This man Tambwe Hiza…

Dar es Salaam. Tough talking politician Richard Tambwe Hiza is no more.

News reaching the newsroom had it that Mr Hiza was found dead on the morning of Thursday, 08 February 2018.

People close to the deceased – including members of his family, his political party ‘Chadema’ and friends – are obviously consulting medical experts with a view to getting to the bottom of the cause of the sudden end to his life.

Though the late Hiza never succeeded to become a Member of Parliament (MP) despite making several attempts, he will always be remembered for his oratory fluency as a politician in both the opposition ranks and the veteran ruling party (CCM).

With the instinct of speaking his mind – candidly calling a spade a spade and not just a working tool – the late Hiza would easily win the trust of his fellow politicians in any party. This is despite the fact that he was not the kind of a person who would conceivably stay within a single political grouping for an appreciably long period of time.

That was the life he lived – and he no doubt lived it to the best of his ability and capability.

Kihiyo’s Temeke vs Tambwe Hiza

In present-day Tanzania, the name/term ‘Kihiyo’ is derogatory.

‘Kihiyo’ is the nearest word you could use to describe a person holding forged and otherwise fake academic qualifications – but one who purports to be acknowledged as a schooled guy.

Interestingly, ‘Kihiyo’ is closely linked to the story of the late Tambwe Hiza in Tanzania’s political history.

Being a bona fide member of the NCCR-Mageuzi political party, the late Tambwe Hiza contested for the Temeke constituency Parliamentary seat against the ruling party CCM’s candidate, Ramadhan Ally Kihiyo, in the 1995 general elections.

That was the time when Augustine Lyatonga Mrema was really a Big Name in the political arena.

Mr Mrema – the ‘Man from Kiraracha’ on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro who contested the presidency on the NCCR-Mageuzi ticket – gave a formidable challenge to the ruling party’s presidential candidate, former President Benjamin William Mkapa. Mkapa finally won the Presidency – and reelection five years later (1995-2005).

 The late Tambwe Hiza was most unfortunate. He lost to CCM’s Kihiyo!

However, Kihiyo’s win was short-lived, as the court annulled his victory in 1996, after it became convinced that he (Kihiyo) had secured nomination to the election based on forged academic certificates.

That was how ki-Swahili got a new word, ‘Kihiyo,’ to mean ‘someone with forged academic credentials!’

To-date, nobody really knows where Mr Kihiyo went; but the invalidation of his (Mr Kihiyo’s) win resulted in the beginning of a new era in the late Tambwe Hiza’s political life.

When a by-election was held in Temeke, NCCR-Mageuzi picked its 1995 presidential flag-bearer, Augustine Mrema – thus forcing the late Tambwe Hiza to ditch the party in protest, and joined the Civic United Front (CUF) instead.

The names of the two gentlemen were on the ballot paper and Tambwe Hiza collected a total of 3, 324 votes against Mrema’s 54, 850. CCM’s Abdul Cisco Mtiro went home with 33,113 votes.

In 1999, Mrema decamped to the Tanzania Labout Party (TLP) and another parliamentary by-election was conducted in Temeke constituency – and the late Tambwe Hiza contested again.

That time around, Mrema’s candidature was blocked following a court petition filed by NCCR-Mageuzi. In the event, CUF’s Tambwe Hiza found himself contesting against TLP’s Abbas Mtemvu, NCCR-Mageuzi’s Suleiman Hegga, and CCM’s John Kabasso.

When the results were finally announced, Tambwe Hiza had garnered 25,742 votes; John Kibasso: 27,090 votes; Abbas Mtemvu: 14,701 votes, while Suleiman Hegga was at the tail-end, with a measly 866 votes.

Tambwe Hiza vs CCM’s Abbas Mtemvu

During the 2005 general elections, Tambwe Hiza – who had become a crowd puller during campaigns – once again gave it a try.

This time around, he lost to Abbas Mtenvu who had decamped to CCM.

One thing interesting regarding the late Tambwe Hiza is that he was quick at conceding defeat. This was contrary to what some of his supporters expected from him – especially going by how he managed to pull the crowds over to his side during campaigns.

In the 2010 general elections, Tambwe Hiza lost to Limbu Kadawi during CUF’s primaries – and that was how his safari to CCM started.

Tambwe Hiza in CCM

Being a gifted public speaker, Tambwe Hiza was immediately entrusted with the role of being one of the people behind CCM’s propaganda machinery as soon as he joined the party in 2010.

It was during that time when outspoken Chadema members the likes of Arusha MP Godbless Lema and the-then secretary general, Dr Wilbroad Slaa were always on Tambwe Hiza’s lips – but always for the wrong reasons.

At one point, the late Tambwe Hiza was quoted uttering  derogatory words against Dr Slaa, calling him a ‘mad man’ who was awaiting imprisonment – noting that the CCM-led government was doing everything possible to jail him as a way of silencing him.

Tambwe Hiza joins Chadema

The political pressure that existed during the process to nominate the party’s presidential flag bearer during the 2015 general elections did not leave Mr Tambwe Hiza ‘safe.’

It appeared that he was one of the architects of the ‘Edward Lowassa presidential candidacy,’ which collapsed when the party settled for John Pombe Joseph Magufuli as its presidential candidate.

That was how Hiza found himself in Chadema – and, as usual, he played a pivotal role in campaigning for Edward Lowassa during the 2015 elections.

Chadema will miss his role as one of the key speakers during the ongoing parliamentary by-election in Kinondoni.

Tambwe Hiza campaigning for Salum Mwalimu

Speaking to The Citizen shortly after Mr Hiza’s death, the Chadema candidate for Kinondoni constituency, Mr Salum Mwalimu, said he was saddened by the news because the late Tambwe Hiza had campaigned for him “just yesterday” (Wednesday)!

Indeed, he was on the campaign trail and on Thursday, February 7, this is what he said at a public rally: “People need to understand that elections are not wars, and that candidates have the right to compete on a fair playing ground…

“Those saying Salum Mwalimu (the Chadema candidate) is from Zanzibar must also have the audacity to say that Maulid Mtulia (the CCM candidate) is also from Pemba!

“We are here not to compete over religious and ethnicity differences. Our competition must be based on policy. We must tell voters what our party policies are, so that they are able to choose basing on those (policies) that they believe will bring them development”.