Aluta Continua for multi party democracy in Tanzania.

Despite Tanzania adopted multipartism twenty years ago; in practice the country’s continued to be ruled as if it’s a one party state in its manifestation, structural, institutional and the political system that spawn deficits in the democratization process under the multi party democracy, it has been established.

Since the introduction of the multi party in 1992, the government system is reluctant to do anything whatsoever to change the system which allows the central government with its institutions and law enforcement organs to work under the multi party democracy.

The current political set up will not allowed  total free of political parties, freedom expression and the rule of law which goes hand with hand with good governance modules.

Instead the current set up has continued to favour the ruling party in this era of the multi party democracy and denied the constitutional right of Tanzanians.

The single party system which is still existing in the Tanzanian system pave the way for the institutions and law enforcement organs to favour the Chama Cha Mapinduzi in their daily operations that trigger confrontations between the government and the public.

The banned of Mwanahalisi by the government early July, after it reported the abduction and beating of Dr Stephen Ulimboka, the leading spokesman for the nation’s doctors strike and TV journalist assassination under the hands of the police officers in Iringa has impose a huge fear and mixed feelings from the public that the government has decided to wear gloves ready for the uprising?

Speaking to Mirror Digest in an exclusive interview on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam, Bashiru Ally a lecturer at Dar es Salaam University (UDSM) said the police force in their daily operations are receiving commands from the civil government under the directives of the ruling party cadres from the head of state to the bottom level.

He said that the daily operations of the police force is overseeing by the ruling party cadres from the national, regional, district and ward levels through the chairman of the ruling party at the regional level in the regional securities committees while law enforcement organs are members.

“the police is operating by order and always these orders starts from the national and to the regional and district levels that is why it is difficult to blame the police officers and regional commissioners because they are given orders by the civil leaders,” he said.

Ally added that although the President of Tanzania is elected by the people while the constitution says that the powers and duties of the president comes from the people and the constitution adds that the power of the president comes from  his own people who give him or her a mandate to governor.

He further said that in reality the daily political functions in the country pave the way for the president to have power to all public affairs while taken away such powers indicate in the constitution from the people.

He noted that the chairman of the ruling party at the regional level is the chairman of the regional security committee while the police commander, regional commissioner, district commissioner, regional prison officer and while there is also a member from the army this accelerate daily operations to be under the ruling party directives across the country.

Ally underscored that the trend of the political system in Tanzania allows personality or a political will of the individuals in the national issues which spreads different interpretations of things at the bottom level.

“Although for quite sometimes the absence of a single voice that embodies views and opinions it was missing links between democracy and development but now the country have seen the single voice which is opening up from the activists, journalists, politicians and religious leaders against any act from the government against its people,” he lamented

He clarified that the current political and structural government system cannot accommodate the challenges and growing of the multi party democracy awareness in the country which many and most of Tanzanians are thirty of the social, political and economic changes after 50 years of the ruling party in power.

On his party the Deputy Managing editor of the local newspaper Tanzania Daima who is a popular columnist Ansbert Ngurumo said that the government of Tanzania is worried with the growing political awareness of the people across the country.

“the government is worrying up and fears the growing concern of political awareness across the country so it is trying to creates fears and tension to the public by killing, using tear gas at the political rally in order to survival in power,” he noted.

He said that the government has lost political intolerance so far to see the majority of people who are joining and backing up the main opposition party Chadema through the popular uprising of movement for change.

Ngurumo said that the government has lost confidence to come forward to his own people to make arguments without using police force with guns, tear gas and bombs which is the only solution to them to survival for the couple days in power.

“there is no government or ruling party official who can come forward and express the government pros and cons at this stage of political awareness and movement especially killing of innocent civilians including the public eyewitness Daud Mwangosi  TV journalist who was barbaric assassinated in Iringa region,” he said.

He further said that the police force is not working alone they are receiving orders from the civil leaders who were elected by the people, he said it is a right time to tell the President himself that stop killing innocent civilians.

Ngurumo said that at the past a large section of the general public were ignorant of the country’s democratic processes and practices but current there is a huge turnout of people in the political rally across the country which imposed a huge threat  to the ruling party.

He said that the current set up of the Tanzania political scene inhibits real democracy and good governance because are in favour of the ruling party that fuel corruption, embezzlement and frauds in the central government.

Ngurumo said that this unwelcoming situation denies the voicing of opinion by a reasonable section of the population especially politicians from the main opposition party Chadema.

He said that Chadema was registered as a political party they are doing politics to prevent them to open up new branches of the party networks to waste time and the country resources even killing accelerate people power through their movements.

On his Elias Mhegera a member from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Tanzania chapter said that the political system in Tanzania hinder democratization process and good governance in Tanzania.

He said that conflicts in the political rally: Of recent, there has been a spate of conflicts in several political movements which the police force which is a government and the main opposition Chadema are unhealthy to the country’s democratization process.

Mhegera explained that the new draft constitution can give an answer to all these outstanding and misunderstanding in the public about the fair play ground in the political movement and system.

‘The police force should educate and train to cope and deal with the growing awareness of the political rallies in the multi party democracy to avoid chaos and deaths of innocent civilians,” he said.

Last Sunday the Channel Ten reporter was killed while covering the opening of a branch office of the Chadema cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party for Democracy and Progress) in Nyololo Iringa region.

Though the government-owned Daily News gave the story little coverage, there were, evidently, lengthy and detailed eyewitness reports from journalists published in Swahili.

Mwangosi is the second person to die in conflicts between Tanzania's military-style police force and the opposition party in the last two week. On 27 August, a man was killed in Morogoro as police dispersed Chadema supporters.

Police have ordered Chadema not to conduct political activities until the conclusion of a national population and housing census

Earlier in the day, Chadema vowed nothing would stop from conducting political activities despite a police order that such business should wait until the conclusion of the national population and housing census.

But Chadema cried foul, claiming that the police move was in contravention of the agreement reached one week ago to the effect that the party should suspend its rallies to pave the way for the completion of crucial national exercise.

The party said it sent an alert to the international community over what it termed State interference with the opposition party’s right of assembly and freedom to conduct political activities.

But with the police order that no political activity would be carried out until the census, which has been pushed back for a week, is over, Chadema secretary general Willibrod Slaa told reporters here that his party was now fed up with police interference and have vowed to continue with their activities with or without police blessings.

“We are going to conduct our rallies as planned, come what may... if they want to kill us, let them go ahead and kill us,” he said.

Chadema had planned to kick of its Movement for Change (M4C) campaign at Mwembetogwa grounds yesterday after postponing it for five days following a plea by the Inspector General of Police Said Mwema.

Ends.

By Damas Makangale