The Westgate Terrorist Attack: Any Lessons for Kenya’s Approach to Regional Security?

My jointly written article was recently published on Kujenga Amani Website. The article analyzes security implications of the region following the Al Shabaab terror siege on Westagate on September 21. For further details see article here.

Bishop Njoya and Dr. Mvungi Juxtaposed: Tanzania will get a new Constitution!

Nico Minde, Arusha

 

The death of Dr. Sengondo Mvungi, a member of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) is a major blow. A man described by his colleagues as bright, humble and dedicated, Dr. Mvungi indeed was a man respected by many. Dr. Mvungi was a constitutional law expert and a law lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam. In 2005 he ran for the presidency on a NCCR Mageuzi ticket coming a distant fifth with a paltry 0.49% of the votes. He was badly injured after robbers broke into his house beating hima nad injuring him badly. He passed away after being admitted in a South African Hospital on 12 November. 

World over, prominent and even ordinary people have lost their lives while pursuing dreams. Nationalists in Africa bore the brunt while fighting for independence. Some like OR Tambo did not see the fruits of independence whereas a man like John Garang only lived a month after helping his country, South Sudan get independence. Their memories still live on, we celebrate them. 

The famous Kenyan cleric Bishop Timothy Njoya who fought the state using the pulpit now enjoys the fruits of a new constitution.  "I was defrocked by the PCEA three times, and I have been reinstated three times. I have also been ‘killed’ by the government three times and I have ‘risen’ three times,” he says. Rev. Njoya was once beaten by gangsters, who chopped his fingers and left him for dead because he campaigned for multiparty politics in Kenya. He says his greatest rewards is dismantling one-party rule. Just like Rev. Njoya, Dr. Mvungi was beaten and left for dead by unknown assailants. However, unlike Njoya, his fate was tragic. No one is alluding foul play to his death or any other sinister or ominous allegations in that regard, apart from the fact that he was attacked and beaten up by thugs and later died. But as Njoya likes to say "Through my beatings, comatose, and humiliation I bore a new constitution for Kenya". Maybe Dr. Mvungi's blood is first amongst the many that will fall for a cause, but eventually a NEW CONSTITUTION WILL COME TO BIRTH IN TANZANIA. Fare thee well, Dr. Mvungi!

Iran and the two Genevas

Via Al Monitor- Iran Pulse

Interesting analysis..read more here.

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APRM TANZANIA: AU yaipongeza APRM kwa kuchagiza maendeleo ya Afri...: Na Hassan Abbas, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia Umoja wa Afrika umeupongeza Mpango wake wa Kujitathmini Kiutawala Bora (APRM) kwa kuzisaidia n...

APRM TANZANIA: Big Result Now; Tumechagua kutekeleza, si kutetere...

APRM TANZANIA: Big Result Now; Tumechagua kutekeleza, si kutetere...: Na Hassan Abbas WAKATI dunia ikiingia muongo wa pili katika karne ya 21, yaani mwaka 2012, wanataaluma wawili waliandika maoni mawil...

Database tracking Performance in Secondary Schools in Tanzania Launched

A website has been launched to track down the performance in O-Level Secondary Schools in Tanzania. Tanzania's education sector has received a barrage of criticisms from different people most notably educational and curriculum practitioners and policy experts. Further questions arose following the abysmal and appalling Form Four results last year (2012), which saw a record failure of 60 percent. A Commission to Investigate Causes of Poor Form IV Results was quickly formed by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda. The findings are yet to be made public.

Just last week, the Ministry of Education came up with a new grading system which saw the expunging of Division Zero (Sifuri). Despite these changes, I have read and listened to a number of arguments and it seems the idea has not augured well with many. Tanzania's education system has for decades been on the spotlight for all the negative things. Issues such as the crisis of language in our education system, poor education infrastructure, inadequate skilled teaching personnel, corruption in the education sector, poor payment of teaching staff, amongst many other problems. In the recent past, civil societies in the ares of education have really brought these issues to us. CSOs such as Haki Elimu and Twaweza have instilled a culture of public accountability and citizen action in the areas of education. Civic awareness and the demand for accountability has risen forcing government to act in expediency. 

I am pleased to see more efforts been directed towards tracking the performance of secondary schools in Tanzania using innovative and modern ways such as having a results database for all schools in Tanzania.  The initiative is within  the context of Tanzania’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership, The Shule Yangu initiative promises to be a fantastic idea more precisely because the government has failed in its duty. Such brilliant initiatives will not only improve awareness but act as a engagement platform for all stakeholders to discuss and monitor education trends across Tanzania. The initiative has started with Form Four Results, I am pretty sure the A-Level Tracking will be launched soon. The government should embrace this and seek ways for consultative dialogues in order to improve the standards of education in Tanzania.

For further details see Shule Yangu website here.  

Why Tanzania is being excluded from the EAC

After posting a comment on my Facebook page on Tanzania's exclusion from the East African Community, one of my friends quickly reminded me of what has become a common phrase that "Tanzania is dragging its feet and we shall move on without you". Well, the threats are coming to fruition, with the rapid rise of "the coalition of the willing" of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda and most recently South Sudan. The coalition of the willing is a phrase that has been coined to refer to the commitments of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to go it alone without Tanzania and Burundi. See my previous analysis on EAC woes here.

Having bilateral or for this case, trilateral meetings between and amongst states within the East African Community setup is not a problem. The Treaty of the EAC however, in Article 6 on the fundamental principles of the Community, is governed on mutual trust, political will and sovereign equality; peaceful coexistence and good neighborliness; and peaceful settlement of disputes. What Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are doing is right pursuant to their national interests but not within the spirit of the Treaty. The Treaty establishes key organs which aid the running and operations of the bloc. These include; the summit, the council, the coordination committee, sectoral committees among eight other institutions. The summit which is composed of the Heads of States meet at least once a year to map and discuss important issues concerning the community. The recent meetings by the heads of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda dubbed as integration summits can be described as a mini summits. Tanzania has now been excluded from these meetings in three occasions now. They first met in Uganda, then in Mombasa and this week met in Kigali. It is no brainer that there is a deliberate attempt to exclude Tanzania and Burundi from "their" affairs.  The coordination committee which is made up of permanent secretaries responsible in respective country's EAC ministry is involved in the coordination of activities agreed by the summit and the council. The sectoral committee is involved in different sectors concerning the community such as infrastructure. The actions by the three countries which were centered on infrastructure should have involved both the coordination committee and the sectoral committee as agreed by the Treaty.

South Sudan has been seeking to join the EAC. This was evidenced by the attendance of Salva Kiir, the President of South Sudan. Article 3 of the Treaty talks about membership and conditions for admitting a new member. In Article 3 (2) states that "The Partner States may, upon such terms and in such manner as they may determine, together negotiate with any foreign country the granting of membership to, or association of that country with, the Community or its participation in any of the activities of the Community. The meeting of the three states with South Sudan could be interpreted as going against the provisions of the Treaty since not all partner states were present when meeting South Sudan even if the subject of discussion wasn't on membership admission. 

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Tanzania's East African Cooperation Minister Samuel Sitta threw spanner into the works when he said Tanzania's cooperation with DRC and Burundi was feasible. Mr. Sitta went on to say that Dar could divorce itself from the community. Methinks that he was just trying to be cynical whilst trying to flex Tanzania's muscles. Tanzania and Rwanda have had simmering tensions ever since President Kikwete called for Kigali to negotiate with the rebel outfit FDLR. Tanzania went forth to send her troops as part of the UN intervention brigade to DRC to help neutralize armed groups in the Eastern part of DRC. This did not auger well with Rwanda's president Paul Kagame. Tanzania has also been carrying out a nationwide operation to weed out illegal immigrants with many Rwandans falling victims. This also heightened the tensions.

Tanzania remains an integral component of the East African Community and a reliable partner. With Tanzania sharing a border with all the other four states, its influence remains very important.