INTERGRITY FIRST : What politicians can learn from Nape

We are told by experienced politicians that, ‘politics is a game of events’, where no established rules may apply. In Tanzania, since Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s era, when there was political turbulence, particularly in Isles, we used say: ‘the political weather has been polluted,’ just like what happened in Zanzibar in 1984. Today, the political weather can change anytime and affect any politician unexpectedly.

What supports my argument that ‘politics is a game of events’ is a misfortune that recently fell on Nape Nnauye, who was then the minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports. The misfortune has raised him to higher levels of public life in short time. Thus, in political life one may rise and fall anytime.

Three years of Mr Nape Nnaye with CCM Secratary-General

Precisely, no one would predict that Mr Nnauye’s membership of cabinet would end the way it happened. Mr Nnauye for 15 years has enormously been playing a big role in reviving the ruling party at a time it had lost flavour among many Tanzanians. He and the Secretary-General of CCM, comrade Abdulrahman Kinana, for three solid years, before the General Election of 2015, travelled across the country reviving CCM and then made it stronger again to it CCM candidate John Magufuli winning the presidency along with more than 75 per cent of parliamentarians.

In impliedly acknowledgement of Mr Nnaye’s contribution to his election, President Magufuli picked him as one of his cabinet ministers, a position Mr Nnauye himself least anticipated. Apart from his being an MP for Mtama Constituency during the General Election of 2015, he still spared time to campaign for Dr Magufuli in many parts of the country. From these few facts, no doubt Mr Nnauye has special political value in CCM. But why President Magufuli slightly reshuffled his cabinet and left out Mr Nnauye? The President weighed the political value of Mr Nnauye and of Mr Paul Makonda (the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner) and was satisfied that Mr Makonda’s political value was more paying than Mr Nnauye’s. He couldn’t maintain both.

Mr Nnaye’s removal from the cabinet

His removal from the cabinet was partly contributed by his firm decision to form a select committee to investigate what was termed as Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda’s invasion of Clouds TV studios last month. Before he formed the committee, President Magufuli had already ignored all information from mainstream media outlets or social media, which were implicating Mr Makonda in what was claimed as unlawful invasion of Clouds TV studios at night.

For President Magufuli, Mr Makonda was his unit of workmanship among all regional commissioners and that is why he cannot afford to lose him by whatsoever reason. Thus, Mr Nnauye’s order to investigate Clouds TV studios’ saga and his determination to submit the report to higher authorities thereafter was rightly taken by President Magufuli as an insubordination, which legitimated his termination as a cabinet member.

Mr Makonda’s incidence, for a while, changed Tanzanian politics. Subsequently, Mr Nnauye went on from being a sacked minister to becoming a political hero, who was met with unusual welcome at his Mtama Constituency. What made him a hero after being sacked? Mr Nnauye was sacked due to his adamant stand to investigate Clouds TV studios’ saga against President Magufuli’s will, we expected that even people at his constituency wouldn’t receive him as a hero, but as someone, who crossed over with his President, thus deserved shunning by all Mtama residents.

A culture of welcoming a home comer

Tanzanians have a culture of welcoming back their MPs, who resigned or were sacked from the cabinet. This is not an unusual phenomenon in the country. The then Prime Minister Edward Lowassa was given a hero welcome at his constituency in Monduli after resigning his Premiership in 2008. Mr Andrew Chenge too, was received as a hero at his constituency after resigning from his position as a cabinet minister after being implicated in the radar purchase deal. So, this trend of recognising politicians, who resigned from the cabinet has again been accorded to Mr Nnauye by Mtama residents. Both Mr Lowassa and Mr Chenge are still active politicians irrespective of the fact that they quitted high public offices after being implicated in some public scandals. This is a kind of politics, which can be found in Tanzania only.

Lessons to learn

Nevertheless, there are significant lessons that our politicians can learn from what has happened to Mr Nnauye and also to other politicians like Mr Lowassa and many others, who have remained active in politics whether in the ruling party or in the opposition even after being controversially implicated in some scams. Mr Nnauye’s emerging in high profile in public life was contributed by risking his cabinet position for what can be said he was doing his duty as the minister responsible for information, when Clouds TV studios came under unusual night visit by their closer friend, Mr Paul Makonda. Mr Nnauye knew the consequences of his decision, but he went on doing it, while known that such a bold decision was against his boss’ will.

However, unexpectedly, Mr Nnauye is considered as one of the CCM politicians, who have dared to sacrifice their ministerial position for what can be termed as public interest. Mr Nnauye has now become a respected politician across all groups of all walks of life, as a man, who didn’t take his duties for granted for mere political gain.

He could keep quiet on the Clouds TV studios’ saga with Mr Makonda and he would continue being a member of cabinet today, but he chose a different way. This should be a lesson by many politicians that, although politics is taken by many as a mere game without established principles, but genuine practitioners must do it with certain degree of integrity and civility.

Political promotion or demotion?

Thus, Mr Nnauye’s risking his position as a member of cabinet has politically promoted him, not only in his constituency, but also across the country. He is now a respected politician by almost the entire media industry and even by opposition parties. But what is the future of Mr Nnauye politically?

He may face another political blow in 2020 if CCM National Chairman President Magufuli will not approve his candidacy for Mtama Constituency because he misbehaved against him. If that happens, perhaps, Mr Nnauye will consider crossing over to the opposition camp if he will still be in want of political career. It won’t surprise anybody, since this has been a political trend of Tanzania for many years now. This is what all politicians from both sides must learn, that politics is a game of events and chance. Thus, conducting politics with all civility is what is needed.

Politics has no borders

In politics, there are no borders. Any politician can cross from one party to another at any time. Look, today there are so many opposition party politicians, who in the past were CCM stalwart leaders and who never thought one day they would be out of CCM and join the opposition. They were embracing CCM as their parent. Who thought one day Mr Lowassa would be in the opposition and be given an opportunity to vie for presidency!

Who thought Mr Frederick Sumaye, a man who served in President Mkapa’s administration as Prime Minister for consecutively 10 years would be in the opposition today! Who thought Mr Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru would be supporting the opposition at his age of eighty plus? Our politicians on both sides sometimes do conduct politics as an adversarial game, forgetting that the political weather can change at anytime from good to bad or from bad to worse and thus condition someone to cross over to the other side of political field, where the political weather may be favourable for him or her.

Political adversary or civility?

Political adversary is dangerous for national development. For many years, CCM politicians have been considering opposition politicians as their enemies, who deserve any kind of political punishment. They forgot that politics is a game of events. When the political weather becomes bad in CCM, the situation may condition one to seek political refuge at the opposition camp like what many did in 2015, when the political weather within CCM was no longer favourable for them. Politics based on adversary affects not only political interests of individual politicians, but also national interests.

For instance, when Members of Parliament take sides in National Assembly sessions, that political siding affects national interests too. Those, who defected from the ruling party to the opposition camp like Mr Lowassa, Mr Sumaye, Mr Lawrence Masha etc, may be a lesson for all to know that, the person you consider to be your political enemy today may be your political friend tomorrow.

In essence, there is a need for our politicians to conduct politics with a reasonable degree of civility for wider national interests. Mr Nnauye’s recent misfortune may teach them and all this a very important lesson, that politics must be used as a catalyst for development not as a double edged sword that can be used to kill fellow politicians, who may be of different opinions.

A recent event of CCM MPs voting against two Chadema candidates, who were approved by their party for East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) was clear evidence of doing adversarial politics.

Since Chadema had already approved their two candidates, what was required for the National Assembly was to confirm them without voting for or against them as it happened. CCM MPs, who are oppressing Chadema today, should come to their senses that tomorrow, when the weather is bad within CCM, their refuge will be at Chadema or at any other party in opposition.

Conversely, Chadema politicians may too run back to CCM, when the weather goes bad within their party. Thus, adversarial politics is nonsense. Let all politicians conduct politics with civility for the betterment of our country.

The author is a lawyer/journalist based in Dar es Salaam.