1945 [1] A.D. Sykes “The Life of Kleist Sykes,” University of Dar es Salaam Ref. No. JAN/HIST/143/15. [2] See John Illife: A Modern History of Tanganyika, Cambridge University Press, London, 1977; Also “The Role of the African Association in the formation and Realisation of Territorial Consciousness in Tanzania.” Mimeo, University of East Africa Social Sciences Conference 1968.[3] Illife Modern Tanzanians, (ed), East African Publishing House, Nairobi, 1973.

WALIOACHA ALAMA KATIKA HISTORIA YA TANU NA YA KUPIGANIA UHURU WA TANGANYIKA: DOME OKOCHI BUDOHI

Katika kitabu changu ''The Life and Times of Abdulwahid Sykes (1924 - 1928) The Untold Story of the Muslim Struggle Against British Colonialism'' London 1998,  ambacho kilikuja kufasiriwa na kuitwa ''Maisha na Nyakati za Abdulwahid Sykes Historia iliyofichwa  Kuhusu Harakati za Waislam Dhidi ya Ukoloni wa Waingereza'' Nairobi 2002 nimeandika maneno hayo hapo chini kuhusu Dome Budohi:

''Familia yangu ilifahamiana na Dome Budohi, mmoja wa wanaharakati kutoka Kenya. Wakati ule wakati wa kudai uhuru wa Tanganyika alikuwa akiishi Dar es Salaam. Budohi alikuwa mmoja wa wazalendo walioasisi TANU na kadi yake ya uanachama ni nambari sita aliyopewa Julai 1954. Mwaka 1955 alikamatwa na serikali ya kikoloni kwa tuhuma ya kuwa mmoja wa askari wa Mau Mau harakati za wazalendo takriban wengi wao wakulima wadogo waliokuwa wakipigana na ukoloni wa Waingereza nchini Kenya. Ninazo kumbukumbu nyingi za utoto nikimtembelea Budohi ndani ya selo yake Kituo Cha Kati cha Polisi. Hivi sasa jengo hilo ni Makao Makuu ya Shirika la Reli la Tanzania. Wakati huo mimi nilikuwa mtoto, si zaidi ya miaka minne hivi. Jambo la kwanza ninalokumbuka kuhusu Budohi ni kuwa kila mara tulipokwenda kumtembelea tulimkuta anasoma gazeti. Baadae Budohi alihamishiwa Kenya na aliwekwa kizuizini katika kisiwa cha Lamu. Alipofunguliwa toka kizuizini mwaka wa 1963 miezi michache kabla ya uhuru wa Kenya, Budohi alikwenda Uganda na akaajiriwa na gazeti la Uganda Argus. Hivi sasa ninaelewa kwa nini siku zile kila mara nilikuwa namkuta amezama ndani ya gazeti kila tulipokwenda kumtembelea pale rumande mjini Dar es Salaam. Niliweza kwa msaada wa rafiki yake Maxwell aliyelowea Tanganyika, kumpata Budohi mjini Nairobi mwaka 1972. Nilimtembelea mjini Nairobi wakati huo alikuwa akiishi Ruiru maili chache kutoka Nairobi mjini. Budohi alikuwa ametundika picha ya Nat King Cole sebuleni kwake. Mwaka 1974 nilimtembelea tena, safari hii katika nyumba yake ya Ngei Estate. Budohi alikuja kuwa mtu wa kwanza kabisa kunipa habari kuhusu historia ya harakati za Tanganyika dhidi ya ukoloni wa Waingereza. Hata hivyo wakati ule nilikuwa bado sijapata hamu wala kuwa na hamu ya kuandika kitabu kuhusu uhuru wa Tanganyika.

Kulikuwepo na wazalendo kutoka nchi jirani ya Kenya kama vile Dome Okochi Budohi na Patrick Aoko ambao walikuwa wanajua vyema siasa za walowezi za kupora ardhi za  wananchi. Kutoka kwa wazalendo kama hawa, Abdulwahid alipata usikivu wa mawazo yake ya kuigeuza TAA kuwa chama cha siasa chenye nguvu. Lakini mara tu baada ya kuundwa kwa TANU wazalendo hawa wa Kenya wakakamatwa na serikali. Kwa miezi sita walihojiwa na kuwekwa rumande Central Police Station huku wamefungwa minyororo. Budohi na Aoko walikuwa wakifuatwa na makachero (Special Branch) toka mwaka wa1952 baada ya hali ya hatari kutangazwa Kenya. Inasemekana Dome Budohi aliponzwa na barua iliyotoka Kenya ambayo ilikamatwa na makachero. Barua hii ilikuwa inamuhusisha Budohi na Mau Mau. Inasemekana Budohi alisalitiwa na Mkenya mwenzake aliyeitwa Martin[1]ambaye alikuwa pamoja naye katika Blackbirds. Martin alikuwa akipuliza tarumbeta.

Askari waliokuwa wakiwalinda kule rumande walitoa habari kwa TANU kuwa kulikuwa na mpango wa kuwapa sumu wafungwa wale, Budohi na mwenzake Aoko. Baadaye wafungwa hawa walihamishiwa Handeni ambako kulikuwa na kambi ya kuwafunga watuhumiwa wa Mau Mau. Kawawa alikuwa amehamishiwa hapo kutoka Dar es Salaam. Baadhi ya wafungwa walikuwa wananachama wa TAA na baada ya kuundwa TANU wakawa wanachama wa TANU. Kawawa alikuwa akifahamiana na wengi kati ya wafungwa wale. Budohi na Aoko waliwahi kuwa  viongozi wa TAA. Kawawa aliwaangalia wafungwa hawa kwa moyo wa huruma akijaribu kupunguza shida zao pale kambini kila alipopata mwanya wa kufanya hivyo. Budohi aliwahi kucheza senema ya Kiswahili na Kawawa iliyoitwa Mgeni Mwema iliyokuwa imetayarishwa na Community Development Department. Idara hii ilitengeneza filamu kadhaa ambazo Kawawa alicheza kama nyota wa mchezo. Katika senema zote alizocheza, iliyopata umaarufu na kupendwa zaidi ilikuwa Muhogo Mchungu ambalo ndiyo lilikuwa jina la Kawawa katika filamu hiyo.

Minongíono ilikuwa ikisikika kutoka kanda ya ziwa kuwa kiongozi wa wapiganaji wa Mau Mau, Dedan Kimathi alikuwa anaonekana mjini Mwanza. Wakati ule pale Mwanza kulikuwa na Wakikuyu wengi wakifanya biashara sokoni. Ilivumishwa kuwa Dedan Kimathi alikuwa akiwasiliana na Wakikuyu wenzake na wao walikuwa wakimkusanyia fremu za baiskeli za zamani ili zitumike kutengenezea magobole ili zitumiwe misituni dhidi ya majeshi ya Waingereza. [1]  Mapigano yalipoonza kati ya Mau Mau na Waingereza kulikuwa na Wakikuyu kama elfu kumi na sita wakiishi na kufanya kazi kaskazini ya Tanganyika. Kama tahadhari, Wakikuyu wachache walioonekana kuunga mkono Mau Mau, walikamatwa na kupelekwa Kenya ambako waliwekwa kizuizini katika kambi mbali mbali. Wakati Budohi na Wakenya wengine walipopita Korogwe wakati wakirudishwa Kenya kupitia Taveta, Ally Sykes, ambaye alikuwa amehamishiwa Korogwe, alikwenda hadi stesheni ya reli kuwaaga. Watuhumiwa hawa wa Mau Mau walikuwa wametiwa katika mabehewa ya kubebea ng'ombe huku wamefungwa minyororo. Dome Budohi na wazalendo wengine waliwekwa kizuizini kwa miaka saba.

Katika wale walioasisi TANU, ni wale tu aliokuwa makao makuu ya TAA ndiyo wanaoweza kueleza historia ya kweli ya  chama hiki. Hawa ni John Rupia, Dossa Aziz, Tewa Said Tewa, Julius Nyerere, Dome Budohi, Abdulwahid na Ally Sykes.

Miaka mingi baada ya kutoka kizuizini kisiwa cha Lamu, Budohi bado alikuwa ma mfundo na Martin na kila alipozungumza kuhusu yeye na mwandishi,alionyesha chuki ya kupindukia.

Wazalendo wa Kenya waliokuwa katika harakati nchini Tanganyika hawakuwa na uhusiano na TANU baada ya uhuru na wala chama hakikufanya juhudi kuwasiliana nao. Dome Budohi alijaribu mara nyingi kuomba kukutana na Nyerere alipozuru Nairobi lakini ilishindikana. Budohi hafahamu kama maafisa wa serikali ya Tanzania walimzuia wao tu au walifanya hivyo kwa amri ya Nyerere. Hadi anafariki Dome Budohi hakuwahi kuonana na Nyerere ambae wakati wa enzi za TAA na TANU walikuwa wakifahamiana vizuri.

Kadi nambari 1 ilitolewa na Ally Sykes kwa rais wa TANU, Julius Kambarage Nyerere na Ally aliweka sahihi yake kama afisa aliyeitoa. Ilipendekezwa kwamba kadi chache za mwanzo lazima zipigwe mnada na fedha zitakazokusanywa zitiwe  kwenye hazina ya chama. Abdulwahid, Ally, Dossa Aziz, Rupia na wengine walipanda dau kununua kadi hizo. Ally alimshinda kaka yake Abdulwahid kwa bei akapata kadi ya TANU nambari 2; Abdulwahid alipewa kadi nambari 3; Dossa Aziz kadi nambari 4; Phombeah kadi nambari 5; Dome Okochi, mmoja wa wale wazalendo kutoka Kenya katika TANU alipata kadi nambari 6 na Rupia kadi nambari 7. Bibi Titi kadi nambari 16; Iddi Tosiri kadi nambari 25.

Mwezi June 1953, makao makuu ya TAA yalitangaza kamati yake ya utendaji: J. K. Nyerere, Rais, Abdulwahid Sykes, Makamu wa Rais; J. P. Kasella Bantu, Katibu Mkuu; Alexander M. Tobias na Waziri Dossa Aziz, Katibu wa pamoja wa muhtasari; Wajumbe wa kamati: Dr Michael Lugazia, Hamisi Diwani, Tewa Said Tewa, Denis Phombeah, Z. James, Dome Okochi, C. Ongalo na Patrick Aoko.[1]Muundo wa uongozi katika TAA unaonyesha ule mshikamano wa Afrika ya Mashariki uliokuweko wakati wa harakati za uhuru. Wazalendo wa Kenya walichaguliwa kama viongozi wa TAA bega kwa bega na Watanganyika.'' 

Nimenyanyambua vipande hivyo kutoka sehemu tofauti ya kitabu changu ili kutoa picha na kujaza habari katika historia ya TANU na harakati za kudai uhuru. Mengi ya haya hayajulikani na wengi na hivyo kuathiri sana kufahamika na kuheshimu historia ya uhuru wa Tanganyika na mashujaa wake.

 

Mzee Omar Suleiman (1910 - 2012) Mwasisi wa TANU Dodoma

Mzee Omar Suleiman (1910 - 2012) Mwasisi wa TANU Dodoma 1955

Mohamed Said

Katika moja ya misiba mikubwa ya Tanzania ni kukosekana kuwapo kwa historia ya kweli ya kupigania uhuru na kwa ajili hiyo kusababisha kutokuwapo kwa mashujaa wa taifa. Mzee Omar Suleiman ni mmoja wa waasisi wa TANU Dodoma na kwa ajili hii ni kati ya mashujaa waliopigania uhuru wa Tanganyika ambao si wengi wanamfahamu na kujua khasa nini ulikuwa mchango wake. Mara kwa mara hasa kwa siku hisi za mwisho wa maisha yake kila ilipotokea nafasi ya kutaja Mzee Omar Suleiman kilichokuwa kikielezwa ni uhusiano wake na Julius Nyerere na kusema kuwa Nyerere alikuwa akifikia nyumbani kwake basi. Nini ulikuwa mchango wake haukuwa uanelezwa na sababu khasa ni kuwa hakuna aliyekuwa anaujua. Hata alipokufa hakuna taazia yoyote iliyoandikwa kumweleza Omar Suleiman alikuwa nani. Ili kumjua Omar Suleiman ni lazima mtu arudi nyuma sana na kumtafuta Omar Suleima katika kundi la wazalendo wenzake aliokuwanao katika siasa wakati wa kuiunda TANU Jimbo la Kati mwaka wa 1955.

Kuipata picha ya siasa katika Tanganyika ya 1950 hatuna budi uitazama African Association mtangulizi wa TANU. African Association mjini Dodoma ilikuwa ikiongoza katika harakati baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili. Ilikuwa na wanasiasa wenye juhudi sana na wabunifu kuliko wanasiasa wengine wote waliopata kutokea katika historia ya Tanganyika. Wanasiasa hawa walikuwa Ali Ponda, Mmanyema na Hassan Suleiman, Myao, rais na katibu wake. Mwaka 1945 Ali Ponda alitoa wito kwa Waafrika wote kuungana kama umma mmoja. Lakini kuanzia mwaka 1948 harakati za siasa mjini Dodoma zilififia, na TANU ilipoanzishwa mnamo Julai, 1954, tawi la TAA Dodoma lilikuwa limedorora kiasi kwamba kilishindwa hata kupeleka mjumbe kwenye mkutano ule wa TAA wa kuundwa kwa TANU. Pamoja na ukweli kuwa mji wa Dodoma kulikuwa na Kikuyu Secondary School (sasa Alliance Secondary School) ambako kulikuwa na walimu wa Kiafrika, wengi wao kutoka Makerere, ambao kama wasomi, wangechukua juhudi kuihuisha African Association. Labda kwa kuhisi kuwa hapakuwapo na ukinzani unaokwenda kinyume na  maslahi yao katika mfumo wa kikoloni, walimu wale waliamua kujitenga na siasa. Kwa hiyo basi, harakati dhidi ya serikali ya kikoloni ziliachwa kuwa mikononi mwa wa Waislam wa mjini Dodoma, wengi wao wakiwa hawakujaliwa kupata elimu ka ajili ya siasa za Waingereza walioacha elimu iwe mikononi mwa Wamishionari.

Historia ya Mzee Omar Suleiman haiwezi kukamilika bila ya kumtaja rafiki yake shujaa wa uhuru marehemu Haruna Taratibu. Mwaka wa 1953 Haruna  alikuwa  na umri wa miaka 23 na akifanya kazi Public Works Department (PWD) kama mwashi. Haruna Taratib alijaribu kuunda chama cha wafanyakazi kwa kuwahamasisha na kuwakusanya vibarua walioajiriwa katika kazi za ujenzi. Kwa sababu ya harakati hizo za kutaka kuanzisha chama cha wafanyakazi, Taratibu alionekana na wakoloni kama mtu mkorofi na mzusha vurugu. Hata hivyo Taratibu hakufanikiwa kuanzisha chama hicho na matokeo yake akapewa uhamisho kwenda Singida kama adhabu. Taratibu alivutiwa sana na harakati za Mau Mau nchini Kenya na alizoea kufuatilia matukio yake katika gazeti lake alilokuwa akilipenda sana, “Baraza,” gazeti la Kiswahili la kila wiki kutoka Kenya.

Ilikuwa katika Novemba 1954 wakati Taratibu alipokuwa akipekuapekua gazeti hilo ndipo alioposoma habari kuhusu TANU. Taratibu aliuliza pale Singida mjini kama kuna tawi la TANU. Taratibu alifahamishwa kukuwepo kwa tawi la TANU  pale mjini na katibu wake alikuwa mzee mmoja kwa jina la Mzee Kinyozi. Taratibu alikata kadi yake toka kwa huyo mzee na akawa mwanachama wa chama cha siasa. Asubuhi iliyofuata Taratibu aliingia ofisini kwake na akaiweka  kadi yake ya  uanachama wa TANU yenye  rangi nyeusi na kijani juu ya meza yake, kila mtu aione. Ofisa Mzungu wa PWD Singida hakuweza kuvumila ufedhuli kama ule, alishauri Taratibu apewe uhamisho kurudi Dodoma alikotoka, kabla hajaeneza  sumu yake kwa Waafrika wengine. Hapo ndipo alipokuja kuungana na Mzee Omar Suleiman.

Mwaka 1955 wakati wimbi la utaifa wa Tanganyika lilipokuwa limepamba moto Tanganyika, Omari Suleiman alikuwa na umri wa miaka 43. Omar Suleiman alikuwa fundi cherahani akifanya shughuli zake katika nyumba moja katikati ya mji wa Dodoma. Mkabala na nyumba ambamo Suleiman alikuwa amepanga chumba kimoja ilikuwa nyumba aliyopanga Taratibu. Mara baada ya kupewa uhamisho kutoka Singida, Taratibu alimuuliza jirani yake, Suleiman, kama kuliwepo na tawi la TANU pale mjini. Suleiman alimwambia Taratibu kuwa hapakuwepo na tawi la TANU mjini Dodoma na alimjulisha kuwa kulikuwa na tetesi mjini kuwa Hassan Suleiman amemuahidi na kumhakikishia DC kuwa yeye, akiwa katibu wa Jimbo wa TAA, hatairuhusu TANU kusajiliwa katika Jimbo la Kati bila ya idhini yake. Lakini ukweli ulikuwa Hassan Suleiman akitokea katika uongozi wa TAA alikuwa tayari ameisajili TANU lakini hakumfahamisha mtu yoyote wala kufanya juhudi yoyote kuitisha uchaguzi au kufanya mkutano. Hassan Suleiman kama, Omar Suleiman alikuwa na umri wa miaka arobaini na tatu mwaka 1955. Tofauti na Omari Suleiman, Hassan Suleimani alikuwa ameelimika na alikuwa mwanasiasa mwenye uzoefu akiwa amekiongoza chama cha African Association kuanzia miaka ya 1940 na alikuwa amehudhuria mikutano ya African Association Tanganyika na Zanzibar.

Haruna Taratibu, Omari Suleimani na marafiki zake wachache waliunda kamati ndogo kisha wakaandika barua kwenda makao makuu ya TANU Dar es Salaam kuomba ruhusa ya kufungua tawi la TANU. Katibu mwenezi wa TANU, wakati ule Oscar Kambona, aliwaandikia kuwaeleza kuwa Hassan Suleiman tayari alikuwa ameshaisajili TANU na ikiwa uchaguzi wa viongozi haujafanyika basi waonanena na yeye pamoja na Ali Ponda. Omari Suleiman na Haruna Taratibu hawakuridhika na majibu kutoka makao makuu ya TANU kwa hiyo walikwenda kutafuta ushauri kwa Edward Mwangosi, aliyekuwa mwanachama mkongwe wa African Association. Mwangosi aliishauri kamati ile iitishe mkutano Community Centre ili kujadili ufunguzi wa tawi la TANU, na Hassan Suleiman na Ali Ponda waalikwe kuhudhuria. Kadhalika Mwangosi aliishauri kamati ile kuwaalika walimu waliokuwa wakifundisha Kikuyu Secondary School, wengi wao wasomi kutoka Makerere kuhudhuria mkutano huo.  Mwangosi aliwaambia wajumbe wa kamati ile ndogo kuwa wasomi wa Makerere walikuwa ni muhimu sana kwenye chama kwa kuwa wangetoa uongozi uliokuwa unatakiwa.

Karibu ya watu arobaini pamoja na wale wasomi wa Makerere, miongoni mwao Job Lusinde walihudhuria mkutano ule. (Lusinde alikuja kuwa waziri, na Amon Nsekela, alikuja kushika nyadhifa muhimu katika serikali na vilevile kuwa balozi wa Tanzania nchini Uingereza). Hassan Suleiman na Ali Ponda hawakutokea mkutanoni. Wakati wanakusanyika kwa ajili ya mkutano, afisa wa Community Centre aliwaambia kuwa alikuwa amepokea amri kutoka kwa DC kuwa mkutano huo usifanyike. Kufuatia amri ile watu walitawanyika mara moja. Alexander Kanyamara aliyekuwa Mwafrika tajiri mjini Dodoma na rafiki wa John Rupia, wakati ule makamu wa rais wa TANU, aliwataka kuahirisha mkutano huo kwa sababu ya kutokuwepo kwa viongozi wa juu wa TAA, Hassan Suleiman na Ali Ponda.  Kutokana na sababu hii na vile vitisho vya DC, mkutano uliahirishwa bila kupanga tarehe ya mkutano mwingine. Asubuhi iliyofuata Taratibu alikamatwa na polisi na kupelekwa kwenye ofisi ya DC, (hivi sasa ofisi hiyo ni ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu). Taratibu alimkuta Hassan Suleiman pale ofisini akizungumza na DC, Bwana Smith. DC alianza kumsaili Taratibu kwa kumuuliza kama alikuwa akijua kuzungumza Kiingereza. Taratibu alijibu kuwa yeye hakusoma. Akizungumza Kiingereza Hassan Suleiman alimwambia DC kuwa yeye ndiye katibu wa TANU mjini Dodoma. DC, Bwana Smith, alimshutumu Taratibu kwa kuunda chama haramu na kwa kuitisha mkutano usio na idhini ya serikali katika Community Centre jana yake ambao ulielekea kuvuruga amani. Bila woga Taratibu alijibu kwamba yeye alikuwa na mamlaka ya kuitisha mkutano kwa sababu alikuwa mwanachama wa chama cha siasa kilichosajiliwa kihalali. Taratibu aliichomoa kadi yake ya TANU kutoka mfukoni kwake yenye rangi nyeusi na kijani na kumwonyesha DC. Bwana Smith alimuuliza Hassan Suleiman kama ikiwa na yeye pia alikuwa na kadi ya TANU. Hassan Suleiman hakuwa nayo. Hassan Suleiman na DC walizungumza Kiingereza kwa muda baada ya hapo aliwataka wote wawili kuandika maelezo yao. Baada ya kuandika maelezo yake Taratibu aliruhusiwa kurudi nyumbani. Inasadikiwa kuwa wakati ule mwanachama pekee wa TANU mjini Dodoma walikuwa Haruna Taratibu na Alexander Kanyamara ambae yeye alikata  kadi yake Dar es Salaam.

Wasomi wa Makerere, ambao Mwangosi aliwaamini sana katika kuunda TANU, walipopata habari kuhusu mkasa wa Taratibu na DC, Bwana Smith, waliogopa. Waliamua kujiweka mbali kabisa  na TANU na mambo ya siasa na kuendelea na kazi yao ya kufundisha. Haruna Taratibu na Omari Suleiman sasa waliamua kugeuza mbinu, waliitisha mkutano wa siri usiku nyumbani kwa Swedi bin Athumani. Mkutano huu uliamua kuwa Taratibu lazima aende makao makuu ya TANU Dar es Salaam akazungumze na Nyerere ana kwa ana kuhusu matatizo yaliyokuwa yakiikabili TANU Dodoma.  Mahdi Mwinchumu aliyekuwa mwanachama wa TANU Dar es Salaam alijitolea kufuatana na Taratibu hadi makao makuu ya chama Dar es Salaam kwa kuwa alikuwa akijuana na viongozi wa TANU. Said Mussa mjumbe mwingine wa ile kamati ya siri alijitolea vilevile kufuatana na Taratibu na Mwinchumu hadi Dar es Salaam. Siku ya kuondoka Job Lusinde alikwenda stesheni ya gari moshi kuagana na ule ujumbe uliokuwa ukielekea Dar es Salaam, makao makuu ya TANU. Lusinde aliuambia ule ujumbe kuwa jamaa wa Makerere wanaunga mkono maamuzi yote yatakayoamuliwa na ile kamati ya siri.

Kwa bahati nzuri katika gari moshi lile lile ambamo Taratibu na wenzake walikuwa wakisafiri kulikuwa na wajumbe wa TANU kutoka Kigoma, Bukoba na Mwanza wakisafiri kwenda Dar es Salaam kuhudhuria mkutano mkuu wa kwanza wa mwaka wa TANU. Wahudumu ndani ya gari moshi walipofahamu kuwa walikuwa na wajumbe wa TANU kwenye gari moshi lile, waliwafanyia heshima kubwa. Mmoja wa wahudumu wale alijitolea kumpa malazi Salum Mussa nyumbani kwake Dar es Salaam. Mahdi Mwinchumu aliwapeleka Haruna Taratibu na Said Mussa makao makuu ya TANU New Street ambako walifanya mazungumzo na Nyerere pamoja na Rupia. Uongozi wa makao makuu ulielezwa kwa ufupi matatizo yaliyokuwa yakikabili Dodoma katika kufungua tawi la TANU. Papo hapo Nyerere alimwalika Taratibu kuhudhuria mkutano mkuu Hindu Mandal Hall kama mjumbe wa Jimbo la Kati.  Mkutano ule ulimchagua Taratibu kuwa mjumbe wa Kamati Kuu ya Taifa ya TANU.  Taratibu na ujumbe wake walirudi Dodoma washindi, walikwenda Dar es Salaam watu wasiojulikana na walirudi nyumbani wakifuatana na mjumbe wa Kamati Kuu ya Taifa wa TANU, chombo cha juu kabisa katika chama. Nyerere alimpa Taratibu dafari ya tasjili ya wanachama, kadi mia moja  hamsini  za uanachama wa TANU na nakala hamsini za “Bill of Rights.” Kazi ya kuwahamasisha na kuwaingiza watu TANU alipewa Omari Suleiman, na fundi cherahani mwingine aliyejulikana kwa jina la Abdu Mohamed Mkamba. Mara tu baba mwenye nyumba wake alipopata habari za kuwa mpangaji wake, Haruna Taratibu alikuwa mwanachama wa TANU, alimfukuza kutoka kwenye nyumba yake.

Baada ya kupata kikundi kidogo cha wanachama, Taratibu alipiga simu makao makuu ya TANU na kuzungumza na kaimu katibu, Elias Kissenge akaomba ruhusa ya kufanya uchaguzi. Kissenge hakuweza kutoa uamuzi wowote wa maana kuhusu tatizo la uongozi wa TANU Dodoma. Taratibu alifanikiwa kumpata Kambona ambae aliidhinisha uchaguzi ufanyike kwa shuruti moja la kuwa Hassan Suleiman na Ali Ponda waruhusiwe kushiriki na kugombea uongozi wa chama. Kusisitiza kwa Kambona juu ya uongozi wa zamani wa TAA kuongoza chama kipya huenda kulishawishiwa na mafanikio ya zamani ya uongozi wa Hassan Suleiman mbae alimfahamu huko Dodoma wakati Kambona alipokuwa mwalimu akifundisha  Kikuyu Secondary School. Kwa bahati mbaya, wanachama wa TANU waliokuwa wanainukia na chama pale mjini Dodoma waliwaona Hassan Suleiman na Ali Ponda kama wasaliti kutokana na kutokushirikiana na wenzao katika kuanzisha TANU.

Wakati ametatizwa na tatizo la uchaguzi wa TANU, Taratibu alijulishwa na makao makuu kuwa makamo wa rais, John Rupia, atapita Dodoma kwa gari moshi akiwa njiani kwenda Tabora kushughulikia mambo ya chama. Gari moshi liliposimama Dodoma Rupia alishangazwa kuona kundi la wananchama wa TANU wakimsubiri katika kituo cha gari moshi wakimtaka avunje safari waende mjini kujadili na kutatua tatizo la uchaguzi. Rupia aliwaeleza wanachama wa TANU wa Dodoma kuwa  yeye hakuwa na idhini kutoka makao makuu kufanya shughuli yoyote ya chama mjini Dodoma. Wanachama wa TANU hawakutaka kusikia lolote na walimwambia Rupia kuwa wamechoshwa na makao makuu kwa kushindwa kwake kutoa uamuzi wa tatizo la uchaguzi. Mizigo ya Rupia ilishushwa chini kutoka kwenye gari moshi na Rupia akawa hana khiyari isipokuwa kuwafuata wale wanachama wa TANU hadi mjini.

Ghafla mji mzima ukavuma tetesi kuwa makamu wa rais wa TANU, John Rupia, yupo mjini kufungua tawi la TANU. Rupia alimwita Hassan Suleimna na akamtaka alete hati ya tasjili ya TANU Hindu Mandal siku inayofuata, mahali ambako mkutano utafanyika. Hassan Suleiman hakutokea mkutanoni lakini alimtuma mtu apeleke ile hati. Ali Ponda alihudhuria mkutano ule. Rupia alikuwa mwenyekiti wa mkutano na TANU ikafanya uchaguzi wake wa kwanza.  Alexander Kanyamara alichaguliwa Rais; Haruna Taratibu Makamu wa Rais, Abdu Mohamed Mwamba, Katibu na Omari Suleiman Mweka Hazina. Miongoni mwa wanachama waasisi alikuwa mwanamke mmoja wa Kimanyema, Binti Maftah Karenga; wengine walikuwa Bakari Yenga, Maalim Khalfan, mwanachuoni wa Kiislamu aliyekuwa akiheshimiwa sana pale mjini, Idd Waziri na Said Suleiman. Wale wasomi  wa Makerere  hata mmoja hakujitokeza kwenye mkutano huu wa kuasisi TANU. Ali Ponda, mwanasiasa mkongwe alipuuzwa na hakuchaguliwa kushika wadhifa wowote. Walipoona hawakupewa wadhifa wowote katika TANU, Ali Ponda na Hassan Suleiman walijiunga na UTP kuipinga TANU.

Baada ya uchaguzi huo, wale mafundi cherahani wawili, Abdu Mohamed Mkamba na Omari Suleiman, walianza kuhamasisha wananchi waziwazi kujiunga na TANU ili wapiganie uhuru wa Tanganyika. Tawi la TANU la Dodoma baada ya kujizatiti pale mjini, lilituma wanaharakati kuwahamasisha watu wa Kondoa ili wafungue tawi la TANU katika wilaya hiyo. Abdallah Jumbe alizipenyeza kadi za TANU na kuzipeleka kwenye wilaya hiyo kwa siri akaanza kuandikisha watu. D.C. wa Singida alikuwa jeuri sana kiasi kwamba ni baada ya Mkutano Mkuu wa Tabora wa mwaka 1958 ndipo Abdallah Jumbe aliweza kufanikiwa kufungua tawi mjini Singida. Wakati huo TANU ilikuwa na nguvu sana ikiwa na wajumbe wake katka Baraza la Kutunga Sheria. Kwa ajili hii hakuna Mzungu aliyethubutu kuwa fedhuli kwa TANU na kuwabughudhi wanachama wake.

Hii kwa muhtasari ndiyo historia ya marehemu Omar Suleiman na wenzake waliopigania uhuru wa Tanganyika historia ambayo si wengi wanaifahamu na kwa ajili hii ikawa imepotea hata historia ya wazalendo wengine aliokuwanao bega kwa bega katika kuitafutia Tanganyika heshima yake. Mungu ailaze roho ya Mzee Omar Suleiman mahali pema peponi.

12 Februari 2012

TRACING THE FOOTSTEPS OF MWALIMU JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE The Early Years in Dar es Salaam of 1950s

TRACING THE FOOTSTEPS OF MWALIMU JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE

The Early Years in Dar es Salaam of 1950s

By Mohamed Said

L - R: Sheikh Suleiman Takadir aka Makarios, John Rupia, Julius Nyerere na Bantu Group 1955 It is a pity that Mwalimu Julius Nyerere did not reveal much of his early life in Dar es Salaam of 1950s of which he came to as a budding young politician fresh from Edinburgh University aged about 30 years old. Why Mwalimu Nyerere was secretive about his early days during the transformation of  Tanganyika African Association (TAA) to Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) is now a rhetoric question because we can only speculate. Was Mwalimu trying to conceal something on his past or was that an innocent omission? The only time Mwalimu walked down memory lane was in 1985 at the Diamond Jubilee Hall where in an emotional farewell speech before he stepped down from the presidency he addressed Elders of Dar es Salaam who supported him during the struggle for independence. In that memorable speech flavored with Mwalimu’s oratory skills he walked back into history and paid tribute to Wazee wa Dar es Salaam (Dar es Salaam Elders) who supported him from day one since the founding of TANU in 1954. In his revelations Mwalimu Nyerere for the first time in public mentioned two other patriots forgotten in the history of Tanganyika. He said that in those difficult days the other young men with him were Abdulwahid Sykes and Dossa Aziz. Abdulwahid was TAA  president in 1953 and was among the the four financiers of the movement along with his young brother Ally, Dossa and John Rupia. Abdulwahid died young in 1968 but Dossa went on to old age but both of them died the fruits of independence of which they had worked so hard having passed them by their names hardly associated with TANU, Nyerere or the independence movement. Dossa died a poor and lonely man at Mlandizi in 1997. One can write passages and passages on contributions and sacrifices made by the two Sykes brothers – Abdulwahid and Ally and Dossa; and the elders like - Mwinjuma Mwinyikambi, Kiyate Mshume, Jumbe Tambaza, Sheikh Hassan bin Amir, Sheikh Suleiman Takadir to mention only a few. In those days these names made up ‘who is who’ of the municipality. These were the rich and the famous of the town.  But to understand the town, its elite and politics one has to revisit how colonialists demarcated Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam was divided into four areas: Kariakoo, Gerezani, Kisutu and Mission Quarter. The oldest centre of the locality was Kisutu. It had the oldest mosque in Dar es Salaam, the Mwinyikheri Akida Mosque which is more than a hundred years. The mosque is opposite College of Business Education. Kisutu sprawled from where now is the Libya Post Office up to Mzizima Secondary School to the west and to the east Kisutu went up to where now is the Tanzania Library to the north and to the south up to Morogoro Road.  Across Morogoro Road is Kariakoo which still exists and the first street stretching from the north to the south parallel to Mnazi Mmoja was a narrow road - New Street where the headquarters of the African Association (AA) stood, a building of stone and lime built in 1930s through self help during the leadership of Mzee Bin Sudi and Kleist Sykes president and secretary respectively. It was in this building that Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was born in 1954. The building was situated where Kariakoo Street and New Street cross each other. The house exists today. To the west of Kariakoo was the Mission Quarter which was an exclusive African mission area set aside by the British to alienate the Christian minority from the Muslim majority in the town. Even street names at Mission Quarter had names of settlements in Tanganyika where missionaries had managed to penetrate and establish themselves. Street names such as Masasi, Likoma, Ndanda, Muhonda, Muheza and Magila have survived to this day. This was the only area in Dar es Salaam where missionaries had managed to build a chapel. African Christians were confined to this area. And if it happens that a Christian ventures to Kariakoo, a majority Muslim area to ask for a room to rent he would politely be advised to try his luck at Mission Quarter. Mwalimu Nyerere arrived in a town which was structured along such prejudices. Among prominent personalities from Kariakoo who came into contact with the young Nyerere were Mzee Mshume Kiyate, Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir, Sheikh Suleiman Takadir, Idd Faizi, Idd Tosiri, Abdulwahid Sykes and Dossa Aziz. Abdulwahid Sykes was 28 years two years younger than Julius Nyerere when one afternoon Nyerere came to Abdulwahid’s house at Stanley Street (now Max Mbwana Street) accompanied by Bantu Kasella Bantu. It is said Mwalimu Nyerere had a letter of introduction from Hamza Mwapachu  (who was still in Britain studying) to Abdulwahid Sykes. At that time Sykes was the President of the Tanganyika African Association (TAA). The fact that Abdulwahid Sykes preceded Nyerere on the presidency of the TAA is a point often not mentioned even by Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).This denies the history of nationalist politics in Tanganyika of a very interesting story of ‘friendly silent power struggle’ between the incumbent and well established townsman Abdulwahid Sykes, son of a prosperous businessman and founder member of AA, Kleist Sykes and the unassuming challenge from an unknown school teacher from Butiama, Julius Nyerere within the association. It denies the young generation  inside information of what TAA did to outsmart the British and send Mwalimu Nyerere to United Nations to address the Trusteeship Council. Most importantly it denies them of the burning issues which were discussed at the ‘Sunday Baraza.’ It was at either at Dossa’s house at Congo Street or at Abdulwahid’s house at Stanley Street (now Max Mbwana), where Nyerere used to come every Sunday to meet the TAA leadership and discuss politics of the day. The planning, the plots and the schemes against the British were hatched from these two houses out of their ‘Sunday Baraza’ as they used to call the gathering. The meetings at TAA headquarters New Street now Lumumba was merely to rubber stamp. Any student of Tanganyika’s nationalist politics wishing to trace the early life of Mwalimu Nyerere’s formative years needs to walk down this path. It is saddening that this vital path has not been trodden by researchers.  Two prominent Africans and members of the African Association who lived in Mission Quarter during the emergence of nationalist politics was Thomas Plantan son of a Zulu mercenary, Affande  Plantan. At one time Thomas Plantan was elected president of the AA. His father, Affendi Plantan came into Tanganyika from Imhambane in Mozambique with Von Wissman, Commander of German Forces in East Africa to quell the Abushiri uprisings which began in Pangani.   The other prominent African living in Mission Quarter was John Rupia a rich African businessman. His house situated at Likoma Street and Magila is where the AA was founded in 1929. The house still stands today though not in its original structure. An interesting fact about Mission Quarter is that it had the only printing press owned by an African – Mashado Plantan from which the pro-African Association newspaper Zuhra was published. This paper came to be TANU and Nyerere’s first ever mouth piece. On the west of Kariakoo was Gerezani home of Omari Londo, Ally Sykes, Zuberi Mtemvu, Mashado Plantan, Muhsin Mende and Dossa Aziz. These were the first patriots from Gerezani to come into contact with Nyerere. Zuberi Mtemvu, Mashado Plantan and Muhsin Mende were later to resign from TANU to form an opposition party the Tanganyika African Congress and the two became bitter opponents of TANU and Nyerere.  But equally important in tracing Mwalimu’s steps from Butiama particularly after the founding of TANU in 1954 is the house of veteran politician and former secretary of the TAA Mzee Clement Mtamila who was overthrown from TAA leadership along with the president Thomas Plantan in a coup de grace led by Abdulwahid Sykes and Hamza Mwapachu in 1949.  The house of Mtamila was, situated at the junction of Kipata, (now Kleist Sykes Street) and Sikukuu Street now Zaramo Street. In those days the president of the party was not necessarily the chairman of the executive committee. In 1954 Clement Mtamila was the chairman of the executive committee of TANU. It was in this house Nyerere then president of TANU presented the letter from Father Walsh in which he was given the ultimatum of either to continue to teach at the Catholic school in Pugu or resign to pursue politics. This important meeting in which Mwalimu Nyerere decided to resign from teaching and work for TANU was chaired by Clement Mtamila in this house. Other members of the TANU Executive Committee present at that meeting were: John Rupia, Oscar Kambona, Bibi Tatu Binti Mzee and Bibi Titi Mohamed. The sitting room in Mzee Mtamila’s up to late 1960s had many black and white photographs depicting Tanganyika’s history. The photographs depicted Nyerere’s early days in TANU showing him addressing the people from a make shift platform at Mnazi Mmoja Grounds overlooking where now stands the Adult Education Centre. The open space opposite Mnazi Mmoja Grounds was John Rupia’s plot which he later donated to TANU to build the centre. Mzee Mtamila’s house is no more. It has given way to a high rise building now common in Gerezani, Mwalimu’s history buried with it in the rubble of stones, lime, dust and rusted corrugated iron sheets. Another place which Mwalimu Nyerere frequented during those early days was the Kariakoo Market. Kariakoo Market building housing the market resembled a huge shack made of steel, concrete and corrugated iron sheets. The market was busy around the clock with all kind of business being carried inside the market and within its environs. One could tell the tribe of the traders from the kind of trade he or she was engaged in. The Mashomvi were selling fish, the Zaramo were into coconut business, the Nyamwezi particularly women confined themselves to selling dried tobacco leaves and snuff, and their men were selling yams grown in Kigamboni. The Luguru were into oranges and vegetables. Arabs owned butchers and sold flour, cereals and spices. This retail business Arabs were in competition with Indians. Kariakoo Market was a fertile place for TANU to recruit members and Abdulwahid did not lose that opportunity. Among the traders to support TANU from Kariakoo Market was Mzee Mshume Kiyate.  At that time in 1952 when Abdulwahid Sykes met Mwalimu Julius Nyerere he was working as Market Master of Karikoo Market. His office was at the junction of Tandamti Street (now Mshume Kiyate) and Swahili Street. The afternoon after resigning from teaching Mwalimu Nyerere took a bus from Pugu and got off at Kariakoo which was the main stand and went straight to Abdulwahid’s office to give him the news. Abdulwahid accommodated Mwalimu Nyerere at his house at Stanley Street until when Mwalimu left for to Butiama to get married to Mama Maria. This house exists today but has undergone massive renovations altering its original look.  Shariff Attas who was working as market auctioneer recalls that he used to escort Mwalimu Nyerere from Abdulwahid’s office to Sykes’ house for lunch wait for him and come back together. Mwalimu would sit in Abdulwahid’s office reading The Tanganyika Standard. After closing of business at 4.30 Abdulwahid and Nyerere would come back home together. Many people in Dar es Salaam first saw and therefore came to know Mwalimu Nyerere during that time. During this period Abdulwahid nearly lost his job as Market Master when Nyerere and TANU’s message began to be understood by the people. Abdulwahid was accused of selling TANU cards in Her Majesty’s Office. Shariff Attas recalls the thrilling shouting match between Abdulwahid Sykes and the white colonial officer inside Sykes’s office when Abdulwahid in his impeccable English and without fear took out his TANU card and challenged the mzungu to take him to court if he feels he has contravened any law and TANU was not a legally registered party.  The veranda which used to be a meeting place where TANU leadership used to hold its meeting and where many people came to know Mwalimu Julius Nyerere is now a bazaar, the people who come to the place to buy and sell completely unaware of its rich history. Nyerere addressing a TANU meeting at Jangwani Grounds in early 1950s But the liveliest meeting place – Mwalimu Nyerere frequented outside the ‘Sunday Baraza’ at Congo and Stanley Street at Dossa’s house and Sykes’ place was at Sheikh Suleiman Takadir’s auction mart. Sheikh Takadir was the Chairman of the TANU Elders Council the powerful body which had people like Mshume Kiyate, Mwinjuma Mwinyikambi, Jumbe Tambaza and others as members.  Sheikh Takadir was an auctioneer and was conducting his business from a house situated at Nyamwezi Street belonging to Mwinjuma Digosi, a jumbe appointed by the government. The auction used to be the meeting place of TANU members. TANU members used to meet at Sheikh Takadir’s premises to drink coffee discuss politics and while away the time. When Digosi, the landlord realised that Nyerere was visiting Sheikh Takadir at his place of business, he asked Takadir to seek accommodation elsewhere.  He told Sheikh Takadir that he could no longer have him as a tenant because he as a jumbe appointed by the government cannot allow his house to be a meeting place of ‘troublemakers’ like Nyerere and other riff - raffs. Sheikh Takadir had no choice but to shift his business to Msimbazi Street. Sheikh Suleiman Takadir was to oppose Nyerere’s decision to participate in the controversial tripartite election of 1958 and the two became bitter enemies never to reconcile resulting into expulsion of Sheikh Takadir from TANU. But one the most touching story of sacrifice, love and commitment to Mwalimu Nyerere, TANU and the struggle is that of Mzee Mshume Kiyate. Mwalimu Nyerere was to call Mshume’s commitment to the struggle – the TANU spirit. This story was retold to the author by Ahmed Rashad Ali who said he was at Msasani, Mwalimu’s residence on that day with Dossa Aziz and Lucy Lameck when Nyerere told them the level of commitment which members of TANU had for the struggle. There is a story of Said Chamwenyewe one of the earliest members to have joined TANU who mobilized the first members for TANU from Rufiji his home town when it was difficult to have a full register of members to fulfill a condition which would have made TANU qualify as a party and hence be registered. Chamwenyewe used to ride a bicycle from Dar es Salaam to Rufiji to mobilize membership for TANU travelling through a forest infested with lions and other wild animals.  But Mwalimu Nyerere had no fitting story to tell than that of Mzee Mshume Kiyate. Mzee Mshume Kiyate was a fishmonger at Kariakoo Market. One day Mwalimu Nyerere was on his way to Kariakoo Market walking from Magomeni Majumba Sita where he was residing. Upon reaching Mwembe Togwa (now known as Fire) at the junction of (Ronald Cameroon Road (now United Nations Road) and Morogoro Road Mwalimu Nyerere met Mshume Kiyate. Mwalimu Nyerere told Mshume Kiyate that he was going to Kariakoo Market to buy provisions but he did have a single sent in his pocket. Mshume Kiyate dipped his hand into his pocket and gave Mwalimu Nyerere two hundred shillings. At that time with two hundred shillings one could purchase a six bedroom house at Kariakoo. Mshume Kiyate from that day volunteered to provide food for Mwalimu’ family and he did this until 1961 when Tanganyika achieved its independence and Mwalimu Nyerere became Prime Minister. There is a very famous photograph of Mwalimu Nyerere with an old man in coat, kanzu and Muslim cap taken in 1958 during the tripartite elections. The photograph shows Mwalimu at Arnautoglo Hall going to cast his vote. That old man in the photograph with Mwalimu Nyerere escorting him to cast his vote is Mzee Mshume Kiyate. The ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has used this photograph in its mobilization effort urging people to vote. Unfortunately for almost five decades the photograph has been published without caption and Mshume Kiyate remains unrecognized to this day. Not many people know who Mshume Kiyate was or of his contribution to the struggle. In 1995 when Mayor Kitwana Kondo honoured Mzee Mshume Kiyate by changing the name of the street Tandamti which he lived to Kiyate Mshume the press protested asking who Mshume Kiyate was. Likewise the new street names in honour of Tatu Binti Mzee, Max Mbwana, Omari Londo were equally disputed. Strangely Mwalimu Nyerere did not utter a word. It is interesting that with these changes of street names Mwalimu Nyerere was also honoured. Pugu Road was changed to Nyerere Road. The reason was that this was the road which Mwalimu Nyerere used to travel to Dar es Salaam during the struggle either riding a bicycle or walking on foot.  When called by the press to comment on this change Mwalimu was quoted to have said that he should not be associated with those new developments. Why Mwalimu Julius Nyerere did not reveal much of his early life in Dar es Salaam of 1950s and about the people who were with him. Why Mwalimu Nyerere took this position now remains a rhetoric question. Was Mwalimu Nyerere trying to conceal something or is this an innocent omission? Mwalimu Nyerere however talked to Lady Judith Listowel in 1963 who had come to Tanganyika to research on a book (The Making of Tanganyika) she was writing. Judith Listowel was the wife of the last governor of Gold Coast (Ghana). She was put in contact to Ally Sykes by Peter Colmore in Nairobi. Lisowel came to Dar es Salaam and interviewed Abdulwahid and Ally Sykes and Julius Nyerere.  In that book Mwalimu paid a glowing tribute to fellow nationalists who had preceded him in the political arena.  The Making of Tanganyika published in London in 1965 is now out of print book. In Tanzania there are only two copies in existence, one is at the University of Dar es Salaam Library and the other one is with Ally Sykes. There are reports that Mwalimu Nyerere was under tremendous pressure from friends, supporters as well as from cronies to write his memoir but flatly refused. It is reported that Mwalimu even refused to meet an Oxford University Press representative who wanted to discuss about writing of his memoir. Was Mwalimu Nyerere through his silence sending a terse message? It was only when Mwalimu Nyerere was severely criticized in two books: Conflict and Harmony in Zanzibar by Ali Muhsin Barwan and The Life and Times of Abdulwahid Sykes 1924 -1968 by Mohamed Said that it is said Mwalimu Nyerere succumbed to that pressure and told his confidants to form a committee which he would talk to about his life and from that interaction they would be able to write his biography. But although the committee was formed it never got off the ground as Mwalimu was in failing health and soon died on 14 th October 1999. Mohamed Said 29 September 2008