By Fatma Karume
Posted Tuesday, October 7 2014 at 10:20
Posted Tuesday, October 7 2014 at 10:20
In Summary
If truth be known, last week was horrendous for
me for lots of reasons which I cannot express in totality but which I
shall attempt to put on record so that if my grandchildren research this
era, they will be assured that there were points of view other than
those expressed in Hansard. As all Tanzanians know, on
Thursday last week, the Constituent Assembly (CA) apparently voted in
favour of a draft constitution, which will be presented before
Tanzanians in a referendum—we are now told will be held before the next
General Election.
The Draft Constitution was met with much
jubilation within the hallowed walls of our Bunge. There were
unbearable moments of screeching disguised as singing; profuse shaking
of hands by temporary friends; twerking of well-fed behinds and speeches
aimed at creating fear in all those who dare oppose.
If you could pause the moving images on screen,
magnify the characters one by one and then scrutinise them in detail, as
a scientist would scrutinise bacteria under a magnifying glass—you
would see beyond the sham—because you would see the fear and urgency
that engulfed the drivers of the entire process veiled by the bravado.
Why is there such fear and anxiety I asked myself,
as I sat watching the fiasco in horror and it hit me that the fear
comes from isolation, because despite the bravado, the ruling party, CCM
knows without a doubt that the Draft Constitution was written by CCM,
debated by CCM and passed by CCM. All other points of views were either
dismissed, stifled or beaten into submission. The result of “exclusive
politics” is isolation, and the price that CCM shall pay for selling its
soul to the demon of “exclusive politics” is paranoia. In turn, unless
we too screech the ruling party songs, whilst desperately, twerking our
behinds to the CCM tunes in a show of support—we shall be enemies and
not citizens who deserve the party’s respect.
As you zoom closer and you start examining the
passengers, you will see their fear too. Like CCM, I too have nameless
passengers who voted “Yes” for the CCM Draft Constitution because they
know that they are followers and without the crumbs that are
occasionally dropped from the party’s High Table, they will starve into
oblivion. However, unlike CCM, I am not constitutionally obliged to
name all those who voted for the Draft.
Too scared to talk, vote
And so we all sit quietly frozen in the hell that
is created by fear—too scared to speak and to vote; too scared to
demonstrate lest we be beaten to a fine and unrecognisable pulp; and too
scared to write the judgments that will free us from the enslavement of
fear. Meanwhile we are told, and we pretend to agree in a desperate
attempt to convince outsiders that this is a peaceful country. I say it
is not.
It is a country that is immobilised by fear and
under the apparent tranquil surface there is rage building up slowly,
but surely. The last time Tanzanians felt such rage, Mwalimu Nyerere
retired from the Presidency because despite everything, he had his
finger on the pulse that beat the rhythm of the Tanzanian heart—he felt
the rage and he knew that Tanzanians wanted change, so peacefully, he
handed over the reigns of power. It seems to me that Warioba
understands this and like Othman, the Zanzibar Attorney General, he is a
man who has not allowed fear to determine his path. Both have chosen
the path of integrity over fear.
So CCM’s fear is driven by isolation; the
opposition’s fear is driven by the beatings; our fear is driven by the
knowledge that despite the theoretical independence of the judiciary, we
operate in a country where there is absolute impunity for the golden
few. So how will a party that is isolated win the necessary two thirds
majority required to pass the Draft Constitution in Zanzibar?. I am
told that there is a very simple, but effective way of doing it. So I
am sharing this theory with all of you, if you care to know.
There are two electoral commissions responsible
for voting in Zanzibar, the National Electoral Commission and the
Zanzibar Electoral Commission. The former registers all persons
resident in Zanzibar for the purpose of voting for the President of the
United Republic of Tanzania and the latter registers Zanzibaris only,
who have the right to vote for the President of Zanzibar. The theory is
that the definition of a Zanzibari for the purpose of the referendum
will be expanded to include all those who are registered by the National
Electoral Commission and who claim they are Zanzibaris.
This is despite the fact that there is a law in
Zanzibar that defines what a Zanzibari is. In theory therefore, all
Tanzanians who claim to be Zanzibaris, wherever they may be will have
the right to vote in the referendum as Zanzibaris. You will no doubt
all agree that it is a simple and effective theory because suddenly the
voice of 1.2 million Zanzibaris can be drowned by the cacophony of 44
million Tanzanians. In the end though, CCM will have to govern 1.2
million Zanzibaris in Zanzibar and the momentary drowning of their
voices will only increase resentment and tension.
Best form of governance
I voted in the first multiparty elections in 1995, and I lived
through the poverty, deprivation and unhappiness created by the
seemingly unbridgeable political impasse, which divided Zanzibaris.
This rift was healed in 2010 when we introduced the Government of
National Unity in Zanzibar. I do not want to see another decade wasted
by “exclusive politics” creating a rift between Zanzibaris and Tanzania
Mainlanders. Unlike in the CA, Zanzibaris deserve their say in the
referendum. If we do not agree with CCM, have the courage and honour to
accept it and make the changes that will lead to a better Tanzania not
run by fear and intimidation, but through participation and willingness
to change. May be I am naïve, but I really do believe that democracy is
the best form of governance
.
.
Ms. Karume was called to the Bar in the
Middle Temple and is an advocate of the High Courts of Tanzania and
Zanzibar. She is presently Litigation Partner with IMMMA Advocates in
Dar es Salaam. Email: Karume@immma.co.tz
