Castro role in Africa hailed

Dar es Salaam. The passing of Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro sparked an outpouring of grief across the world yesterday.

Castro, who retired eight years ago, was regarded as one of champions of oppressed African people.

Tanzanian diplomats, veteran policians and academics said he would be remembered for helping freedom African fighters to liberate their countries.

Castro, 90, died yesterday of an intestinal ailment. He had been ill for number of years.

Cuba will mourn him until December 4, when his ashes will be laid to rest in the south-eastern city of Santiago.

CCM secretary general Abdulrahman Kinana told The Citizen by phone that the party had been saddened by the death of the revolutionary leader who fought for the rights of the downtrodden in Africa against colonialism.

Mr Kinana said Cuba and Tanzania have a long history.

Castro dispatched doctors, teachers and other professionals to Tanzania.

Cuba also established a pharmaceutical factory in Tanzania to alleviate the shortage of drugs.

He said Tanzanians have joined Cubans to mourn the great leader.

“Our party and the Community Party of Cuba have deep and long history. As you may remember, Mwalimu Nyerere also stood for African liberation.”

He noted that relations forged by Mwalimu Nyerere and Castro had left a big lesson not only for Tanzanians and Cubans, but also for all people who fight for equality and against oppression.

Mr Kinana said CCM would issue a statement to mourn Castro who played an important role to the liberation of African countries.

He said South Africa, Namibia and Angola would greatly miss him. So are all countries that were colonised.

“For many years Cuba was under US embargo but that did not deter Castro from continuing with efforts to liberate his people before assisting others. Cuba is a small country but it is leading in global health initiatives. The country has a lot of leading health specialists.”

Prof Benson Bana of the University of Dar es Salaam said Tanzania has a lot to learn from Castro on patriotism and commitment to help others.

He added among other things, Castro sponsored Tanzanians to study veterinary and medicine in Cuba.

He noted that Castro was close to Africa in ensuring human rights were respected.

“Castro defended the rights of people regardless of nationality as long as others suffered. His country was tormented by the Americans for years, but he prevailed over the sanctions until the US realised that what they were doing was not helping anyone.”

Veteran politician Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru praised Castro for supporting the whole of Africa. He said Castro made his country a centre for helping those in needs in developing countries.

“Tanzania will remember him for helping our youth to learn medicine in Cuba at a time when we faced a serious shortage of doctors. Through his assistance we have made strides in that field.”

He said Castro did not help Tanzania in the health sector, but he also built secondary schools in Rufiji and Kibaha.

His death was announced yesterday by his younger brother, President Raul Castro, on state television.

According to international media, in April, Fidel Castro gave a rare speech on the final day of the country’s Communist Party congress. “I’ll soon be 90. This is something I’d never imagined,” he said then.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Castro was a great friend of Mexico while El Salvador’s President Salvador Sanchez Ceren described the Cuban revolutionary as “an eternal companion”.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said: “Revolutionaries of the world should follow his legacy.”

Soviet Union’s last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev said: “Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade, when there was colossal pressure on him.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin described him as a “reliable and sincere friend” of Russia, while Chinese President Xi Jinping said “Comrade Castro will live forever”.

For French President Francois Hollande, Castro embodied Cuba’s revolution in both its “hopes” and its later “disappointments”.

Castro was born in the south-eastern Oriente Province of Cuba in 1926.

In 1953 he was imprisoned after leading an unsuccessful revolt against dictator Fulgencio Batista’s regime. In 1955 he was released from prison under an amnesty deal.

In 1956, with Che Guevara, he began a guerrilla war against the government.

In 1959, overthrew General Batista and he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.

In 1960 he fought CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion by Cuban exiles.

Castro and Tanzania

Castro visited Tanzania in March 1977. He got a tumultous applause as he was regarded as the champion of the oppressed Africans. He was received at the then Dar es Salaam International Airport by his host, President Julius Nyerere. During the tour, Castro visited Ruvu National Service Agriculture School and inspected projects before talking to Cuban experts attached there.

The school was a Cuban project, promised to Tanzania as a result of President Nyerere’s visit to Cuba in 1974.

During the visit Castro declared that Cuba would not be directly engaging white minority governments in Africa militarily.

Before flying to Mozambique, after a five-day tour of Tanzania, Castro also denied that Cuban troops were leading an invasion in southern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).

He said the uprising in the southern province of Shaba was a Zairean problem and Angola was not involved in it either.

The Zaire government had indicated that 5,000 troops of invading force was led by Cubans stationed in Angola and appealed to the West to intervene.

Shortly after Castro’s visit, Nyerere also welcomed the then Soviet President, Mr Nikolai Podgorny.

He also visited Zambia and Mozambique.

The visits by Cuban and Soviet leaders were seen to herald a more active role by these countries in the Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) issue, especially in view of the breakdown of American and British initiatives in early 1977.