Leonard Clement Mususa (LCM), an icon of Tanzania’s private sector, who passed away on May 30, 2026, was laid to rest yesterday. Who was LCM to me?
Firstly, some reflection on his Christian names. If I start with “Leonard”, this is a derivative of “Leonhard” a name of old “High German” (Hoch Deutsch) origin, with two core elements: (i) “leon” meaning “lion”, and (ii) “hardu” meaning “brave,” “hardy,” or “strong”.
So in summary “brave lion” or “lion-hearted”. On the other hand “Clement” comes from the Latin word “clemens”, which translates to “mild,” “gentle,” or “merciful.” It is traditionally a masculine name that reflects a calm, compassionate, and benevolent nature.
These two names were singularly appropriate for LCM. He was a man defined by conviction and integrity - something that required a lion heart. At the same time he was invariably modest and compassionate when dealing with people.
Synonymous with LCM was PwC. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) [and legacy firm Coopers & Lybrand (C&L)] was where he spent most of his working career (1978 to 2014) holding various senior roles both nationally and regionally.
Earlier in his career he was Human Capital Partner for Tanzania – a testament to his passion for developing talent.
His final role was Country Senior Partner for Tanzania, a role he held for 14 years till his retirement in 2014. During this period he was also a founding member and board member of the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt); he retired from the CEORt board in 2017 but up to his demise remained a very active participant in CEOrt engagements.
My first interactions with LCM were in the mid-90s when I was considering returning to Tanzania from the UK.
As the then Human Capital Partner he played a key role in convincing me to come back - and in October 1995 I joined C&L (which in 1998 became PwC).
I still have a copy of the employment offer letter he sent me! In 1999 I was admitted to the Partnership and over the years I held various national and regional leadership roles within PwC - including succeeding him as Country Senior Partner on his retirement in 2014, a role I held till my retirement in 2024.
Why mention this? Well, my personal story is just one illustration of the type of impact LCM had on people’s development.
Coaching, training and mentoring were a passion of his - allied to this he was prepared to take a risk on people (in my case, the novel idea in Tanzania then of a dedicated tax practice); and so there are hundreds if not thousands of others (not just in the accounting profession, but also within commerce and Government) who can share similar sentiments as to how in one way or another he helped shape and support their personal growth.
At the time of his retirement, some anticipated that LCM would take it a little bit easier. Little did they budget for the “Lionheart” - indeed, I recall at the time the joke at PwC was that if anything LCM seemed to have become busier throwing himself into non-executive director roles as well as some ad hoc consulting.
If his time at PwC was defined by nurturing talent, then his time post PwC was defined by nurturing institutions. At the time of his demise he was Chairman of Tanzania Breweries Plc, Reliance Insurance Tanzania Limited, and Selcom Microfinance Bank Limited and on the board of Sotta Mining Corporation Limited. Previous board roles had included Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) as Chairman, as well as Nation Media Group Plc, NMB Bank Plc, and Bank One Mauritius.
October 2024 saw both of us appointed as Commissioners in the Presidential Tax Reform Commission, whose report was presented in March 2026.
As you can imagine the nature of work as part of such a team requires the very qualities that LCM had - not just the considerable intellect and experience, but also the “lionheart” to “say it as it is” but do so in a mild and gentle manner.
Indeed, LCM’s modesty made it impossible for him to act as if he had a monopoly on the truth - instead his focus was on hearing all perspectives and engaging in open and honest dialogue. One distinguished overseas academic who had engaged with the Commission on hearing of LCM’s demise wrote to me to express their shock and condolences, and also state that “Tanzania will miss him. It needs people like him - to achieve its potential”.
Certainly the country will miss him, the business community will miss him, but his family will miss him even more. Leonard, we all will miss you - but what an amazing legacy and example - and a challenge to us all as to the legacy we will leave. Fare thee well, gentle lionheart LCM.
David Tarimo is Chairman of the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania
