There seems to be a general view that Kinana’s resignation remains a paper thing; that he will remain as visible in the political arena as ever given the critical role he positioned himself to play through the years both in the ruling party and other platforms.
Arusha. What impact will Abdulrahman Kinana’s stepping down as the secretary general of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) have on his illustrious political career and the party he fought hard to rescue in the most trying times? This is one of the questions pundits have been chewing on since the departure of the ruling party’s highly-respected leader last week.
There seems to be a general view that Kinana’s resignation remains a paper thing; that he will remain as visible in the political arena as ever given the critical role he positioned himself to play through the years both in the ruling party and other platforms.
He did not mince his words when it comes to what he would do next.
“I am stepping down as CCM secretary general, but not as a party member,” he affirmed as he handed over office to his successor, Dr Bashiru Ally at the ruling party’s Lumumba offices in the commercial capital. That should not be taken lightly for a towering cadre who had won the trust of the broader leadership of the party. He was the campaign manager of the former and serving presidents.
Not the best news
Yet some political pundits may view his resignation from the key post as not the best news given that campaigns for the 2020 polls are only two years away.
But for Mr Kinana, who has served in various leadership positions for the past 30 years, stepping down from the helm of CCM may see him playing another equally important role in the society.
In the context of this week’s changes at the party leadership, the story goes back to 1985 when he was elected MP for Arusha Urban constituency. Politics in Arusha, currently the opposition stronghold, have been rather turbulent even before the entry of multi-partysm. Election of MPs would often stir eye-catching competition.
Longest serving legislator
He served until 1995 and was probably the first longest serving legislator for the constituency. Ever since, his record was broken by Felix Mrema (CCM) who was the area MP from 1998 to 2010.
If the opposition (Chadema) MP Godbless Lema, the second opposition MP for Arusha Urban after Charles Makongoro Nyerere, makes it until 2020, then he would equal ten years Mr Kinana served in the area.
As the CCM secretary general from as recent as 2012, Kinana was famous for his well-publicised country-wide tours aimed to rejuvenate the party from the grassroots.
He used the opportunity to castigate government officials who posed more as administrators rather than leaders, especially in the implementation of projects.
During one such visit in Rukwa Region, he openly lashed out a cabinet minister for the way he had allegedly mishandled a cattle ranch project, which was once state-owned.
At the Mererani gemstone mines in Manyara Region, not far from Arusha city, he made a promise which should be expected of any ruling party leader.
That’s the mineral-rich tanzanite mines have to finally fall into the hands of the indigenous Tanzanians, including the struggling small scale miners.
Although such pledges have been made, and generally not successfully done in the past, some measures appear to have lately been taken by the government in that direction.
In Hanang, also in Manyara, he came face to face with the age-old dispute over the ownership of the former wheat farms under the defunct National Agricultural and Food Corporation (Nafco).
He was critical of the private investors who failed to develop the farms after they were leased to them. He threatened to tell the government to repossess them and have them over to landless wananchi.
The soft-spoken Kinana was also seen as a crucial CCM strategist who ensured the party sailed through the elections in the wake of multi-party politics and the stiff competition that came with it.
Preferring diplomacy
He would often be seen conversing quietly with national leaders even on matters away from the turbulences affecting CCM, but all affecting the nation, preferring diplomacy rather than head on collision.
However, his quietness did not mean weakness of some sort. At one point during the height of the 1995 first multi-party polls, for instance, he suddenly changed character.
In the full view of the media at the Lumbumba street office, he warned his party cannot tolerate uncalled for intimidation from the opposition over repeated and often unverified allegations.
Incidentally, Mr Kinana has not been much active in the local politics of his home town of Arusha for a while, despite appearing at the election campaign rallies.
But in Arusha, he still has a track record of diplomacy and strong leadership during his six year tenure as the first Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala).
That was between 2001 and 2007. The regional Assembly was created as one of the three organs of the East African Community (EAC) which was revived in the late 1990s.
His regional experience would see him appointed the leader of the EAC Election Observer Mission to Kenya in 2013 which ushered in Uhuru Kenyatta as the president.
The Kenyan polls that year (2013) and also in 2002, during which Kanu was voted out of power, were generally violence-free compared to 1992, 1997, 2007 and 2017.
