Magufuli issues stern warning against anti-Union agitators

Magufuli issues stern warning against anti-Union agitators

Dodoma. President John Magufuli yesterday led the country in commemorating 53 years of the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which gave birth to Tanzania, and issued a stern warning that his government would not tolerate those harbouring secessionist intentions.

Addressing a multitude at the Jamhuri Stadium, Dr Magufuli said the Union has passed through numerous trials in the five decades of its existence. However, he, alongside his Zanzibar counterpart, Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, said they are committed to continue making it stronger.

“We’re having difficulties even in maintaining our marriages, and thus we’re experiencing some challenges in our Union as well. However, we have a good system of sorting out our contentious issues through a Joint Union Commission chaired by Vice President (Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan) and attended by Prime Minister (Mr Kassim Majaliwa) and Zanzibar’s Second Vice President (Mr Seif Ali Idd,” he said.

Dr Magufuli said what the two governments can’t condone is any attempt to break the Union: “Our predecessors did a tremendous job protecting the Union. We will continue on the same path. If there is anyone out there thinking of breaking up the Union, then he will not make it and I can assure you that he will be broken instead.”

Yesterday’s Union event was the first to be marked in Dodoma and this follows the directive issued by President Magufuli on Tanzania Mainland’s independence celebrations last December that all national celebrations will be marked in the new capital as part of implementing the process of shifting the government seat from Dar es Salaam.

Speaking about the shift, the President noted that already over 3,000 government officials, including cabinet ministers, principal secretaries and some senior directors have already moved to Dodoma.

According to him, a total of Sh200 billion has been budgeted for the construction of government offices and accommodation structures in Dodoma for the next fiscal year (2017/18) to facilitate another major migration of officials.

“As I promised last year, by 2020 the entire government will be here,” he insisted.

Dr Magufuli also wanted all Tanzanians to use the celebrations to ponder where the country came from, where it is, and the direction it is heading.

“We’ve managed to register a number of achievements, first and foremost uniting our people, secondly, making infrastructure and human resource development and helping our neighbours especially in the south getting rid of colonialism.”

Yesterday’s event was also marked by pomp, colour and cadence, with gates of the stadium with a capacity to accommodate 10,000 opened at 6am sharp. It took only one and a half hours for it to be filled to capacity and gates had to be closed.

A huge number of people who turned out for the event some travelling from as far as Singida Region and Dodoma districts couldn’t make it inside the stadium and had to rely on huge TV screens mounted outside to follow the proceedings.

“I travelled all the way from Singida in order to see President John Magufuli and the commandos with my naked eyes, but I failed to get a seat inside and as for now I am forced to watch the proceedings on a TV screen, which means, I might as well have remained in Singida and watch the event from there,” said Mr Sifael Enock, a resident of Kisiriri, Singida.

In some cases, police officers had to use extra force to disperse those who attempted to force their way in even after being told that the Stadium was full.

President Magufuli arrived at the stadium at 9.15am and was welcomed by a 21-gun salute from the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF). The heavy explosions caused panic among some people, with some trying to run away.

“To be honest, this is my very first day to hear such a huge sound in my life, indeed these are strange phenomena never witnessed before here,” said 56-year old Medard Kisamo.

It was the 30-minute show of might by the TPDF commandos that stole the limelight and cheered wildly by the crowd.

The celebrations were entertained by music interludes from diverse musical groups, including Dodomabased Nyati Art Group Music and the Dar es Salaam-based Yamoto Band.

The last show of the day, came in after President Magufuli’s speech whereby Air Force jets graced the blue Dodoma skies.

The cerebrations, under the slogan of “53 years of Union: Let’s protect and strengthen it; lets us fight narcotics and uphold hard work”.

The event halted businesses and many other social activities at the country’s administrative capital. Most bars, restaurants and community centres here were occupied, with thousands glued to TV sets to watch the historic event.

“The business is good here today, as you can see many people are here watching TV while eating and drinking to celebrate the Union fete, hopefully, I’m going to make good profit today,” said Mr Shirima Kimaro, a bar proprietor near the Jamhuri Stadium.

But, some unscrupulous people abused the event by stealing other people’s mobile phones and other valuables.

“The place is full with good number of police officers, but you can’t imagine many people have so far had their cell phones stolen, the same happened to people’s wallets and other items,” said one Mr Kassim Mtaki.

“Someone snatched off my phone, there is a number of thieves here and many people would have their valuables stolen,” Ms Rosemary Mwendi told The Citizen outside the stadium