Curtain falls on Tanzania’s multiparty pioneer Mapalala

Dar es Salaam. James Mapalala, Tanzania’s multiparty democracy pioneer might have died a despondent man after living long enough to witness the regressing of the very principles of political pluralism he helped found more than a quarter-century ago.

At 83, Mr Mapalala died yesterday at the Hubert Kairuki Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam, where he was receiving treatment suffering from breathing complications, his family said.

Almost every key actor in Tanzania’s political scene reached for comment yesterday was taken aback by the news of his death, some overcome by emotions to mourn the man they said sacrificed and suffered a lot for Tanzania to enjoy political pluralism.

“I know him as a very assertive and courageous man,” said former executive director of the Legal and Human Right Centre (LHRC), Dr Hellen Kijo Bi-Simba.

“I feel bad to think that he died an unhappy man seeing the principles that led to his incarceration sliding back fast,” added Dr Bisimba of the current threats and restrictions opposition parties face.

ACT-Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe said Mr Mapalala will be written in Tanzania’s history books as a pioneer of the quest for multiparty democracy in the country. He said:

“He contributed to the debate on the adoption of plural politics, was jailed, incarcerated and maimed, but at least he lived to see his dream come true despite the current challenges.”

Zitto said that the task that lays ahead for the young generation of political leaders is to refuel, correct mistakes of the founders and move on to secure their legacy.

Former CUF Secretary-General Seif Sharif Hamad, who would team up with Mr Mapalala to launch the party, described Mr Mapalala yesterday as one of the leading lights of democracy in Tanzania, a struggle which cost his freedom and personal prosperity.

“He played a great role towards democratising Tanzania and his contribution shall never be forgotten,” said Mr Hamad. “I’ve received the news of his passing with great sadness. As a human being, Mr Mapalala was not perfect but no one is perfect except God.”

Chaumma national chairman Hashimu Rungwe said Mr Mapala was part of the movement to transform Tanzania into a better country. He said: “He did this by contributing both ideas and actions. Our modern political parties can honour his legacy by standing on the principles he deeply held and fought for.”

A dissident writer

Starting his activism in 1968 as a senior writer at a Church-run newspaper, Kiongozi, Mr Mapapala, then based in his home town of Tabora, was intensely beamed with the hope that Tanzania would one day democratise. Through his articles, he was angst of the situation of both political and economic depredation that he blamed on the one party ruling elites.

Mr Mapalala was not oblivious of the dangers his actions will attract for he was doing all these against a single party dictatorship which held sway then.

In an environment where everyone was afraid to let the genie out of the bottle, says distinguished lawyer Prof Abdallah Safari, Mr Mapalala was not afraid to put his life in danger to fight for what he believed in. “I respect his courageousness," says Prof safari. "He is one of the most iconic figures in the fight for democracy. I admired him so much.”

Although Mr Mapalala believed that the then first president Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had the good intention at heart to transform the country, his assistants across the country made the lives of many people miserable. He thus thought it was unjust to remain silent. He would soon land in trouble and eventually end at Uyui prison in Tabora at the behest of the region’s then regional commissioner Anna Makinda. This, it appeared, was only the beginning of thorny path ahead.

In between his incarceration and release, thanks to Mwalimu Nyerere’s intervention, Mr Mapalala sacrificed a job with Unesco to go to teach in Nigeria by accepting Tanu’s offer to work as the party’s trader who buys cattle from across the country and sells them in Dar es Salaam. He worked this job halfheartedly for two years and then abandoned it. He would then work as a contractor until 1983 when he resumed his struggles for democracy and civil liberties in the country.

Political activist

In that year, a meeting organised by the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) took place in Dar es Salaam where the challenges of the single-party system were explored. It was here that Mr Mapalala, who was an invitee to the meeting, for the first time, suggested the idea of reintroducing multiparty system. His idea, however, was brushed off.

But in 1984, Mr Mapalala wrote to Mwalimu Nyerere asking him to open the country to political pluralism. As innocent as this action might have been, it landed him in detention without trial. He would be moved across the country, from one police station to another.

In 1986, he was transferred, in chains, to Lindi Region where he was detained until 1990 when he was then transferred to Mafia Island for further seclusion.

Long serving lawyers Mabere Marando and Ringo Tenga led the fight for his release during the entire period of his detention. Mr Marando could not summon the strength to speak about Mr Mapalala when he learnt his death through the call by The Citizen.

“Has Mapalala died?" he asked before slumping into silence. His daughter picked the phone and said Mr Marando was lost of words and could not speak. Marando is a former East African Legislative Assembly member and a leading light in Chadema.

Upon his release in 1990, and with Tanzania still under one party, he teamed up with others in forming a political party. They went to the then Home Affairs Minister Augustine Mrema to explain to him on the need to have a plurality of political parties but Mr Mrema got furious and chased them away.

Mr Mapalala, with his 35 other converts, took to streets to press on their demand. The number of demonstrators had increased to almost 1,000 when police dispersed them, reports show. The police arrested 25 people with Mr Mapalala seeking sanctuary within the Swedish embassy.

The arrested protesters went on hunger strike and the government found itself obliged to go to Mr Mapalala to request him to ask the protesters to break the strike. Nice food was prepared at the Kilimanjaro Hotel and then sent to prison for the detainees.

All these were happening against the background of massive political and economic reforms that were implemented across the world and Africa specifically following the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Political leader

In 1991, Mr Mapalala went on to co-found the Civic United Front (Cuf). In 1993, following the union with the Zanzibar United Front (ZUF) party, a new CUF was formed with him as its national chairman. The union would, however, not last long as wrangles beset the party in 1994, with mainly members from Zanzibar accusing him of betraying the party in what Mapalala believed was an engineered attempt split their strength.

He is on record as saying that issue of religion, as well as the government’s machinations to kill the opposition, played a great role towards what happened then.

After a while, in 2003, he established Chama cha Haki na Ustawi which has been overshadowed as advanced age set in.

Plans for his burial will be released later.