Dar es Salaam. The fight for the independence of the so-called Tanganyika on December 9, 1961, was peacefully led by Julius Nyerere, Rashidi Kawawa and Abeid Karume. Then followed Jomo Kenyatta and Milton Obote who fought for that of Kenya and Uganda respectively.
This proved that the youth of Africa were indeed men and women of valour who united to turn the dark pages of colonialism into a free continent. They were followed by a generation of old men; they say wisdom goes with grey-hair. True, they served their nations and saw their countries through the cold war while others went through bloody coups and civil wars, but Tanzania stood firm as a shining star of peace. The old wise men of Africa Julius Nyerere, Yoweri Museveni, Kenneth Kaunda and Nelson Mandela will always be remembered for their selfless pursuit of the good things for their nations.
This decade celebrates a change. The recent years record of Joseph Kabila, Barack Obama and Uhuru Kenyatta has put the young blood again on the scene. This time around it has been in style for there are not only presidents but also young Members of Parliament. Following the disputed elections of 2008 that led to the death of more than 1,000 people, most Kenyans must have had their fingers crossed when presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta was announced winner. Their worries became worse when his rival Raila Odinga contested the results by filing a petition at the Supreme Court.
However, this time violence was not the answer to election disputes as candidates preached peace and tolerance before their supporters.
The 2013 Kenya General elections has shown a good example to African countries where disputed election results have often led to bloodshed. A case in point is the 2007 election run-off in Sierra Leone and that of Zimbabwe in 2008. The Kenya elections have also shown us that this is no longer the time for old grandpas such as Robert Mugabe, 89, of Zimbabwe to lead their countries; rather it is era of the youth. At 50 President Kenyatta may not be a very young man, but he epitomises the new trend of more and more youngsters venturing into politics.
According to Kawe MP (Chadema) Halima Mdee,35, the recent elections in Kenya have significant lessons that Tanzania politics could learn from, such as live debates of candidates. “President Uhuru Kenyatta, his main rival Raila Odinga and others took part in debates. These give the politicians a chance to represent their policies on social, economic and political issues. “However, in Tanzania debates are not mandatory, thus voters cannot easily identify the candidate with policies that can solve their problems. At the end of it all they choose candidates according to their big names rather than their potentials,” explains Ms Mdee. She says the new constitution of Kenya has given an opportunity for unsatisfied candidates to challenge presidential results in court. Thus at the end of it all the real loser is not left grieving, which is not the case in Tanzania, she explains.
“For Kenyatta coming into power, it is clear that the youth can also take very high posts in politics because at 50 he is not very old. “Being a bit young gives you the chance to do more research and thus bring issues that affect the people. It should also be noted that the majority of East Africans are young,” argues Ms Mdee. She says being a young politician one can easily mingle with the youth in the streets and neighbourhoods apart from easily interacting with them and identifying their problems. Saying most old leaders have nothing to lose, she explains: “I am a councillor in the Kinondoni Municipal Council and MP. Since I started my tenure, MP John Mnyika and I have managed to increase revenue collection from Sh15 billion during the time of our predecessors to Sh23 billion in 2012.
“I have also managed to improve feeder roads in my municipality to tarmac level, in such areas as Sinza and Kijitonyama.
“My advice for the youth seeking to join politics is to be patient and strong because politics is not for the faint-hearted. This is a job with a lot of blames and rivalry. So you have to have a strong heart and faith in order to survive.’’
Another MP, 32-year-old Moses Machali (Kasulu Urban-NCCR-Mageuzi), the Kenya elections have taught us several lessons. One is accepting defeat as did Raila Odinga after his petition was thrown out by the Supreme Court. He says there is a dire need for the Judiciary to be appointed by a separate entity rather than the president as in Tanzania. “We need to change the system because if the president appoints the Judiciary he/she may sometimes be biased because it is difficult to bite the hand that feeds you,” says Mr Machali.
In Kenya Judges and Magistrates are selected by the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board that forwards names of candidates to the Parliament for approval before officially appointing them. He says young people should also be more involved in politics. “I am happy to see that Mr Kenyatta is not very young but a dynamic man. “In the past CCM had not done enough to accommodate the youth, and that is why most left for the opposition such as Chadema which has very many young politicians,” he explains. Most young politicians are aggressive in presenting issues that are of importance to the public, especially in Parliament. “The youth are achieving a lot. For example, I recently conducted a research with fellow MP James Mbatia into challenges of the education system in our country such as lack of a national school curriculum and what could be the solution. “As an MP, I have managed to break the secrecy that surrounded the expenditure of funds allocated to the Parliament for my constituency. Beforehand the funds were used without anyone being accountable,” says Mr Machali.
However, Mr Said Nkumba (CCM Sikonge, Tabora) says the Judiciary in Tanzania is independent. “Even if the judges are appointed by the President, justice is still separated from the government. For example, take the many petitions that the opposition has won. He states that the new trend of youth going into politics is a sign of the maturity of Tanzania politics. “So long as they are able to deliver then the seniors should transfer power to them, but they should learn to accept defeat rather than causing mayhem,” advises Mr Nkumba.
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