2001 News

Monday 12/31/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

An Ethiopian jetliner Boeing 767 yesterday failed to land at the Zanzibar International Airport (ZIA) after 10 attempts.
The aircraft, scheduled to discharge 25 Zanzibar bound passengers and take on board passengers to Dar es Salaam and other destinations had to overfly the airport after it was established that given the state of the runway it could not land.
The Acting Ethiopian Airlines Manager in Zanzibar, Agonise Mdalanyira, said the captain decided to fly to Dar es Salaam after contacting the airport aviation officers.
“In the circumstances the 13 passengers who were to board the plane here had to be ferried to Dar es Salaam aboard a light chartered plane,” observed Mdalanyira.
The manager said following the abortive landing attempts the airline suspended the Isles route until the runway was repaired.
Ethiopian Airline schedule shows that the airline flies to Zanzibar direct from Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and some European destinations twice a week.
The poor state of the runway exists despite the fact that for the last three years the Isles government has been promising to carry out necessary repairs.
When tabling this year's budget, the Minister for Finance, Zubeir Ali Maulid, said the government has set aside 176m/- to be used in carrying out repairs of the airport runway.

Another Zanzibar depot attacked

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Three customers were seriously injured when the New Happy Lodge
in Zanzibar, which doubles as a beer depot and a guest house, was blown up by what is suspected to be dynamite.
The incident more-or-less replicates the attack on another beer depot in the island ocean-side town about one week ago.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Juma Mtumwa Abdallah, named the injured persons as the depot proprietor, Boniface Joseph, James Pauso and Matokeo Nassor, all of whom are undergoing treatment.
He said the explosion went off at 1.15 a.m. at the crowded alcohol-dispensing outlet, adding that early investigations showed that people whose identity had not been established had planted the “bomb” in the building`s toilet.
Abdallah said the police were collaborating with Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) officers to establish technical aspects related to the device.
Reports from the depot revealed that shortly after the device went off, another one was discovered intact in room number 21 of the guest house.
Customers told PST that their recreation was interrupted by a huge explosion that produced billows of smoke in the one storey building .
Senior police officers, including the Zanzibar Urban Regional Police Commander Ramadhan Mgeni, toured the site of the incident yesterday morning.
The police however barred journalists from accompanying them.
New Happy Lodge building is owned by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM

Cholera declines in Tanzania

A cholera epidemic which broke out early last month in Tanzania's offshore island of Zanzibar and Pemba has eased, and until Thursday, there were only 14 patients admitted at health centres, officials said on Friday.

"The number of new cases has steadily declined... we now receive between two and four cases daily," an official with the department of preventive services in the Zanzibar ministry of health said.

He said 24 people have died of cholera since November 9, but the disease was now under control in some areas which had been hard-hit by the epidemic.

"All patients at Tumbatu Gomani camp have been discharged and the temporary facility that was set up there is now closed," he said, attributing the success to efforts by health officials in their hygiene promotional campaign.

Zanzibar government authorities banned vending of food, juices and fruit on stalls along the roads and open-air restaurants, as well as prohibited feasting and festivals during Eid el-Fitr and Christmas holidays.

Four deny blowing up beer depot in Zanzibar

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Four people yesterday appeared before the Vuga Resident Magistrate court here to answer charges of blowing up a beer distribution centre in Magomeni area on Boxing Day.
The accused persons were Suleiman Hilal (51), Sale Makonde Salehe (46), Khamis Juma Khamis (44) and Abdallah Mohamed Khalifan (38), all residents of Magomeni. They pleaded `not guilty.'
Prosecuting, Inspector Mfaume Mussa alleged in the court that on December 26 at around 8.00pm the accused hatched a plot and blew up a house belonging to Lipumbe Mussa causing considerable damage to property.
All are out on 500,000/- bail each. The case comes for another mention on January 10 next year.
The distribution centre was bombed on Boxing Day causing panic to the people in the area.

Chief Minister angry with ‘irresponsible municipal workers’

Thursday 12/27/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha has threatened that the government will cease paying salaries to municipal officials here who fail to control cleanliness.
“It is very strange that municipal leaders get salaries, but garbage is scattered everywhere on streets,” Nahodha said when visiting Michenzani area where there was a huge heap of solid waste dumped in the midst of residential houses.
He wondered that despite having the regional commissioner, legislators and ward councillors as well as the municipal council who get government salaries, they did nothing in their work places.
The Chief Minister ordered the immediate removal of the waste and underscored the need to keep surroundings clean in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases such as cholera which has so far killed 25. Some 250 are cholera victims.
Meanwhile, Bishop Agostino Shao of the Catholic Church in Zanzibar has asked the Union government to investigate reasons that make people resort to ‘mob justice’ to solve problems instead of using established institutions.
In a Christmas homily at the Shangani Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Shao said failure of security organs to administer justice could be the reason behind people’s decision to punish suspected offenders on the spot.
He said in a country where justice was being sought, those unable to get it suffered greatly. The clergyman appealed to the government to critically address the problem and find a lasting solution to mob justice.
He appealed to state organs to work within the prescribed laws and respect good governance.
Bishop Shao warned that without the implementation of rule of law, conflicts among wananchi resulting from political differences could continue to produce Tanzanian refugees abroad.
“Our constitution provides that all wananchi are entitled to protection by security organs irrespective of their ideological beliefs,” he said and called for respect of that tenet.
He said most of the problems in different countries occurred when security organs served the interests of a few instead of the majority. He said such a problem was threatening peace and solidarity in Tanzania.
The bishop also challenged political leaders to respect human rights as well avoid bias be it religious, or tribal.
To make disparaging remarks about other people'sbeliefs was unconstitutional and failure to respect freedom of worship “could cause a breach of the peace,” he said.
Bishop Shao also challenged wananchi to fight for their constitutional rights and make sure that the government fulfilled its obligations to work for them.
There was no feasting parties yesterday as it has been the case in previous years as the government banned gatherings of people as a means to contain cholera which has affected the isles.

Simba drawn against Seychelles’ Red Star

Monday, December 24, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

Simba SC will meet Red Star of the Seychelles in the preliminary round of next year’s African Champions’ League.
Police Zanzibar have been drawn against Guna SC of Ethiopia in the preliminary round of the African Cup Winners’ Cup while Mtibwa Sugar will play Mozambique’s Ferroviario Maputo in the first round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup, according to fixtures released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Saturday.
Simba will be at home in the first leg match scheduled for the weekend of February 1-3. The second leg match will be played in Seychelles on the weekend of February 15-17.
Should the Dar es Salaam-based side go through to the first round, they will face Zambian champions Nkana FC who will be at home for the first leg match on the weekend of March 8-10. The return match is scheduled for the weekend of March 22-24.
The aggregate winners will take on Egyptian side Zamalek or Rwanda’s APR FC or Hintra of Eritrea in the second round whose first round matches will be played on the weekend of April 12-14 with the second legs being programmed for April 26-28.
The top eight teams in the knock-out stage will go into the draw for the lucrative Champions League group phase.
Police will host Guna SC at Zanzibar’s Amaan Stadium in the first leg match scheduled for the weekend of February 1-3. They will travel to Ethiopia for the second leg to be played on the weekend of February 15-17.
The winners will take on CS Hammam-Lif of Tunisia in the first round scheduled for March 8-10 and March 22-24.
Morogoro-based Mtibwa Sugar will also be at home in their first leg match against Ferroviario Maputo on the weekend of March 8-10. The second leg match is scheduled for the weekend of March 22-24 in the Mozambican capital Maputo.
The aggregate winners will face either St Pierroise of Reunion or Madagascar’s ASA in the first second round whose first leg matches will be played on the weekend of April 12-14 with the second legs being programmed for the weekend of April 26-28.
While Police will be making their first appearance in an African tournament, seasoned campaigners Simba and Mtibwa will be trying their luck again after performing poorly in this year’s competitions.
Simba were knocked out in the second round of the African Cup Winners’ Cup by Ismailia of Egypt while Mtibwa failed to go past EEPCO of Ethiopia in the first round of the CAF Cup.
Meanwhile, the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) will have to reschedule the East and Central African Club Championship scheduled to kick off in February in Zanzibar as it clashes with the African club tournaments whose fixtures were released at the weekend.
The regional competition is scheduled to kick off on February 16 — the weekend when several teams entered for the tournament are required to be playing their preliminary round, second leg matches in the African Champions’ League.
Teams drawn in the preliminary round of the African Champions’ League which have also been entered for the regional club championship are Simba SC, Prince Louis (Burundi), APR FC (Rwanda), EEPCO (Ethiopia) and Oserian Fastac (Kenya).

Sweden Boosts Stone Town Kitty

By FAUSTINE RWAMBALI
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The EastAfrican.
Monday, December 17, 2001

SWEDEN HAS donated Tsh380 million ($422,000) to the Aga Khan Culture Trust and the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority in Zanzibar (STCDA) to help implement a community-based rehabilitation programme in Stone Town, which is categorised by Unicef as a World Heritage Site.

A statement from the Swedish Embassy in Dar es Salaam last week said that Sweden and the STCDA signed a memorandum of understanding on December 11 aimed at supporting institutional capacity-building and activities that will promote preservation of the area.

The director of Stone Town Conservation Authority, Mr Ali Mwalimu, told The EastAfrican last week that the donation was for the second phase programme that focused on capacity-building, promotion, public awareness and strengthening of community-based and non-governmental organisations.

"We expect to sit down with the donors to assess future plans," he said, adding that the STCDA was established in 1985 but only became legally functional in 1994.

The main objective of the agreement will be to conserve the Stone Town as a living environment in which economic development and cultural heritage complement one another.

"Zanzibar and Stone Town have been and will remain a real jewel attracting tourists and visitors to Tanzania," the Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Sten Rylander, said during the signing ceremony.

Mr Rylander added: "We are proud of having the opportunity to assist in restoring historic buildings and cultural environments in Stone Town.

In addition to continuing to work through the Aga Khan Culture Trust, we are also pleased to be able to establish a more direct co-operation linkage with the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority."

The signing ceremony took place at the rehabilitated Old Customs House. Sweden was represented by the ambassador while Dr Bianco Stefano signed on behalf of the Aga Khan Culture Trust.

The grant will be extended to STCDA when the project document is completed.

The rich architectural designs of the old Arab buildings dating back to the first millennium, the Omani Sultanate of Zanzibar in 19th century, the European colonial and the natural environmental days of the islands are some of the features of Stone Town, which is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world.

The Stone Town embodies the traditional lifestyle of the island's inhabitants, their crafts, textiles and furniture.

With many crossing lines and paths for centuries by merchants, sea-fearers and pirates from India, Persia (now Iran), China, Japan and even Russia,

Zanzibar is the dominating centre of the coastal culture or Swahili civilisation which later crossed the Indian Ocean to the mainland.

Cholera Patients Escape From Treatment Camps

AT least 20 cholera patients who were admitted in special treatment camps in Zanzibar have been disappeared into streets despite the fact that they were still being treated. The Patients had complained poor services in the camps selected to handle cholera cases in the Isles.

The patients had told the press here that the situation in the camps had worsened as the government failed to supply key facilities including beds and bed-sheets. The government has now launched a campaign to hunt and bring back the escapees to the camps, partly due to the fears that they could spread the pandemic to others. Reports indicated that two out of 20 patients who escaped had died and another two returned voluntarily to the camps yesterday.

On Monday, two newly born babies died shortly after birth by two diarrheas infected patients. The Zanzibar Chief Minister, Vuai Nahodha yesterday ordered the arrest and prosecution of the patients who had escaped from the camps.

On another development, residents have told the press that they have just experienced one of the most boring Idd el Fitr holidays in years. The government had banned gatherings including holding Idd el Fitr festivities, but residents in the Islamic dominated Islands disrespected the order. The ban followed a Zanzibar cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, which endorsed a directive to ban all festivities in a move to curb the spread of cholera. The cabinet meeting also resolved to close all bars, restaurants, festive gatherings and other activities related to entertainment such as music and cinema.

Cholera erupted in Zanzibar more than a month now and has so far killed over 20 people. The outbreak has been threatening the Zanzibaris as the latest report indicates that the epidemic is at increase.

The Director of Preventive Service in the Zanzibar Ministry of Health, Mr. Juma Rajabu said recently several patients were admitted to the permanent cholera observation centre saying further the most hit areas includes village in Unguja central District and Tumbatu in Unguja North District. He told reporters here that a thorough diagnosis was being conducted on patients suffering from dysentery, diarrhea and warm attacks, who are admitted to the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the Isles.

According to him, sixty people from South Unguja were recently hospitalized for check-up and treatment after they developed cholera symptoms, including purging and vomiting. He said the most hit were children aged five years and above. He cited dirty environment, congestion of buildings in Zanzibar as among the factors behind the spread of the epidemic.

Over 220 cholera cases have been reported as of yesterday. Few months ago cholera eruption on Tanzania Mainland and killed over 30 people. On Zanzibar the worst cholera incident occurred in 1998 when the disease killed over 180 people.

Light shed on cholera camps

By Lwaga Mwambande

Persons who contract cholera should not run away from emergency cholera treatment camps as that defeats measures to control the disease, the Head of Mission of the Medicins Sans Frontieres--MSF (doctors without frontiers) in the country, Dr Oscar Urdeitx has said.
Dr Oscar Urdeitx said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that people should not to be swayed by flimsy reasons to abandoned the camps, lest they lost their lives.
He was commenting on reports that some cholera patients in Zanzibar sneaked away from cholera camps citing lack of bedsheets, mattresses and being too hot as reasons for deserting the places.
Dr Urdeitx said to contain cholera required very strong isolation policy and compliance by patients in order to avert the danger of affecting other people.
Flanked by the MSF Medical Coordinator, Dr Anne Laurent, he explained that although cholera camps were not very comfortable places, they were the only means to check the disease.
He said mattresses were not part of items in a cholera kit because cholera patients experienced a running stomach.
"Beds in cholera camps are normally without mattresses, instead buckets are being placed under them to accommodate uncontrolled stool which is characteristic of the disease," he said.
The MSF head of mission whose humanitarian organization is working with the Zanzibar Ministry of Health to take care of cholera patients, said lack of mattresses should not have been used as a reason to desert the camp.
Some cholera patients deserted the Magogoni camp, alleging that the beds lacked mattresses and that the place was too congested and unbearably hot.
Cholera erupted in Zanzibar early last month, but the number of cases increased dramatically between December 9 and 12 to the extent that the Magogoni emergency camp with a capacity to accommodate 30 patients had 66 of them.
As a result of the increase, the Zanzibar ministry of health in collaboration with MSF have set up another camp at Chumbuni within the isles to ease congestion at Magogoni.
Dr Urdeitx congratulated health personnel and authorities in the isles for working hard to fight cholera. "They work 24 hours, seven days a week without rest," he said.
The Zanzibar Chief Minister, Shamsi Nahodha Vuai, directed three days ago that all patients who sneaked away from cholera treating camps be sought and arraigned in court because they could spread the disease to other people.
"If there are any health laws they should be enforced to ensure that appropriate steps are taken on those who absconded from the camps because they want to spread the disease to others," he had said.
Two of the patients who deserted the camps have since died from the disease.

Over 20 arrested in Zanzibar for
holding Eid prayers

Monday 12/17/01
By Mwinyi Sadalah, PST, Zanzibar

More than 20 leaders of the Answar Sunna sect have been arrested here for conducting Eid el Fitr prayers in defiance to the day set by the Zanzibar Revolutionary government.
Some of the leaders were observed praying in front of police posts.
The Mkoani Magharibi Police Commander, Ramadhani Mgeni said the leaders were arrested in Rahaleo and Kilimahewa areas soon after concluding Eid prayers.
He told reporters that the leaders would be required to explain why they had decided to conduct the prayers before the date set by the government.
Although the government had no religion, he noted, people had to follow set directives and the police would question anyone concerning the decision of the believers to conduct the prayers.
"Every area has its own regulations. We cannot have two Eids here in Zanzibar," he stressed.
The Answar Sunna leaders, some of whom wore turbans, were observed at Mwembe Madema and Ngombo police stations.
The Field Force Unit yesterday reinforced security at Raha Leo but believers did not come out to pray at this mosque.
They were later moved to the other mosques where they arrested the believers after they had completed their prayers.
The Answar Sunna sect believes that all Moslems should fast or break fast when the moon is sighted in any part of the world.

Dar Peace Deal Hits a Snag

12/14/01
By FAUSTINE RWAMBALI
THE EASTAFRICAN

THE PEACE accord between the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF), signed in Zanzibar on October 10 to end the political stalemate in the Isles, has hit a snag, with the CUF leadership accusing CCM of lacking the will to implement it.

The agreement was endorsed by the Isles all-CCM House of Representatives and assented to by President Amani Abeid Karume last week. CUF was unrepresented in the House because all its MPs were expelled mid this year for failing to attend three consecutive parliamentary sessions as required by law. The MPs had boycotted the House, demanding a rerun of the botched October 2000 elections in Zanzibar.

The CUF leadership claims the pact omitted vital areas of the dispute, which would have given the joint reconciliatory body powers to implement the agreement, popularly known as muafaka.

CUF president Prof Ibrahim Lipumba has threatened to call a nationwide demonstration on January 27 next year to protest against the "breach of trust." January 27 will be the first anniversary of the tragic clash between CUF members and police which claimed the lives of 24 people on Pemba Island. Over 2,000 people fled Zanzibar to Mombasa, Kenya, though most of them have since returned home.

However, the Isles government maintains that some aspects of the accord were unconstitutional while others infringed on presidential powers, such as summoning and trying army and police officers, or punishing them

CUF pulled out of the accord's implementation process on December 1, saying that it would not recognise the Bill under which the Presidential Commission on the Accord was formed.

The secretary general of CUF, Mr Seif Sharrif Hamad, accused the House of Representatives of changing some clauses of the Bill before it was passed by the House of Representatives.

There are at least three areas of contention: Sections 5 (1) b, 8 (1) and 8 (2) as well as Section 14 of the Bill. Other sections are said to have been amended or dropped because the House claimed that they "were against the constitutions of both the Zanzibar and Tanzania Union governments."

Zanzibar Attorney General Mr Iddi Pandu Hassan told the House two weeks ago that some sections and clauses of the agreement went against the 1984 Zanzibar Constitution.

Section 5 (1) b of the Act empowers the Presidential Commission to summon the heads of defence, security and judiciary to appear before it, while Sections 8 (1) and 8 (2) require that issues of the agreement already discussed in the House be resubmitted to the Commission.

Section 14 gives powers to the Commission to convict and sentence those it summoned and found guilty to one year's imprisonment or a fine or both.

The Zanzibar government last week said a statement signed by the Minister of State in the Chief Minister's Office, Mr Salim Juma Othman, that the amendments made by the Isles House on November 29 and 30 were "very minor and were made so as not to affect the substance of the reconciliation but to facilitate a successful implementation of the accord."

The statement said: "Empowering the Commission to summon any person, including the heads of defence and security organs as well as judicial officials, is contrary to the Constitution." According to the Tanzania constitution, the power to summon these officials is vested in the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

The secretary general of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), Mr Harold Jaffu, told The EastAfrican last week that the agreement failed to address the principles of give-and-take in the reconciliation process.

Mr Jaffu said that one of the most contentious areas was the expulsion of CUF MPs from the House of Representatives and the Union parliament. "If at all CUF agreed that the Draft Bill was to be discussed in the House of Representatives, there was a need for their representatives to be called back to take care of their party's interests during discussions," he said.

"We in TLP believe that the CUF secretary general Mr Hamad has betrayed the party because being entitled terminal benefits, he is now a direct beneficiary of the government," he said. Mr Hamad once served as Chief Minister in Zanzibar.

In an effort to salvage the agreement last week, officials from CCM and CUF met at a Dar es Salaam hotel to discuss the complaints raised by the opposition parties. Both parties agreed to take action to get its implementation back on track, but no details were given on how they would go about it.

The accord is an acid test for CCM, whose commitment to the deal is viewed suspicion by its critics.

The previous accord, brokered by the former Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyauko on June 9, 1999, failed because the Isles' CCM government did not implement the agreement.

Z’bar handed 3-0 hammering

Wednesday, December 12, 2001

By Guardian Reporter

Zanzibar's hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup suffered a major setback on Monday when Rwanda ‘B’ crushed them 3-0.
Reports from Kigali said Zanzibar, apparently looking for a goalless draw, played a defensive game against the hosts who subjected them to relentless pressure before opening the scoring in the 71st minute of the Group ‘C’ encounter.
The goal came through Joanoti Itenge who scored with a scorching effort from near the 18-yard line.
Rwanda tightened the screws on Zanzibar who were left chasing shadows as the Rwandese pressed forward to the roar of a big crowd at Amahoro Stadium.
The Zanzibari defence caved in again in the 79th minute to allow Jonathan Mbaze to double Rwanda’s lead before Jimmy Katete made the game safe for the hosts with an 87th minute strike.
Zanzibar, champions in 1995, must now beat Ethiopia tomorrow to have any chance of qualifying for next week’s quarter-finals.
Earlier, Kenya had beaten Eritrea 2-1 in an entertaining Group ‘A’ clash.
Kenya scored through James Waweru and Morris Sunguti in the 74th and 84th minutes respectively.
Kenya will be action again today when they take on Somalia who lost 0-3 to Rwanda ‘A’ in the opening match on Saturday.
The other match of the day will also be a Group ‘A’ game pitting Rwanda ‘A’ against Eritrea.
Mainland Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Stars were scheduled to play defending champions Uganda under floodlights last evening. While Kilimanjaro Stars had launched their campaign by beating Burundi 2-1 on Sunday, Uganda launched theirs by pulverising Djibouti 10-1.

Cholera outbreak on the rise again.

A cholera outbreak in Zanzibar
which was thought to be subsiding is on the rise again in the island
off of Tanzania, the Zanzibar health ministry said Wednesday.
Three people have died since Monday, bringing the death toll in
six weeks to 12, the ministry said in a statement.
It said efforts to control the disease had been stepped up, as
41 patients have been admitted at various health centres for further
treatment.
Other cholera cases have been reported in Tumbatu, an islet in
Zanzibar's northern region, as well as in the Chumbuni and Mtopepo
suburbs of Zanzibar municipality.
The semi-autonomous island's director for preventive health,
Juma Rajab, announced on state-owned Voice of Zanzibar that the
government has banned sale of juices and food in open-air stalls in
the municipality of Zanzibar.
Rajab said the ban would remain in force beyond the Eid el-Fitr
holidays ending the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan, expected to be
held from December 16 to 18, depending on the sighting of the new
moon.

Implement the CCM/CUF pact promptly - Nyerere Foundation

By Michael Haonga

The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation (MNF) has cautioned against delay in implementing the much applauded CCM/CUF Zanzibar pact signed on 10th October,2001.
“Peace loving people within and outside the country will not understand us if we fail to abide by and implement the CCM/CUF Zanzibar pact,” remarked the soft spoken MNF Executive Director, Joseph Butiku.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this paper today, Mr Butiku said the signing of the pact remains a milestone achievement in the country’s record of sustaining its much cherished peace, unity and stability .
He said any technical amendments made should be taken to aim at enabling Tanzanians sustain the stability of the country’s peace and unity.
He said peace, unity and stability have earned Tanzania special recognition nationally and internationally for being one of the living examples to be emulated for having a conducive environment for socio-economic development.
“We should not erode this but remain committed to sustain it at any cost, for without it there will be nothing but confusion and bloodshed,” he cautioned.
The MNF Executive Director said amendments, where an accord or any law appeared to contradict with or violate the cardinal law of the land -the Constitution- were inevitable and unavoidable.
“This, however, does not mean amendments should be the order of the day,” he cautioned adding “that is why involvement of all stakeholders (politicians, legal experts, elders etc) is essential before coming up with a final accord.”
He urged Tanzanians and peace loving people the world over to be optimistic and rally support in various forms for the country’s leadership for their efforts in ensuring that the CCM/CUF pact is implemented.
He said as one way towards underscoring the importance of the CCM/CUF signed pact, the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation was organising a Reflections Forum soon.
Details and the actual date would be announced later, he said.
On the supremacy of the Constitution, Mr Butiku said it was the cardinal law of the land that expresses the
will of all the people irrespective of their political ideologies, religious beliefs or other differences for the common good of all, although it was also subject to amendment or change when deemed necessary by all the people.

Moi Meets Tanzanian Opposition Leader

The Nation (Nairobi)

December 9, 2001

PPS

President Moi yesterday held discussions with the leader of the opposition in Tanzania's Parliament, Dr Walid Kabourou.

The President also held separate talks with Mr Ibrahim Lipumba, the chairman of the Civic United Front.

Earlier at another function in Zanzibar, President Moi met Kenyan students at Zanzibar University and later addressed the press. He said Kenya would not cannot tolerate calls which threaten lives.

The President emphasised that the security of the people was paramount and not negotiable. He was answering journalists' questions from the press on terrorism and religious fanaticism.

Later, he visited the tomb of the first President of Zanzibar, Abeid Amani Karume, who was assassinated in April 1972.

President Moi placed a wreath at the tomb in Karume's honour. President Karume was the father of the current president, Mr Amani Karume.

The President Moi told his host that the Kenya Government, President Moi said, would do "all it can to curb the smuggling of cloves through the port of Mombasa and other towns on the Kenyan coast".

He said he would not allow any trade that could destroy the economy of Zanzibar. The President said there was an urgent need to establish an economic commission for East Africa.

He said this commission would be charged with the responsibility of identifying the economic potential of every region and mapping out ways of developing them.

The President said there was need for peace within the region if such economic potential had to be exploited for the good of the people.

President Moi reiterated that the economic backbone of the region should be in the hands of the local people so that wealth is generated internally.

To keep on calling foreigners to come and invest, he said, was pointless if the locals were not doing the same.

President Moi said members of the opposition and the government in power should always close their ranks and work together when the interest of respective countries were threatened.

President Karume said he and the people of Zanzibar were happy to receive President Moi, whom he described as an elder statesman.

Later president Moi made a tour of projects in the island.

Joint Presidential Supervisory Commission Act 2001, passed.

DAR ES SALAAM, December 7 (AFP) -

President Amani Karume of
Zanzibar has signed into law a controversial bill central to a pact
aimed at ending years of political acrimony on the semi-autonomous
Tanzanian islands, press reports said Friday.
The Joint Presidential Supervisory Commission Act 2001, passed
by Zanzibar's parliament last month, concerns the establishment of a
cross-party commission tasked with implementing a political
reconciliation pact reached in October.
The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) on Friday seemed to have
softened its rejection of this piece of legislation, which it had
previously said overly favoured the long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi
party.
"Let's wait and see," CUF Chairman Ibrahim Lipumba told AFP.
A week earlier, CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad, who
lost a much criticised election to Karume last year, rejected the
law, saying its final version differed radically from what had been
agreed with his party.
Zanzibar Attorney General Iddi Pandu Hassan told parliament
while moving the bill that it had to be changed to avoid
contradictions -- particularly regarding a possible coalition
government -- with the constitutions of Zanzibar and of greater
Tanzania.
Debate is now set to focus on the extent of the new commission's
powers. If these are too many, observers say, Karume will fear his
own are being eroded, while a toothless body will only add to the
CUF's frustrations.

Cholera Hits Zanzibar

TOMRIC News Agency (Dar es Salaam)

December 5, 2001

Tomric Correspondent, Zanzibar
Dar Es Salaam

Cholera outbreak is threatening the Zanzibaris as the latest report indicates that the epidemic has killed 10 residents, so far.

"At least ten people have been died in the latest cholera outbreak and the epidemic is spreading from urban to rural areas," the Director of Preventive Service in the Zanzibar Ministry of Health, Mr. Juma Rajabu told reporters here yesterday.

He said by the last weekend seven patients were admitted to the permanent cholera observation centre saying further the most hit areas includes village in Unguja central District and Tumbatu in Unguja North District. He told reporters here that a thorough diagnosis was being conducted on patients suffering from dysentery, diarrhea and warm attacks, who are admitted to the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the Isles.

According to him, sixty people from South Unguja were recently hospitalized for check-up and treatment after they developed cholera symptoms, including purging and vomiting. In last week it was reported that the government had no anti-cholera drugs, but Rajabu has clarified that his ministry has spent Tshs 5,000,000 for producing necessary cholera treatment drugs and preparing observation camps.

He said the most hit were children aged five years and above. He cited dirty environment, congestion of buildings in Zanzibar as among the factors behind the spread of the epidemic. On other campaigns to control the spread of the disease, he said government officials were conducting special rallies to educate the masses on the killer. He said food vendors have been urged to do business in hygienic manner and distribution of dates at mosques shortly before the religious programs has also been restricted.

Few months ago cholera eruption on Tanzania Mainland and killed over 30 people. On Zanzibar the worst cholera incident occurred in 1998 when cholera killed over 180 people.

Police humiliate Yanga in Zanzibar for Cup Winners’ Cup

Thursday, Desember 06, 2001

By Guardian Correspondent, Zanzibar

Police FC of Zanzibar yesterday outclassed fancied Young Africans (Yanga), beating them 2-0 in the Nyerere Cup final at Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.
By lifting the trophy, Police won the right to represent Tanzania in next year’s African Cup Winners’ Cup.
Police were superior in all departments against an out-of-sorts Yanga side and it came as no surprise when they took the lead after 36 minutes when Lawrence Boniface found the back of the net with a powerful header off a Manfred Luambano cross from the right-hand side.
Yanga should have restored parity five minutes from the interval, but Said Maulid placed his shot wide with just goalkeeper Mohamed Abbas to beat.
Sensing danger, Yanga started the second half by making a triple-substitution, taking off Fred Mbuna, Abdul Mtiro and Rajab Shamte in favour of Kudra Omari, Aziz Hunter and Abdulkadir Mohamed ‘Tash’.
The changes injected some life into Yanga’s forwardline, but poor finishing coupled with a no-nonsense attitude by Police defenders denied the Dar es Salaam side an equaliser.
While Yanga were pressing forward, they left themselves wide open at the back and Police capitalised by doubling their lead with a lightning counter-attack in the 65th minute.
Omar Rashid collected the ball near the centre-circle, dribbled past his marker before firing an unstoppable sizzler from near the 18-yard line. Opposing goalkeeper Lucas Matokeo could only look as the ball crashed into the net.
Yanga had a clear opportunity ten minutes from the end, but still could not score. Waziri Mahadhi put Kudra Omari on his way with a defence-splitting pass, but the defender, with an unguarded goal in front of him, appeared not to know what to do with the ball which was eventually snatched from his feet by Abbas.
Among those who attended yesterday’s match was the Inspector General of Police, Omar Mahita, who gave Police a 200,000/- reward.
The Zanzibar Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Haroun Ali Suleiman, promised the team a 500,000/- cash reward.
Yanga officials later said they would appeal against the alleged fielding of an ineligible player by Police, but changed their minds after they were advised that it would be a waste of time and money.
Police have completed Tanzania’s line-up for next year’s African club tournaments. Simba SC and Mtibwa Sugar will represent the country in the African Champions’ League and CAF Cup after taking first and second positions respectively in the Union Super League.
Teams: Police — Mohamed Abbas, Justine Pius, Khamis Hassan, Salum Mohamed, Juma Khamis, Manfred Luambano, Lawrence Boniface, Omar Rashid, Geoffrey Rwegasira, Khamis Sufian (Kunza Matiku), Hassan Chum (Said Ramadhan).
Yanga — Lucas Matokeo, Fred Mbuna (Kudra Omari), Paul Massanja, Salum Sued, John Mwansasu, Waziri Mahadhi, Said Maulid, Salvatory Edward, Ali Mayai, Rajab Shamte (Abdulkadir ‘Tash’), Abdul Mtiro (Aziz Hunter).

Sumaye vowes to rescue reconciliation pact

DAR ES SALAAM, Dec 1 (AFP)

Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick
Sumaye vowed on Saturday to rescue a reconciliation pact signed in
October between the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party,
CCM) and main opposition Civic United Front (CUF).
"Implementation of the pact has hit a snag but we can still go
back to CUF and talk and resolve the matter in the interest of the
nation," Sumaye told a press briefing here at the start of the
week-long Tanzania's 40th independence anniversary celebrations.
Sumaye was reacting to a warning late on Friday by CUF Secretary
General Seif Shariff Hamad that his party was pulling out of the
October 10 reconciliation accord it entered with the CCM.
Sumaye said there should be a compromise and the national
interest should prevail.
"We (CCM and CUF) have to sit again and see what are the
implications of the initial draft (of the reconciliation pact) and
the amended version. From there we can decide what is good for our
country and move ahead," he added.
The CUF's Hamad said on Friday his party rejected a bill for the
creation of a Presidential Joint Supervisory Commission that was
passed late in the day by the Zanzibar House of Representatives or
parliament.
Hamad said the bill, which now awaits the assent of Zanzibar
President Amani Karume to become law, differed from an earlier draft
that the CCM and CUF had prepared during talks before the accord was
signed.
The contested clauses related to the formation of a coalition
government.
But Zanzibar Attorney General Iddi Pandu Hassan told the House
while moving the bill that it was necessary to amend clauses that
were in conflict with the constitutions of Tanzania or of the
semi-autonomous twin-Indian Ocean islands.
Observers here now fear that Zanzibar could again slide back
into the political crisis that emerged shortly after Tanzania
adopted multi-party politics in 1992. The crisi worsened after the
1995 and 2000 general elections.

CCM plans grand silver jubilee celebrations

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is planning to hold grand celebrations to commemorate its 25th anniversary.

Zanzibar will be the venue for the climax of the celebrations which are scheduled to stretch from January 30 to February 5 next year.

The CCM National Publicity Secretary, Jackson Msome, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Zanzibar had been selected as host because that is where CCM was born on February 5, 1977.

St the event held at Amaan stadium 25 years ago, the TANU party of the Mainland and the Isles` ASP party were formally merged.

He said CCM members would mark the silver jubilee proudly because the party had been instrumental in cultivating and maintaining peace, harmony, freedom and solidarity in the country during the period.

Msome furthermore explained that the party had played an effective role in protecting human rights.

Highlights of the festivities would include meetings, public rallies, seminars and cultural events, the publicity secretary said.

Socially-beneficial activities like environmental conservation would also be undertaken ,Msome said.

News Release Issued by the

International Secretariat of Amnesty International

20 November 2001 AFR 56/013/2001 203/01

Amnesty International today welcomed the recent agreement, between
the Tanzanian government and the opposition Civic United Front
(CUF), to establish an independent commission of inquiry to
investigate human rights violations which occurred during the
demonstrations in Zanzibar in January 2001.

"The decision to set up an inquiry into the January demonstration
violence is an important step for the future of human rights in
Tanzania. The government of Tanzania and the semi-autonomous
government of Zanzibar must now ensure that the inquiry is fully
independent, established without delay and carried out in accordance
with international human rights standards," the organization said
today.

In a memorandum sent to the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar,
the organization details human rights violations by the security
forces, committed in connection with the opposition demonstration,
including killings, mass arrests, torture and rape in Zanzibar.

"It is our hope that the report on the violations and the
recommendations set out in the memorandum will be a starting point
for the commission of inquiry when it begins its work", the
organization added.

The memorandum sets out Amnesty International's key recommendations
for the establishment of the inquiry, calls for compensation to be
provided to the victims of the violence or their families, and for
anyone found responsible for human rights violations to be brought
to justice.

"For too long human rights violations have gone unpunished in
Zanzibar. The authorities now have the opportunity to correct this
culture of impunity and to provide justice and compensation for
those whose rights were violated," Amnesty International said.

Background On 27 January 2001, the opposition Civic United Front
(CUF) organized demonstrations in Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania,
demanding a re-run of the October 2000 elections. The government
banned the demonstrations and proceeded to violently disperse the
demonstrators. At least 22 people were shot dead by armed police
on Pemba island in circumstances suggesting unlawful use of lethal
force. There were mass arrests. Some of those arrested were subjected
to torture and ill-treatment.

On 10 October 2001 the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Party of
the Revolution, signed an agreement with the CUF to end the political
impasse following the January violence. The agreement included a
number of human rights issues, including establishing an independent
commission of inquiry and providing compensation to those affected
by the January violence.

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Freed Treason Suspects Seek Damages

THE 18 opposition Civic United Front (CUF) activists, who were unconditionally released last year after facing treason charges for three years, have filed a suit before the Zanzibar High Court seeking damages, the state owned publication, Daily News has reported.

According to the Registrar of the Zanzibar High Court, Mr. Mbarouk Salum, the suit was filed last Wednesday through Nassor and Advocates and Zanzibar M.M Law Chambers. The responds in the suit are the Commissioner of Police, the Zanzibar Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police. In the general damages clause, the 18 CUF activists are seeking damages for disgrace, humiliation, loss of reputation, physical discomfort and mental suffering. A total of Tshs360 million is being sought in this respect, the publication reports.

As for specific damages, the former treason suspects are individually seeking compensation on various aspects including loss of income, legal fees incurred, loss of participation in the Zanzibar House of Representatives for three years and loss of candidature in general elections.

The released suspects had included four members of Zanzibar House of Representatives some or more of whom are believed to have aspired for various offices in last year's general elections. The Registrar pointed out that special procedures for filing a suit against top government officials have been observed the Daily News reports. Twenty-one people had initially been arrested and charged with sedition charges on November 29, 1997. The charges were later changed to treason. Three people were later released.

As the case had dragged on for three years before they were unconditionally released on November 8 last year after the current Zanzibar President, Mr. Aman Abeid Karume was sworn in on November 5, last year. In his address after the swearing-in, Mr. Karume pledged to release the 18 treason suspects to open a new chapter of political harmony for Zanzibar.

Later in the same month, an appeal court sitting in Zanzibar ruled out that treason could not be committed in Zanzibar, as the land was part of the United Republic of Tanzania. The civil case, according to the publication, will come for first mention on November 19, this year.

High Court Judge Hit By Anthrax Scare

THE anthrax scare, now doing the rounds all over the world after the September 11 terrorist attacks on US establishments, last Friday hit Zanzibar with High Court Judge Wolfango Dourado becoming the first victim in Zanzibar.

Quoting High Court sources, the state-owned publication, the Daily News has reported here that Justice Dourado received the suspicious letter in his office at the High Court buildings on Saturday. He had opened the envelope and only to notice some powder inside. The letter was blank. Judge Dourado, a former Zanzibar Attorney General, abandoned the letter and officials of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, were alerted.

The official, reports the publication, accompanied by the Director of Preventive Services in the Ministry, Mr. Juma Rajab, sprayed some chemical onto the letter before sealing it. The letter was expected to be sent to the Dar Es Salaam-based Muhimbili National Hospital for laboratory tests to verify the nature of the contents.

The letter was posted in Zanzibar. Although it was the first incident to occur on Zanzibar, it is not so for the United Republic of Tanzania. More than three similar incidents have already been reported on Tanzania Mainland. On the Mainland, the victims include offices of the Dar Es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC), law enforcers, Dar-based Independent Television (ITV) and the University of Dar Es Salaam where one of the officers was recently hit by the similar incident.

CCM/CUF accord here to stay - Lipumba

The Civic United Front (CUF), has criticized political leaders who scoff at the recent agreement to end the political misunderstanding between themselves, and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

Addressing 1071 delegates of the CUF general meeting at the Bwawani Hotel here, yesterday, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, the party's national chairman, said that the accord between the two parties was a tradition which should be nurtured by a democratic state.

He dismissed as unfounded, allegations made by some politicians that the government's decision to fund the meeting, was an act of bribery.

"Tax payers have hailed CUF as a reputable opposition party, which has the right of access to government money," Prof Lipumba told the meeting.

Prof Lipumba's message was echoed by CCM Secretary General, Philip Mangula, and the Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa, who on different occasions lashed out at politicians who disputed the CUF/CCM accord.

Addressing the meeting, Mangula said that those who did not support the accord, were like an empty vessel, adding that they usually pick an agenda but fail to pursue it.

"I appeal to Tanzanians to support the agreement. Those who are not satisfied should resort to something else. As far as we are concerned, the debate on the CCM/CUF accord is over," he said.

On his part, Tendwa said that, the accord was the right political track to tread on.

"Your leaders have shown the way, it is upon you now to rally behind them," Tendwa told CUF's supporters.

The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation Director, Joseph Butiku, made the same remarks, calling upon Tanzanians to join hands and make the accord a success.

He said that the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, had been following closely the CUF/CCM dialogue, adding that they supported the accord in earnest.

Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) Vice-Chairman, Willbroad Slaa, said the accord was a political door which has been opened to bring about lasting peace and harmony.

The general meeting which was held at the Salama Hall in the Bwawani Hotel, was preceded by a demonstration staged by hundreds of CUF supporters which was received by Professor Lipumba.

Simba pace is checked

Simba SC’s pace in the Union Super League was checked yesterday when they played out a goalless draw with Forodha at Amaam Stadium in Zanzibar.

Simba found Forodha quite a handful and the Zanzibar club did not allow the Mainland champions to get a grip on the game.

Coach James Sianga made three substitutions at the start of the second hand, taking off Wycliffe Ketto, Geoffrey Mhando and Steven Mapunda in favour of Shekhan Rashid, Emmanuel Gabriel and John Masamaki, but even these failed to help Simba who needed to win to maintain their lead.

Simba’s faint hopes of snatching all three points were dashed when defender Amri Said was shown the red card for a dangerous tackle on Msabaha Shaaban.

However, Forodha failed to capitalise on their numeric advantage with Khamis Sikunjema and Ali Suleiman wasting a hatful of clear opportunities.

Coach Sianga remained upbeat despite his team’s poor showing in the match, saying Simba were still on course for the title that has eluded them since 1995.

Simba are now on 15 points and were just two points ahead of Mtibwa Sugar who were scheduled to meet bottom club Malindi under floodlights at Amaan Stadium in the evening.

In Morogoro, Moro United crushed Zanzibar champions Mlandege 3-0 at Jamhuri Stadium.

Shengo Tondoro opened the scoring after 27 minutes, finding the back of the net with an unstoppable shot after Toto Andrew had picked him out with a pinpoint pass.

The home team doubled the advantage five minutes later when Abuyi Hamisi found himself in the clear after Tondoro and Yusuf Macho had split Mlandege’s defence open with a string of breathtaking passes.

Hamisi was on the mark again for Moro United five minutes from the break, this time heading in the rebound after Tito Andrew’s shot had bounced off the bar.

Mlandege were reduced to ten men in the 65th minute when goalkeeper Farouk Ramadhan was sent off for handling the ball outside the area.

Ramadhan had come on as a substitute at the start of the second half, replacing Omar Khamis and his dismissal prompted the Mlandege technical bench to put midfielder Issa Ali Salim in goal.

Moro United leaped from fifth to third place while Mlandege dropped two places to fifth.

Millions siphoned from CUF coffers?

Saturday, 11/17/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Millions of shillings contributed by Civic United Front (CUF) members for people who were affected by the January 27 demonstrations are reported to have been swindled by unscrupulous party leaders.
Pressure is mounting within the party allegedly because no steps have been taken against the culprits.
Sources have told The Guardian that the money, which was meant to help the affected families, ended up in the pockets of some CUF leaders.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, the party‘s National Chairman, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba said that the general meeting had resolved that the culprits should be booked.
The general meeting delegates also asked the leaders council to review the party’s financial regulations in order to curb misappropriation, he said.
Some reports have indicated that culprits were not reprimanded because some of them are so influential that the move may destabilise the party.
During the meeting, Chake Chake District Chairman, Nassor Juma, said that many members of the affected families in the district were enduring difficult life

Brain drain affects growth on isles, says Karume

President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar has said the low pace of economic growth on the Isles has been contributed by a big number of civil servants who have very little skills.

Speaking at the first Anniversary of his leadership as president of Zanzibar, he said yesterday the low economic growth of the islands was caused by brain drain.

He said the existing number of unskilled workers and the low pay civil servants were getting made the Zanzibar government employ people with little knowledge and “therefore suffer the consequences.”

“This situation has made the government deploy people with little knowledge in places which need high skilled labour,” he said.

He said in a year his government has realised the importance of changing the trend to ensure that civil servants were trained to enable them work more effectively.

Karume said his government had embarked on reform which needed support from international institutions and that every individual was required to contribute to the economic growth of the islands.

He said his government had also seen the importance of tourism in the economic development instead of merely depending on cloves.

However, he said the sector was adversely affected by what happened in Zanzibar immediately after last year’s elections and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States of America.

Karume said the January 27 incident affected tourism and transport industries. Moreover, economic growth strategies such as the planned free port were not successful because of lack of necessary infrastructure and resources.

Calling for public support, he said economic development on the Isles would take time.

More Refugees Arrive in Pemba

Two planes landed at the Karume Airport in Pemba, Zanzibar yesterday bringing back 44 refugees from Daadab in northern Kenya, the Daily News has reported.

They are the first batch of refugees to return after the signing of the reconciliation agreement between the ruling CCM and opposition Civic United Front (CUF) to end political impasse in Zanzibar on October 10. The first plane carrying 23 refugees, touched down at the airport in the morning while the second plane, with 21 refugees arrived in the afternoon, the state publication says.

According to the publication, the planes belong to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR). Over 2000 people, mainly from Pemba had fled to Kenya following bloody opposition-led illegal demonstrations of January 27 in which more than 20 people were killed.

They first settled at Shimoni in Kenya's Coast Province where they sought refugees' status. They were later transferred to Daadab Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. According to the Daily News, senior government officials from office of Zanzibar Chief Minister and President's Office met yesterday's returnees at the Pemba Airport. The returnees include Suleiman Shariff Hamad, the son of Secretary-General of CUF, Mr. Seif Shariff Hamad.

Ministry consults UNHCR over Tanzanian refugees

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is consulting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office and the country's embassy in Kenya to get more information of about 100 Tanzanians refugees reported to have fled to Somalia.

The spokesperson of the ministry, Charles Mwakang'ata told The Guardian yesterday that the ministry was still consulting the UNHCR and the embassy in Nairobi to try establish the fate of the refugees from Pemba island who fled the country after the January 27.

"We had no information about this...we're contacting our fellows in Nairobi and the UNHCR offices to get the information," said Mwakang'ata.

The media reported yesterday that 105 refugees escaped from camps in Kenya and travelled for nearly a week on land to Mogadishu, Somalia.

They quoted the refugees as saying they fled the Kenyan refugee camps to escape malnutrition, insecurity and environmental difficulties.

According to media reports, the refugees ended up on Saturday night near the residence of President of the Somali Transitional National Government Abdigasim Salad Hassan and spent the night outside the former Banadir High school.

Good Samaritans brought some tea, porridge and other foods and drinks to the refugees yesterday morning.

But there's no word as yet from the government itself about these new foreign refugees.Many of the refugees said that they don't fear living with fellow Muslim Somalis and don't want to go back to Zanzibar for what they called concern of their own security.

However, most of the international agencies which deal with refugees in Somalia have evacuated their staff and almost nothing has been done for the dozens of refugee camps scattered in Mogadishu.

It was reported that a total of about 2,000 Tanzanian refugees flooded into Kenya following the January bloody clashes between opposition supporters and government security forces. Most of them were voluntarily repatriated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

521 bags of cloves intercepted in high seas

The Zanzibar anti-smuggling unit, KMKM, have impounded 521 bags of cloves shortly before being smuggled from the Isles in two separate recent incidents.

The KMKM Commander, Suleiman Khamis, said members of the unit intercepted 121 bags at Ndago in Pemba on Monday night when a boat in which they were being transported hit a rock.

The incident occurred while a KMKM patrol boat was chasing the boat carrying the cloves. No-one had been arrested in connection with the contraband, he said.

Khamis said on the same day, 39 people appeared in court to answer a charge of being found in unlawful possession of 400 bags of cloves which they were allegedly intending to export illegally.

Before Magistrate Amon Tarimba, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge and were remanded in custody until November 21 when the case comes up for mention.

Clove smugglers buy the crop which is the backbone of the Zanzibar economy at 4,000/- per kilogramme as against 2,500/- paid by government.

The Zanzibar government has however vowed to remain the sole buyer of cloves from growers.

Reinstating expelled CUF MPs,

Reps more costly -- Nahodha

The cost of violating the constitutions of Zanzibar and United Republic of Tanzania to reinstate dismissed Civic United Front (CUF) House of Representatives and Members of parliament are higher than organising by-elections.

The Chief Minister of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha told The Guardian late last week here that people who were mobilising support for the dismissed CUF legislators to be reinstated automatically did not understand the constitution.

"It's not possible to get back the CUF legislators because of our constitutions. We are not ready to violate the constitution because once we start doing so, we set a bad precedent," argued Nahodha.

He was answering a question as to why the dismissed legislators have not been reinstated after a `Muafaka' (peace pact) was signed between CUF and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to avoid spending in conducting by-elections.

Eleven CUF house of representative members and five Union parliamentary members were dismissed earlier this year by house speakers following the boycotting of three consecutive sittings as part of the party's position to dispute results of the last October general elections.

Both the constitutions of Zanzibar and that of the United Republic provide that legislators who do not attend a minimum of three sittings consecutively without giving notice to house speakers qualify for expulsion.

The Isles and Union Governments are expected to shoulder the burden of conducting by-elections in the vacant constituencies within the next one year, an exercise which will costs billions of shillings. The cost of organising a by-election are said to be around 1.5bn/- to 5bn/- per constituency.

With the signing of an interparty agreement to iron out differences between the ruling party and the main opposition CUF last week, a number of concessions were made by the Isles Government to restore normalcy on the Spice Islands.

The post-2000 general elections hostilities culminated into violent demonstrations last January that left more than 20 supporters of the opposition and at least one policeman dead.

Nahodha who was in Brussels to meet ambassadors from Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) member states said that criminal charges against senior CUF members including Deputy Secretary General Juma Duni Haji were dropped by the state as part of the pact but said such a concession cannot be extended to the legislators.

"The criminal charges were dropped by the state because it's the state which filed the charges but the issue of legislators is constitutional. Those who are arguing for the reinstatement of CUF legislators want us to violate constitutional provisions and I am afraid that once such irresponsibility starts, then there will be no end to it," the Chief Minister argued.

More people welcome CCM-CUF agreement

Ordinary members of the public are the biggest beneficiaries of the recent goodwill agreement between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

This opinion was in Dar es Salaam yesterday, by a cross-section of interviewees.

They said conflicts hit ordinary people most and so they are the ones who stand to gain most from peace.

The interviewees dismissed claims that the agreement, which is aimed at easing tension and mistrust between CCM and CUF, would only benefit some politicians.

They said it was ordinary people rather than politicians who suffered most during the six-year period of political impasse in Zanzibar and Pemba.

One of the commentators, Rajabu Kajonga of Temeke, said whereas some politicians were detained and some were deprived of their electoral victory, their suffering was not comparable to the bitter experiences of ordinary wananchi.

He said the suffering was manifested by killings, the stalling of development projects, dismissals from jobs, flight from the country to seek sanctuary elsewhere and general insecurity.

A food vendor who lived in Zanzibar last year, Zuberi Kutege, welcomed the agreement cautiously. He said what mattered was not appending signatures to a piece of paper but to implement the resolutions agreed upon.

Kutege countered the view that the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad would be the main beneficiary of the agreement.

A petty trader at Makumbusho in Kinondoni, supported the agreement whole-heartedly, saying women and children were usually the biggest victims of disturbances or conflicts.

Kenya names eight for Zanzibar athletic meet

The Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA) has named eight athletes who will participate in Zone Five athletic championship to be held in Zanzibar on October 26-29.

According to the fax sent to TOC na released yesterday by secretary general of Tanzania Olympic Committee, Erasto Zambi, Kenya wili send two women and six men athletes, who will be accompanied by two officials.

Men: Philemon Kibet and David Karonei (800/1500m), Gilbert Okari (10,000m), James Kwalia (5,000m), John Ngure (100/200m), Ezekiel Kemboi (3000/5000m).

Women are Agnes Ngunjiri (5000m), Agneter Murogoli (800/1500m), while officials Stephen Moris (coach) and Mathew Kiptum (team manager).

In another development, Sudan will send six athletes. They are Ismail Ahmed Ismail (800/1500m), Ibrahim Siddig (800/1500m), Nagma El Din Ali Babeker (200/400m), Hussan Ibrahim (5,000m), Kor Bol Kur (10,000m) and Hind Mohamed Koko (800/1500m), the only woman.

Somalia has also sent a fax saying that they will send two athletes and one official.

The athletes are Abdillah Shilal (1,500m), Farham Yonis (5,000m) and official Ahmed A. Ahmed.

Tanzania Mainland is expected to field 19 athletes and two officials, among athletes are Lwiza John, Anna Ndege (800m) and Seleman (200m) who were expected in Zanzibar yesterday.

Criminal Suspects Freed as Zanzibar Opens New Chapter

ALL persons who were facing criminal charges in connection with the January 27, 2001 demonstration in Zanzibar including two top officials of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) who were charged with murder, are free and will be compensated for their unlawful detention.

Charged with murder were two CUF leaders, the Deputy Secretary-General Juma Duni Haji and Machano Hamis CUF activist. They had been charged with murdering Police Constable Muslim Haji Simai during the January 27 skirmishes in Pemba, northern part of Zanzibar. The incident occurred during the demonstration, which turned into an encounter between CUF supporters and policemen in which about 24 people perished leaving hundreds others, injured. The fiasco had produced over 2000 Tanzanian refugees into Kenya.

The government of Zanzibar announced has announced here that it has dropped all charges against those implicated in the incidents of January 27, 2001 as part of the new spirit of reconciliation between CUF and ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi on the part of Zanzibar. The announcement come when CCM and CUF had signed the reconciliation agreement last week aimed at ending a long-standing impasse in the Isles which originated from the 1995 and 2000 general elections.

"All persons who were facing criminal charges in connection with the January demonstration are free as from now," the Minister for State in the President's Office, Adam Mwakanjuki has announced. The Deputy Secretary General of the United Democratic Party, Dadi Kombo has been quoted, as saying the two CUF leaders should be compensated for their unlawful detention. Last week, CUF and CCM reached an agreement to end hostility among them and concentrate on development to re-build Isles economy.

The government of Zanzibar has already withdrawn the case and the Regional Magistrate; Yesaya Kayange has set free the suspects. He has told the court here that he has received a statement from the Zanzibar Attorney General, Idd Pandu Hassan, stating that the prosecution did not want to pursue the case. After released, the two victims met CUF leaders, party staff and supporters. They have stayed in custody for almost eight months.

Zanzibar Deal Means Govt of National Unity

ZANZIBAR WILL have a de facto government of national unity following the signing on October 10 of a peace agreement between the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF) party.

A timetable of implementation specifies when the various aspects of the peace accord must come into effect. There are those commitments that must be undertaken immediately by the Zanzibar government and by both parties, and others that must be completed by early next year.

According to the deal, the accord must be fully implemented by 2003. The decision to have a government of national unity is in recognition of the fact that no single party can win an outright majority in Zanzibar. CCM and CUF came out almost exactly even in the 1995 and 2000 general elections. The accord, reached on Wednesday last week, was hammered out by a six-man team – three each from CCM and CUF.

The diplomatic community in Dar es Salaam hailed the agreement, saying its implementation would determine the resumption of foreign aid to Zanzibar, which was suspended in 1996.

The agreement requires the Zanzibar government to incorporate other political parties in the government. This will also involve the appointment of members of such parties to parliament and the House of Representatives, parastatals and the institutions owned by the Union and Isles governments.

Political detainees, most of whom were arrested following the January 26 and 27 unrest on the Isles, will be released immediately and all charges against them dropped. The charges against the detainees were incitement, murder and obstruction of justice.

According to the peace deal, Tanzanian refugees, now living in the Daadab camp in Kenya, who fled the country following the unrest, would be assisted to return home. The accord calls for the retraining of the army and the police on multiparty politics and their role in it. The judiciary will also to be restructured.

Among the beneficiaries of the peace accord signed at Zanzibar State House is CUF's secretary general and a contender for Isles' presidency in the 1995 and 2000 elections, Mr Seif Shariff Hamad, who had been charged with incitement.

The peace accord will be a relief for President Benjamin Mkapa, who in the recent past has been accused both at home and abroad of being intolerant to political dissent.

A previous peace agreement, brokered by commonwealth secretary general Chief Emeka Anyaoku in June 1999 did not hold because it lacked the goodwill of the then Zanzibar president Salmin Amour and the ruling CCM.

According to the peace accord, Mr Hamad, popularly known as Maalim Seif, who was Zanzibar chief minister in the 1980s is now entitled to a pension, a car, security, treatment abroad, electricity, an office and house servants.

In Zanzibar, as in the Union government, people who hold certain posts are legally entitled to certain benefits when they leave office. Mr Hamad had been denied all of these entitlements.

The accord recommends the restructuring of state-owned media to end biased reporting on political activities. It also provides for formation of a joint presidential supervisory commission that will become legal through a Bill that will be tabled in the House of Representatives soon.

However, the other opposition parties said they doubted if the October 10 accord would be implemented to the letter. In a statement released in Dar a day after the signing of the accord, the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) cited the failure of the June 9, 1999 accord as a pointer to the likelihood that what was agreed last Wednesday was merely a public relations exercise.

But the ruling CCM, through its national chairman and President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, assured diplomats, religious and opposition leaders who witnessed the signing ceremony that his party was serious this time round.

"From now on, I shall sleep more soundly. For it is true that the political crisis in Zanzibar had weighed heavily on me. The deaths that occurred on January 26 and 27 on Unguja and Pemba islands disturbed and saddened me, and they remain a stain on the history of our nation," President Mkapa said.

According to TLP chairman Augustine Lyatonga Mrema, the accord is shaky. Mr Mrema said that only it was Mr Hamad who would benefit from the accord, at the expense of CUF MPs who were expelled from the House of Representatives after boycotting its sessions.

A Dar lawyer and a member of the opposition NCCR-Mageuzi, Mr Mabere Marando, told The EastAfrican that there was nothing new in the agreement. "I do not trust CCM because it has repeatedly failed to honour previous accords," he said.

The accord promises to make the Zanzibar Electoral Commission autonomous and impartial, to establish a permanent voters' register and review the Zanzibar Constitution and election procedures to conform to multiparty democracy.

Govt drops case against Jan 27 demo accused on Isles

Two Civic United Front Deputy leaders who were being held in connection with the killing of a policeman during the January 27 demonstration in Pemba island have been released.
The Regional Magistrate Yesaya Kayange set free the Deputy Secretary General of CUF, Juma Duni Haji, and the Director of Security of the party, Machano Khamis, following the withdrawal of the case by the government.
Kayange told the court yesterday that he has received a statement from the Zanzibar Attorney General, Iddi Pandu Hassan, stating that the prosecution did not want to pursue the case.
Responding, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Salma Khamis, supported the decision that led to the acquittal of the two leaders amid tumultuous applause from CUF supporters.
They were met by the CUF vice chairman, Shabani Khamis Mloo and went straight to the CUF Mchangani office where they were met by party staff and supporters.
A prayer was said to wish them well after staying in custody for almost eight months.
"I'm happy being out of a remand prison because it is part of the implementation of the recently signed agreement between CUF and Chama Cha Mapinduzi," Duni told journalists.
However, he said he would release a detailed statement today at a press conference.
Duni and Machano were being charged with the murder of a policeman, Haji Muslim, on January 27 when CUF organised a demonstration defying the ban imposed by the government.
During the demonstration which turned into an encounter between CUF supporters and law enforcers 24 people perished, according to the government, whereas CUF figures are higher than that.
The Deputy Secretary General of the United Democratic Party, Dadi Kombo, said the two CUF leaders should be compensated for their unlawful detention.
Later the Minister of State in the President's Office (Good Governance), retired Brigadier General Adam Mwakanjuki, announced that all persons who were facing charges in connection with the January 27, 2001 demonstration are free as from yesterday.
Last week, CUF and CCM reached an agreement to end hostility among them ands open a new chapter to improve the political climate on the isles where for the last six years they have been living in mistrust.
Some of the issues which the two parties have agreed include making the Zanzibar electoral commission and judiciary independent, establishing a voters' register and amending the constitution to that effect.

Sweden to eradicate poor health in the isles

Poor health in Zanzibar will soon be history, thanks to a US$ one million (Tsh. 900 million) Swedish grant to the Community Health Promotion Project (CHPP) in the isles.

The money was injected into the project implemented by the Save the Children UK, by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency Sida on Tuesday this week, in an agreement signed by the Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania, Sten Rylander and Joshua Kyallo, Save the Children’s Country Programme Director. The children and the youth are the target group.

Save the Children is a non-governmental organisation that started work in Tanzania in 1983, and has been working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health in health promotion activities.

According to recent studies by UNICEF, the general social and economic situation in Zanzibar is critical and the health status, particularly among children is poorer than on the mainland.

“We are proud to be able to make a strong Swedish contribution in this direction through CHPP, to be implemented by Save the Children UK”, said Ambassador Rylander.

The project will be implemented in up to 70 schools on the Islands of Pemba and Unguja and is being built onto a successful pilot project that has been running for three years.

According to the organisation’s community health promoter Zainab Mohammed, the general health of young people in Zanzibar is poor. An initial survey showed that 60 per cent of the youth are malaria positive, 70 per cent have whipworm, and 68 per cent have haemoglobin levels indicative of malnutrition.

Kyallo said the work that will be implemented over the next four years, will create a sustained improvement in the health and hygiene of young people and their communities across the islands.

Zanzibar considers Law to Manage Religious Activities

THE Zanzibar House of Representatives will this Wednesday start its sixth session whereby several bills including the one which intends to enact a law which will manage and control religious activities in the Isles, will be tabled.

The bill, which will be tabled by the Minister of State in the Office of the Zanzibar President, Brigadier-General Adam Mwakanjuki, seeks to establish the office of Mufti of Zanzibar. According to the tentative schedule released here over the weekend, the bill to enact law on religious activities is one of about four bills to be tabled during the session. Most members, who come from Unguja started to travel to Pemba today where the session is to take place.

It was not immediately disclosed how religious activities would be managed and controlled in Zanzibar where over 80 percent of her residents are Muslims. Other bills to be tabled, according to the session's scheduled, are for an act to establish the higher education fund, for the petroleum Levy Act and an Act to impose and alter certain taxes and duties. The later also aims to amend certain written financial and tax laws relating to collection and management public revenues.

The session starts when all CUF (opposition party) representatives had expelled from the House after failing to attend three consecutive sessions. It comes also when the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF have signed the peace pact to address political impasse in the Isles.

Union Super League kicks off today

The Union Super league starts today with six teams in action at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar and Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro.

The Mainland Champions Simba Sports Club will play Malindi at night in the same ground after the end of the match between Mlandege and Mtibwa Sugar.

Moro United will host Forodha FC of Zanzibar at Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro in a match which was earlier postponed following the accident which Forodha players got on Saturday.

Forodha players were involved in the accident at Manga Village, Coast Region when they were on their way to Morogoro for the match.

They are goalie Seleiman Ali, Saidi Kaunga, Ali Seleiman, Said Yusuph, Maulidi Makame, Masoud Bajaka and Rajab Hamisi. Today’s big match will be between Simba SC and Malindi. Simba who on Saturday defeated Mwenge of Pemba 4-0 in the Hedex Cup, are expected to do the same thing to Malindi and prove to Zanzibar teams that they are a force to reckon with. Malindi will also be expected to take advantage of their home ground to beat the team trained by Kenyan James Siang’a.

Mlandege will also struggle to make sure they stop the Mainland teams when they face Mtibwa Sugar at the same ground.

EU welcomes CCM - CUF pact, promises aid to NGOs on isles

The European Union has welcomed the signing of an agreement to end the political crisis between Chama Cha Mapinduzi and Civic United Front in Zanzibar, saying it will increase assistance to non-government organisations on the isles.

In a statement issued yesterday in Dar es Salaam, the EU congratulated the leaders of the two parties in particular and Tanzania in general for showing determination to resolve their long-standing conflicts peacefully.

"I welcome this important agreement. I also congratulate the leadership of both the CCM and the CUF parties. Tanzania has once again shown its ability for peaceful resolution of conflict," the statement quoted the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson in Brussels, Belgium, as saying.

The EU said successful implementation of the agreement would enable the European Commission to strengthen its co-operation with Zanzibar and hence contribute to reconciliatory process in the islands.

Nielson said EU was ready to support work on democracy and governance on the isles and would increase assistance aimed at alleviating poverty through non-government organisations in Zanzibar.

"We have already decided to step up assistance via NGOs for the most urgent needs of the people of Zanzibar. I have recently given a go ahead to a new NGO project for just over 1 million Euros to combat HIV/AIDS in Zanzibar," Nielson was further quoted.

He also said that the union intended to make an assessment of its potential long-term support to Zanzibar, taking into account priorities as they emerge in the course of implementation of the agreement.

The British government also sent congratulations for the government and leaders of the two parties on Wednesday for opening up a new chapter for political harmony in the semi-autonomous islands.

"This is wonderful news for all good friends of Tanzania. I pay tribute to the leadership of both CCM and CUF for their vision and courage they have shown in reaching the agreement," the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement issued by the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam.

The political accord signed on Wednesday in Zanzibar included provisions of changes to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission to make it independent and fair.

It also includes setting up of a permanent voters register and reviewing Zanzibar's constitution and election law to make them conform to multiparty politics.

CCM and CUF signed the political agreement to end the impasse that rocked Zanzibar's political history with hatred between followers of the two parties.

The crisis on the isles was sparked off again during the last year's general elections accused of massive irregularities.

It was heightened with the killings of dozens of opposition protesters and at least one policeman when the later confronted demonstrating CUF members who were protesting against the elections.

In Dar es Salaam, residents yesterday called on the CCM government to demonstrate both political will and commitment by quickly implementing the agreement, reports Peter Tindwa.

Some told The Guardian they believed this implementation was likely to be impeded by the government but not the opposition.

"Being an opposition party, CUF cannot hamper the implementation of the agreement," Thobias Mwakalinga, a third-year student at the University of Dar es Salaam, said.

Another resident, Sophia Msofe of Kigogo, said members of general public should give enough time to Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Amani Abeid Karume to ensure that they fulfilled their promises regarding the implementation of the agreement made at Zanzibar State House on Wednesday.

Zacharia Mhelela, a resident of Magomeni Mapipa, stated that the agreement meant that peace and stability in Zanzibar were now in the hands of CUF and CCM leaders.

"The full implementation of the agreement without any reservations will be the only way CCM and CUF will restore confidence in the Tanzanian people and the international community," Beatrice Tilia, a resident of Mburahati, said.

Speaking after the signing of the agreement on Wednesday, President Mkapa had said that he would make sure that the agreement was fully implemented.

"Tanzania is a country for all Tanzanians and not for a group of people. CCM is part of today's signed agreement and I myself as the president of the Union and CCM National Chairman, I promise to implement fully the agreement," President Mkapa was quoted as saying.

And President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar said that after the agreement was signed, Zanzibar opened a new chapter, full of sunshine. He called all Zanzibaris to work together to bring about tangible development on the islands.

President Karume said that Tanzanians were now mature enough to solve their internal problems by themselves without depending on foreigners.

"Tanzania has now become a strong room for practical democracy. The signing of (the) agreement will be meaningless, if it will not be fully implemented," President Karume stated.

And the CUF National Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, said that both CCM and his party should forgive each other, but not forget the past.

"Forgetting what happened in the past six years may lead us to repeat similar mistakes in the future," Lipumba said.

Lipumba stated that CUF expect that agenda agreed upon by CUF and CCM, especially the involvement of CUF in government affairs, would be implemented by the CCM government soon.

The agreement entails the reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission and the judicial department, the introduction of a permanent register of eligible voters, a review of existing election laws, fair coverage by public-owned media, an assessment and compensation of affected students and persons in Zanzibar.

Other items on the agenda in the agreement were fair reward of retired government leaders, the formation of a joint presidential advisory committee and re-run of by-elections in 16 vacant constituencies in Zanzibar.

The involvement of CUF in government affairs would be centred on offering ambassadorial posts and membership in various institutions to the opposition party.

The CUF and CCM Secretaries General, Seif Sharrif Hamad and Philip Mangula respectively, said in the agreement neither party emerged a winner or a loser.

Zanzibar rivals sign peace pact

A peace accord has been signed in Zanzibar on ending a violent dispute over the results of elections in Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands last year.

The ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi, CCM, party and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) in Zanzibar agreed on the need to investigate the killings of more than 30 opposition supporters in January this year.

They will also hold discussions on establishing a unity government and by-elections will be held in vacant seats. CUF MPs will take up their seats in Zanzibar's parliament.

CUF chairman Ibrahim Lipumba said that although the CUF did not get exactly what they wanted - a re-run of last year's ballot which they said was rigged to prevent them winning - they are however pleased with what they have achieved.

An estimated 2,000 Zanzibaris, mostly on the island of Pemba, fled to neighbouring Kenya following the violkence in January.

Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said that the fact that they felt unsafe in Tanzania was a source of shame and they would look into compensation for the victims families and the refugees.

President Mkapa called on Tanzanians to support the agreement saying "no one should be regarded as a winner or loser".

Last year's polls were only the second multi-party elections since Tanzania gained independence from Britain in 1961

The elections in mainland Tanzania poassed off peacefully, but the polls in Zanzibar were described by the Commonwealth as a "shambles".

Zanzibar and its neighbouring islands have their own government structures and a degree of autonomy within Tanzania - but there is pressure from within the opposition for greater autonomy or independence from the mainland.

Some observers say the agreement will provide a boost to the Zanzibar economy, hit by the last year's political uncertainty.

Tourists were wary of travelling to the island, reliant on foreign visitors and the clothing industry for much of its income.

Many foreign donors saw the island as a "pariah" state and Wednesday's news may go some way to eroding this perception, the BBC's Christine Otieno in Dar es Salaam told the World Business Report.

Tanzania has become one of Africa's fastest growing economies, thanks to a series of reforms introduced by President Benjamin Mkapa since his election in 1995.

Mkapa, Karume to uphold CUF-CCM accord

President Benjamin Mkapa has said he and the Zanzibar President, Amani Abeid Karume, are the top custodians of ensuring smooth implementation of a signed agreement between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the opposition Civic United Front.

A statement issued yesterday by State House said President Mkapa told the Italian Ambassador to Tanzania, Alfredo Cordella, that the two would ensure that a signed accord was fully implemented.

Ambassador Cordella's term to represent his country in Tanzania ended yesterday.

President Mkapa today will lead dozens of political heavyweights in the country to witness the signing of the agreement between CCM and CUF, an occasion to be held at the Zanzibar State House, according to Mwingira.

"Karume and me are the top custodians of ensuring the signed agreement, which has got special significance, is fully implemented for our nation's future and destiny. Its implementation will demonstrate how unity, peace, fraternity, solidarity and tranquillity still prevail among Tanzanians," the statement quoted Mkapa as saying.

The President said every Tanzanian should feel proud of the agreement, saying the general citizenry still needed peace and stability.

On his part, Ambassador Cordella told President Mkapa that local media have been giving more coverage on foreign news than local events like an agreement between the ruling party and opposition CUF.

President Mkapa concurred with the observation of the out-going Italian envoy regarding media coverage, saying though Tanzania was highly concerned with regrettable incidents of international terrorism, local issues such as the CCM-CUF accord should also be given top priority by local media.

In the meantime, today both CUF and CCM are expected to be represented by an estimated 150 high ranking observers at the signing of the agreement.

CCM National Publicity Secretary Jackson Msome said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that 12 other fully registered parties would be represented by their national chairmen and secretaries general at the signing occasion to be done at Zanzibar State House today.

Foreign diplomats accredited to Tanzania have been invited to witness the signing ceremony, according to Msome.

Other invited persons are CCM and CUF elders, religious leaders and retired top government leaders, he said.

At least 10 Union ministers and 15 Zanzibar ministers have been invited to witness the occasion, Msome said.

Speakers of both the National Assembly and Zanzibar House of Representatives, legislators, Attorneys general, high court judges and the Registrar of Political Parties will be among invited guests, he said.

Main Parties Conclude Reconciliation Talks

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) said on Friday that they had successfully concluded talks aimed at ending political animosity over recent parliamentary elections, news agencies reported. "The talks were guided by national interests, taking into account national unity, the country's peace and tranquillity and people's development in freedom, democracy and the rule of law," the two parties said in a joint statement. Leaders from the two parties are expected to sign an agreement on Wednesday bringing an end to a year-long political crisis on the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar sparked by controversy over last October's parliamentary and presidential elections.

Talks between the two main parties were organised following bloody political clashes in January in Zanzibar, in which some 23 people were killed. CUF supporters on the islands had staged demonstrations - declared illegal by the government - against the outcome of the October 2000 elections, which they claimed were neither free nor fair. During the talks, the CUF was reported to have demanded electoral law reform and the reconstitution of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, which was accused of partiality, AFP said. CUF Secretary-General Seif Shariff Hamad and his CCM counterpart Philip Mangula are expected to sign the agreement in Zanzibar in the presence of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Zanzibari President Amani Abeid Karume.

Zanzibaris seek refuge in Somalia

More than 100 people from the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have left camps in Kenya to seek refuge in war-ravaged Somalia.

They arrived in the capital, Mogadishu, at the weekend, at a time when most of the agencies who deal with refugees have evacuated their staff out of the country in the wake of the terror attacks on the United States.

According to the group, who were mainly young men but included three women and two children, they escaped from the Ifo refugee camp in Daadab, northeast Kenya.

They said they were suffering from malnutrition, and faced insecurity and other environmental difficulties there.

The Zanzibaris originally fled the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands early this year when the political riots began between the Tanzanian ruling party and the opposition, Civic United Front, CUF, when several people including policemen were killed.

They were part of the group of more than 2,000 refugees who were first taken to the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa.

They were later transferred to the Daadab refugee camps following protest actions including a hunger strike.

The refugees are Muslims and say they would prefer to stay among others who share their culture.

On their way to Mogadishu, they had to pass through illegal roadblocks set up by bandits between the main towns.

Near Ejo Mahad village, about 180 km south of Mogadishu, the vehicles in which the refugees were travelling were attacked by Somali gunmen.

One man told the BBC he had never heard anything like the heavy machine guns used by the bandits.

But a battle wagon with over 20 heavily armed militiamen arrived on the scene from nowhere and engaged the bandits.

The man said that the exchange of fire continued for a while and three gunmen manning the illegal roadblock were killed on the spot.

The refugees have ended up near the residence of the president of the Transitional National Government and spent Saturday night outside the former Banadir High School.

A Somali woman visited the refugees and invited the women and their two children into her home, promising to feed them until a solution to their problem is found.

Many of the refugees say they do not want to go back to Zanzibar as they fear for their safety.

Five countries confirm participation in Zanzibar

Five countries have so far confirmed participation in the next month’s African Zone Five athletics competition in Zanzibar.

The Secretary General of the Mainland Preparation Commitee, Erasto Zambi said yesterday that September 26 was the last day for countries to confirm their participation.

Zambi named the countries which were supposed to send eight athletes and two officials as Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania Mainland and host Zanzibar, saying that Zanzibar and Mainland would field 20 athletes each.

Countries which are yet to confirm their partcipation are Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, Burundi and Sudan.

In another development Tanzania Olympic Committee,TOC has not received the Tanzania Amateur Athletics Association, TAAA, letter which needs assistance of about 7m/- for the Tanzania Mainland team preparations.

The team is comprised of 27-members who will assemble for training in Dar es Salaam tomorrow under coaches Suleiman Nyambui, Peter Mwita and Rehema Killo.

The squad: men: Muhidin Yassin, Francis Saile, John Joachim, Felix Chunga, James Robert (100m, 400mx4); Mwera Samuel, Ibrahim Issa (1,500m); Daniel Andrew, Rogati Stephen, Elia Daudi (10,000m); Frederick Malimingi, Said Thomas, Charles Ibrahim, Deogratius Thomas (discuss).

Women: Bernadetta James, Verdiana Joseph, Antonia Shirikilo, Antonisio Lufio (200m, 100mx4); Lwiza John, Pascalina Bombo, Anna Ndege (800m); Restituta Joseph, Tausi Saidi (5,000m); Agnes Shoo, Esther Malunda (shot put); Anita Mkemangwa, Esther Malunda (discuss).

Hands off pregnant students, urges VP

The Vice-President, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, has advised the Zanzibar government to allow impregnated female students to resume their studies after delivering.

Speaking at the climax of week-long celebration to mark the Isles Education Day at the Amaan Stadium here yesterday, the VP said the Education Act barring females from resuming studies after delivery was outdated and must be amended.

He said the expulsion of pregnant students from school was a "harsh punishment" that stalls the country's development pace.

He said "harsh punishments" should instead be meted out on those who impregnate the students.

He appealed to parents to discourage early marriages for their daughters so as to give them a chance to continue with their studies.

The vice-president asked the people to contribute to the provision of education services as the government faced financial constraints that limited its role.

"People must accept to contribute in provision of education services," Dr Shein stressed in the gathering that included several Isles cabinet ministers.

He hailed the Isles government for its "education for all policy" introduced after the 1964 Revolution, a move which, he said, would help to step up the national poverty alleviation policy.

The VP noted that Zanzibar had recorded significant achievements in the education sector since 1964.

Zanzibar now has 340 schools up from 62 1964. The Isles now enrolls about 200,000 students each year compared to about 25,000 in 1964. There are about 6,457 teachers compared to 655 in 1964.

Dr Shein said signs indicated that Zanzibar was now on course to attaining education for all by 2005.

He said Zanzibar should continue to open universities to increase the number of local experts in different fields.

Isles' govt welcomes Canadian oil explorers

The Zanzibar government has allowed Antrim Resources from Canada to explore oil in three parts on the isles, the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Edgar Maokola-Majogo, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

He told a news conference that the isles government's position was made during a meeting with the Zanzibar Minister for Water, Works, Energy and Lands, Burhan Sadat Haji, which was held last Monday in the city.

The Canadian firm obtained a license to explore oil in the country in 1997 with plans to invest 7m US dollars, but did not start exploration because it had no approval of the Zanzibar government.

"With the nod given by the government of Zanzibar, Antrim can now start oil exploration. This time they are going to spend 15.2m US dollars," the minister said.

In the meeting which was also attended by deputy ministers and heads of department and organization in their ministries, a committee to oversee the project was formed, he said.

" The committee will oversee the oil project and discuss taxes and compensation and benefits in case oil is discovered. The minister of Zanzibar would be getting a day-to-day report on the project that would be copied to me," Maokola Majogo said.

The minister said the committee would also explore the possibility of having an office of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation on the isles as well as recruiting local experts in oil exploration.

Other companies which are in the country for oil exploration are Dublin International and Ndovu of Australia. Another firm, Canop, has withdrawn because of financial constraints.

Zanzibar sets aside more money for power bills

Zanzibar has decided to increased the amount of money it sets aside for settling monthly electricity bills to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) from 100m/- to between 150m/- to 200m/- per month.

This came out of the meeting between the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Edgar Maokola-Majogo, and the Zanzibar Minister for Water, Works, Energy and Lands, Burhan Sadat Haji, which took place on Monday.

The meeting was also attended by the Zanzibar Deputy Minister for Water, Works, Energy and Lands, heads of the power companies in the isles and mainland, commissioner of energy and minerals and the head of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation.

Maokola-Majogo said like in the mainland, Zanzibar power company is auditing its customers in order to unearth persons who illegally use power and deny it income.

Meanwhile, a Siemens firm is conducting a study in Arusha, Moshi and Tanga municipalities ready for the introduction of power meters where customers buy units, popularly called LUKU meters, according to their use.

Minister Maokola-Majogo said this yesterday in his office when addressing the press. He did not say when the study would end, but added that the intention was to introduce the meters as it was the case in some parts of Dar es Salaam.

He said 3,500 such electric metres are expected in the city this month and importation of 100,000 meters is expected to be authorised by the Board of Directors of TANESCO on October 22.

Babu a true revolutionary, immortal- Dr Salim

Sunday, 9/22/01

By Ramadhani Kabale

Professor Abdulrahman Babu has been described as a distinguished freedom fighter, a great Pan Africanist, and a progressive intellectual and politician.
The writings of the late Babu are an African treasury of progressive ideas.
Launching a book on Babu titled: Babu: I Saw the Future and It Works, by Professor Haroub Othman in Dar es Salaam yesterday, retired Secretary General of the former Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, said Babu’s great ideas live on, and despite his death, make him an immortal.
He said Professor Babu whom he met for the first time in Zanzibar in 1958, was a great scholar with vibrant ideas, based on dialectical materialism.
“I found him lecturing on dialectical materialism in a certain location in Zanzibar. At that first encounter Babu helped me to understand the ideas of Mao Tse-Tung. He won my heart,” he acknowledged, adding that starting with that encounter, he was inspired to adopt a progressive and revolutionary way of understanding the world.
Dr Salim further recalled how Babu was a people minded leader, incorruptible, a very kind and humane man, whose character was to influence thousands of African youths, both in Africa, and in the diaspora.
The distinguished diplomat praised Professor Othman for his initiative in writing the book which quotes extensively from Babu’s writings. He said such a book was an example to be emulated, and that more local heroes should be written about by local intellectuals.
“It is time for us to recognise the role of our own heroes. We should not wait for some people outside Tanzania and the continent to write about them,” he observed.
He said through such books , Tanzania’s reputation for its contribution to revolutionary and progressive thinking, would be enhanced.
Professor Othman said that following Babu’s death in 1996, he felt there was a need to make his ideas accessible to the new generation, because he was an intellectual, a revolutionary and a Pan Africanist.
“The major reason behind my decision to write this book was my belief that his ideas should be accessible to the new generation because they are still relevant and have a role to play in shaping our nation’s future,” he said in his concluding remarks.
The late Babu who was Zanzibar’s Foreign Minister before the Zanzibar-Tanganyika union in April 1964, is credited as having played a key role in the January 12, 1964 revolution as a member of his popular political party, the Umma party.
Before falling out with the late Dr Julius Nyerere, Babu served in various union government capacities before he was arrested in connection with Karume’s assassination in 1972.
On his release, six years later, the late Babu left for Britain, and America where he worked as a journalist, and achieved a reputation both as a scholar, and author.

US Terror Victims Remembered

A public rally organized by the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) was postponed yesterday as Tanzania marked a mourning day to remember the victims of last week's US terror attacks in Washington and New York. An occasion was officiated here yesterday by the Vice President, Dr. Mohammed Shein.

CUF called off a public rally, which was scheduled to be held in Zanzibar today. As to why, they said in order to give room for a ceremony to memorize of those who were killed in New York and Washington D.C last week. Police in Zanzibar told the press that CUF had submitted application to withdraw their rally. Tanzania yesterday remembered victims of the US terror at an especial event addressed by the Vice President.

Participants, who included diplomats, both government and religious leaders, prayed for the dead and peace. They bowed to observe a one-minute silence, before the VP delivering his speech. Dr. Shein, who stood for President Benjamin Mkapa who is on official trip to Britain, said thereafter that Tanzania would join other peace-loving countries in the fight against terrorism.

"Tanzania will whole heartedly support the US in tracking down the terrorists," he pledged adding that memories over the effects of such terror attacks in Tanzania were still fresh as the country was a victim in 1998 when terrorists bombed at the US Embassy in Dar Es Salaam.

AG says no way back for CUF legislators

The Zanzibar Attorney General, Iddi Pandu Hassan, has said that the Civic United Front (CUF) representatives who were axed early this year will not be allowed back into the house.

The AG remarks came as an answer to widely held speculations that the representatives would be pardoned as one of the resolutions to be reached during the on-going dialogue between CUF and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

He told journalists that there was no short-cut which would see the axed representatives back into the house apart from campaigning again for their lost posts in by-elections.

"There is no way other than waiting for the by-elections in their constituencies... they should go there and seek for re-election," he said, adding that it was the people who would determine if they still wanted them or not.

He said the on-going dialogue between CUF and CCM was only a political platform to reconcile the two parties but there were no legal powers that would see the axed representatives pardoned.

Hassan hinted on the possibility of by-elections to be held in two years time if members of the House of Representatives rejected the recent constitutional amendments.

The CUF members were axed during the last budget session due to failure to attend three consecutive meetings without giving valid excuse.

Their stance was due to party position not to accept the results of the last year's general elections in the Isles which put into power Amani Abeid Karume of CCM.

He insisted that the axed members had lost their constitutional rights as members of the house and there was no way they could regain them unless they were nominated by the President.

However, the AG cautioned that before the president picked someone from opposition into his government, he was supposed to seek approval from his party.

Rising Illiteracy in Zanzibar Worries Chief Minister

ZANZIBAR'S Chief Minister, Mr. Shamsi Vuai Nahodha has said illiteracy is raising at alarming rate in Isles, the Islamic semi-autonomous East African country.

Nahodha said this over the weekend when officiating Adult Education Day at North Unguja Region. His argument based on a recent assessment on illiteracy in the Isles. He said a survey conducted by the Isles department of Adult Education recently indicated that a large percentage of civil servants were illiterate. Zanzibar has about one million people and over 80 percent are Muslims.

The Chief Minister, a journalist by professional, said that Zanzibar would continue to lag behind in economic development if there were no concrete measures to fight illiteracy. He did not say exactly how many people were illiterate, but he emphasized that illiteracy was rising alarmingly.

His statement comes when reports indicate that more Muslims shy away from investing in education not only in Zanzibar, but also on Mainland. Even when they are enrolled into secondary schools, Muslim families still perform poorly. Examination results in various Muslim schools are relatively poor and the most hit are girls.

The Director of the Cultural Centre of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Tanzania, Mr. Muhammed Shakiba says that Muslims women were facing a number of social and economic problems only because they lack education. Professor Zubeba Tumbo from the University of Dar Es Salaam says Muslims lagged far behind other believers as far as education is concerned. "The Islamic community should invest in education if at all we want to be on the same level with followers of other religious, "says Tumbo who is also Muslim.

Observers also link low education levels of Muslims to an increased religious riots and stowaway incidents in Tanzania. Reports indicate that over 60 percent of youths involved in stowaways are Muslims.

Zanzibar diversifies clove production from next month

In a move aimed at minimising the adverse shocks of the global clove markets, the Zanzibar government will start processing clove oil next month.

The aromatic clove oil production would minimise the necessity of exporting raw cloves to the world market at the current low price. Instead, value added products will be manufactured.

An earlier Pemba based clove oil distillery is out of order owing to years of disrepair, further complicated by outdated technology.

The Manager of the Zanzibar cloves distillery company, subsidiary of ZSTC, Mr Nassib Suleiman, said that new machinery has already been installed at a cost of Tshs 320million and the plant is scheduled to start production next month.

Oil will be distilled not only from cloves, but also from lemon grass, and cardamon seeds.

Mr. Nasib said once it becomes operational the company is expected to realise Tshs 350million per year owing to the projected sales of the various products. The factory will also employ an unspecified number of casual and permanent workers.

A similar factory existed in Unguja but was later sold to Azam Marine Company ten years ago.

The Manager said clove oil and other associated products would be exported to USA, UK and Germany.

Meanwhile, Zanzibar State Trading Corporation owes clove farmers a total amount of Tshs 72 million as loans extended to them to buy farm inputs.

The chief accountant of ZSTC, Mr. Omarei Mselem, said the loans were given to farmers to enable them buy mats, lamps, and sacks from ZSTC. These materials are badly needed during the clove harvesting season.

He said the corporation has been extending loans to clove farmers which have remained unpaid from 1991 to 1999.

Asked about measures taken to recover the money, the Chief Accountant said that some of the borrowers have been sued in courts but the money owed is yet to be recovered.

Mr.Omarei Mselem said that among the debtors of ZSTC are government officials in Pemba, MPs, and district Commissioners.

Isles Football Association in Deep Trouble As Polls Suspended

THE Zanzibar Sports Council (ZSC) yesterday suspended the Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) polls set for September 30, pending investigation on the recent controversial amendment on rules governing the elections, the Daily News reports here today.

The Council's Secretary-General, Mohammed Selemani told reporters in Isles shortly after the meeting that the members doubted minutes produced by the ZFA leadership on sessions which deliberated on the amendments. "The minutes which had been kept by ZFA on the disputed amendments, were unclear and left much to be desired," the Daily News quotes Selemani as saying.

He said ZSC had formed a two-man committee to investigate into amendment as whether or not the required procedures in changing the rules were properly followed. According to him, the committee has been given two weeks to conclude and present its report. Former ZFA Vice-Chairman Ibrahim Raza and Executive Secretary Mzee Zam were invited to attend the session but did not show up, citing several excuses, the paper reports.

Raza resigned from the post last month citing state interference in the management of ZFA's business, while Zam was relieved from the post by the government for unexplained reasons. Last week six district football associations in Unguja bitterly disputed the amendment done by the ZFA leadership, saying the laid down procedures were flawed.

The amended rules give the ZFA leadership mandate to pick its national executive committee members instead of allowing the district associations to elect representatives of their choice. The district associations argued that the move was unfair and the members to be imposed through that way would not defend and promote their interests.

Mkapa rejects proposal on coalition govt in Zanzibar

President Benjamin Mkapa has warned donors who advocate for a coalition government in Zanzibar, saying this would create an alternative way to assume political power and was setting a dangerous precedent.

Opening the Tanzania Consultative Group (CG) meeting in Dar es Salaam yesterday the President said in a multi-party democracy, the path to political power is the ballot box.

"Whatever irregularities of electoral systems and practices, in whatever corner of the globe, the ballot box remains the best way to legitimately assume power," he said, adding that without prejudice to the on-going CCM-CUF negotiations, he finds it extremely odd that, because of temporary problems, a dangerous short-cut to power should be created.

President Mkapa said the international and donor communities should avoid the option of creating and institutionalising shortcuts to power, in whatever form or guise.

Referring to the last general elections the President conceded that the re-run in some 16 constituencies in the island of Pemba could have been better organised in the first round.

He said it was not in the interest of Tanzania's political stability, peace and unity, economic and social progress to dwell too much on the past.

The President said despite the shortcomings, the fact was that elections took place last year and produced two legally constituted governments ( the Union and Zanzibar)

"The two governments are legally constituted, according to the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Isles Constitution. This to me is the rule of law, and right path to democratic governance," hinted Mkapa.

He called on the donor community to jointly and patiently co-operate and work with the government to remove existing electoral shortcomings.

He said if donors wished Tanzania a prosperous and stable future, they should help the ruling party maintain peace, stability, national unity, the rule of law, war against poverty and strengthening of good governance.

"These are the factors upon which the government and the ruling CCM attach their greatest importance in evaluating any suggestions or proposals regarding the wellbeing of the country," he noted.

He hailed the CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad and his CCM counterpart Phillip Mangula for excellent work so far accomplished, despite pressure often pulling in the opposite direction.

The President further hailed both parties for denouncing the use of force, threats, chaos, witch-hunting and weapons in political activities, adding that Tanzania was facing challenges on continued respect for human rights .

" We face challenges in a situation where minority groups pursue their interests without regard to law, or the rights of others," observed Mkapa.

He said in dealing with such groups, the government is determined to respond prudently and fairly, but firmly, in order to ensure the preservation of law and order.

President Mkapa further said that more has been accomplished since the CCM-CUF negotiating teams issued a joint statement six months ago, noting that Tanzanians were learning how to cope with conflicts.

"We need your support to remain firmly on track in rolling back poverty in Zanzibar because of undoubted commitment shown so far by President Amani Karume," Mkapa said.

The President further pleaded for support to the Isles government in poverty alleviation, saying:

"Those who care will see in President Karume a dedicated partner in the war on poverty, in a context of peace, stability, reconciliation and unity, a situation which qualifies him support from faithful and peace loving partners," he said.

Credit scheme for Pemba women

As Tanzania ponders on how to exploit the potential of the micro-enterprises sector, a charitable organisation, Tanzania Gatsby Trust (TGT), has come up strongly in support of artisans in the country.
Pemba women are among the many individuals and small groups that have reaped from the Trust’s commitment to back small-scale entrepreneurs, especially women and the youth. TGT has recently launched a new credit scheme to support their business initiatives.
According to its credit officer, Teddy Kunulilo, the scheme will see loans totaling about Tsh 10 million disbursed to the Pemba ladies. The recipients will be those women organised in traditional credit groups, which are locally known as “upatu”, Kunulilo said recently.
“A total of 33 groups will benefit from the credit scheme,” she noted. “TGT provides assistance to women in upatu scheme by offering loans to improve their business ventures with the ultimate aim being to prepare them to be self-dependent in their businesses,” she added.
The Tanzania Gatsby Trust was registered under the Trustees Incorporation Ordinance cap. 375 some nine years ago. Its principal objective is to provide support to small-scale artisans and entrepreneurs in the micro-enterprises sector.
Initially, TGT targeted its support in the areas of training, market promotion and small-scale credit delivery. The trust’s work has benefited many people in Mwanga and Mtwara districts as well as Zanzibar. Between 1996 and 2000, it expanded its operations to Dar es Salaam, Rukwa, Masasi and Morogoro.
In appreciation of its efforts to alleviate poverty in Tanzania, the Ford Foundation of the USA has starting last year granted the charitable organisation USD 200,000 (about Tsh 18 million). The Trust has also received funds from UNIDO to co-finance women food processing projects throughout the country.
TGT says individuals and small groups in Tanzania face many setbacks in initiating business projects or expanding their scale of production in existing ventures.
The major constraints they face are poor access to credit, underdeveloped markets, inappropriate technology and technical business skills.

Man given one week to sell `hoarded cloves'

An official of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government (SMZ), has ordered a resident of Minazini village (Shehia) in Mkoani District, Mohamed Rashid Abdalla, to sell within a week, his 40 bags of cloves believed to have been hoarded .

The order was issued here yesterday by the Sheha (administrative officer) of Mtambile (Shehia), Hassan Faki Kombo, who was accompanied by a police officer.

After visiting the house, they found the crop which was in the process of drying before being sent to the market.

According to regulations related to protection of the Isles' economic mainstay, nobody is supposed to hoard the crop after harvesting.

Storage is undertaken by the Zanzibar State Trading Corporation (ZSTC) - the sole official handling authority of the crop.

Confirming the standing order, Kombo told PST that the action was taken after being tipped. The regulations also bar the transporting of the crop to any other destination other than the ZSTC buying posts.

"We have not experienced any smuggling incident in our locality. We have been enjoying big crop sales since the season begun last May," he said.

President commends Japan

President Benjamin Mkapa yesterday commended the Japanese government for funding development projects in Zanzibar regardless of the on-going political impasse in the islands.

The President was talking with a Japanese Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Muneo Suzuki, at the State House yesterday evening.

President Mkapa said that unlike other donor countries which have suspended their aid to the islands, the Japanese government has continued to offer financial support to projects in Zanzibar.

"I want to thank the Japanese government for understanding the history of Zanzibar. Such an understanding has enabled the Tokyo government not to interfere with Tanzania's domestic affairs," President Mkapa said.

He asked the government of Japan to continue supporting Zanzibar, saying President Amani Karume's government is determined to bring about tangible development on the islands.

He commended Japan for financing rehabilitation works at the Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam and construction of roads in various regions.

On his part, Suzuki commended Tanzania for carrying out successful economic and structural reforms, saying his government would look for possibility of bringing equipment for improving agricultural sector in Tanzania.

Karume admits CCM is divided

The Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume has admitted publicly that there are factions within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Zanzibar, warning that if the situation is not checked it would cause major division in the party.

Karume said the cliques within the party had been entertained by some leaders he could not name.

He said this was a shame to CCM, noting it was the only party capable of building democracy and good governance in the country.

The president made the remarks at a two day seminar of the CCM National Executive Committee members held at Bwawani Hotel in Zanzibar.

He said it was queer within CCM to have sects for this will cause a rift and divide the followers, thus giving the opposition a loophole.

“This is very dangerous to the party because our followers would disperse and there will be rifts within the party,” Karume said.

Speaking amid applause, Karume said the division among CCM members was vividly at various leadership cadres in Urban Unguja and at Unguja because the party intends to hold its election next year.

Karume however, commended CCM members for the cooperation they displayed during the last year’s general elections which led to its victory.

Karume quoted the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere saying that divisions within the party could only end if leaders were ready to admit their mistakes and look for the solution collectively. He added that there was nothing that could not be said about.

He said CCM was not a private party but belonged to all members and its leaders must be elected through the laid down procedures.

The remarks by the president follows the preparations by the CCM members for the forthcoming elections scheduled to take place next year.

The preparations indicate that there could be divisions among CCM members similar to that of last year when the party was holding presidential preferential polls.

Police seize cloves worth 250m/-

Sunday, 9/02/01
By Maulid H. Maulid, PST Chake Chake

More than 100 tones of cloves valued at 250m/= seized by police in Pemba since the clove season ended last month.
Apart from cloves, police have also seized one ship, two boat engines and five mobile phones, belonging to suspected clove smugglers.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the Southern Pemba Regional Commissioner, Abdallah Khamis said a total of 12 businessmen had been arrested in connection with smuggling of cloves. Those arrested, he said had already appeared in court to answer charges.
Khamis said arrests had been made possible as a result of members of the public's awareness of the ill-effects of smuggling on the local economy and the government offer of 20 per cent of the value of the cloves being given to anyone who volunteers information on smuggling.
He said clove smuggling had become rampant due to some local people who were being given a lot of money by foreigners to buy the product to enrich themselves at the expense of the local economy.
Khamis said the law governing the clove industry, No.11 of 1985 stated quite explicitly that cloves were not supposed to leave the isles through illegal means.
In his region, he said they had made arrangements so that members of the public could be educated properly from the grassroots level on how to protect the clove market, which he stressed was being threatened by unscrupulous businessmen.
He charged that there were also some fishermen who used small boats to ferry cloves out to ships anchored some distance from the Pemba coast. The ships later transported the commodity to other countries.
According to information from a ZSTC officer who did not want his name to be mentioned, clove smuggling will not stop if the Kenyan government doesn't ban the importation of cloves.
He added that his company in the Southern Region has been buying an average of 10 tones of cloves every week from farmers. This figure marks an increase in the amount of cloves being purchased compared to the last clove season.

Caltex makes come-back to Zanzibar

Caltex oil company from the USA which sold its assets including depots over five years ago due to unfavourable business climate, has returned to Zanzibar.

In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, the manager for the company in Zanzibar, Mr Mohammed Baraka, said the company ceased its operations in Zanzibar in the 1960s and 70s when its assets were nationalised and thus forced to sell their stakes in the petroleum industry in Zanzibar.

Mr Baraka told the Financial Times that the company had decided to make a come-back to Zanzibar because of the good investment climate and the decision of the Zanzibar government to license private companies to import refined oil products for distribution in Unguja and Pemba.

He said that Caltex had built a depot near Amani Stadium in Zanzibar municipality which at first dealt with distribution of lubricants and various types of motor vehicle engine and industrial oil.

He said the engine oil was multifunctional for two-stroke motor cycle oil and for passenger cars “and this includes both diesel and petrol engine oil”.

Mr Baraka said that the products to be sold have been examined and verified by the Institute of Standards for oil products which is called the American Petroleum Institute.

He stressed that his company had concluded intensive training for technical staff in Indonesia, South Africa and Europe ready to resume petroleum products distribution operations in Zanzibar.

He also said that Caltex was ready to face the intense competition in the liberalised petroleum industry and that depots have been opened in Mwanza and Moshi to distribute petroleum products to the Isaka dry port intended for the markets in Burundi and Rwanda. He also said Caltex had hired Tazara wagons to facilitate transportation of the products to the Great Lakes countries.

The Caltex Zanzibar General Manager said that in the next two years Caltex would have depots to stock and distribute refined oil in Zanzibar.

Raza decries unethical practices

The outgoing Vice Chairman of the Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA), Ibrahin Raza, has described the condition of sports, particularly soccer, in the Isles as dominated by hate, gossip and the contravention of the ZFA constitution.
“In Zanzibar, there is a looming cloud of selfishness and unfaith fulness which if not taken care of immediately will not allow sports to forge ahead and discourage leaders bold enough to challenge this state from coming forward,” he said.
He told The Express that he will always stick to his guns of telling the truth and protecting the ZFA constitution though his fellow ZFA leaders would see him as an enemy of the government and sports lovers in general.
Raza, who tendered his resignation as ZFA Vice Chairman last week, told reporters in Dar es Salaam that leaders elected by sports lovers, including himself, were denied their leadership rights by those in the government.
He said the Zanzibar Minister for Sports, Haroun, Ali Suleiman, had earlier made a reshuffle in the sports leadership by appointing Ali Suleiman ‘Tall’ as acting ZFA Executive Secretary in place of Mzee Zam, which is contrary to ZFA consti-tution.
Thereafter, he added, the Hon. Minister called a press conference and clearly announced that ZFA should heed to his appointment although FIFA stipulates that such a leader should be elected by the general meeting stipulated by ZFA constitution.
“When I said that was contrary to ZFA constitution, I was seen as an enemy of the minister as well as an enemy of the government although my intention was noble for I was defending the ZFA constitution.”
”The minister went further than that by writing to me and asking me who was I in ZFA to utter such words,” he said.
According to Raza, because he loved sports and was a well-wisher, he had decided to step down to avoid further conflicts as his fellow leaders had also seen him as an enemy.“I am resigning but for the betterment of sports lovers, I will always tell the truth whether I am inside or outside the circles of leadership,” he said.
When asked if he would take part in the forthcoming Football Association of Tanzania (FAT) elections, he told this paper that he was a Tanzanian although he was born in the Isles.
In which case, he said, he had all rights of contesting any sports leadership portfolio given that it promoted sports in the country.

Political Violence Has Affected Zanzibar Tourism

Tourist revenue for the government of the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar has dropped sharply since bloody political clashes between supporters of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) in January, though the situation has improved somewhat recently, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Marketing and Tourism. "It is true that the number of tourists coming to Zanzibar decreased after the 27 January fracas because some countries because warned their citizens not to come to Zanzibar, allegedly due to political instability," the Tanzanian 'Guardian' newspaper quoted a senior ministry official as saying. Nonetheless, tourism operators had indicated tremendous interest from tourists in visiting the islands, and the number of visitors for the full year was expected to be up on last year's figure of 97,000, the official added.

Already soured by CUF's objections to the so-called "stolen elections" of 1995, relations between CUF and the CCM deteriorated when the party contested the results of parliamentary and presidential elections in October 2000. Things worsened still further when Zanzibar was wracked by political violence in late January, as security forces used strong-arm tactics to put down CUF demonstrations against the October elections. At that time, over 2,000 Zanzibaris fled to the Kenyan fishing village of Shimoni, south of the port city of Mombasa, though most have since been repatriated by UNHCR, without any problems reported once they were back in Zanzibar; some others have returned spontaneously, but 506 remain in Dadaab refugee camp, northeastern Kenya, refusing for the moment to return in the absence of assurances about political and constitutional developments in Zanzibar.

Stone-Town agreement not signed

While His Highness Karim Aga Khan was scheduled to sign two pacts during his visit to Tanzania last week, he only signed one with President Benjamin Mkapa.

The other agreement with President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar was not signed because local institutions were not involved in the preparation of the pact.

The pact with Zanzibar, which entails the rehabilitation of the Stone Town, could not be signed because President Karume had wanted consultation with and the involvement of Zanzibar institutions that are engaged in other rehabilitation projects of the Stone Town.

President Karume also wanted the institutions to study the agreement before the government and the Aga Khan Development Network signed it.

In the discussion between President Karume and the Aga Khan held in Zanzibar at the week-end His Highness proposed to carry out the repair of the collapsing wall at the sea front around the Zanzibar Stone Town.

The Aga Khan Development Network also proposed to establish a Maritime Museum in Zanzibar to help conserve the Island’s cultural and historical heritage and boost tourism.

President Karume told journalists after the discussion held at the State House that both parties had agreed that whatever was to be done should involve local legal institutions.

He said the agreement would be signed after local institutions responsible for development of the proposed projects became conversant with what was to be done and would have given their views on the project.

A previous co-operation agreement between Zanzibar government and the Aga Khan Development Network was signed in 1997 when His Highness the Aga Khan went to inaugurate Serena Inn Hotel and Cultural House. The agreement involved tourism promotion, education and health.

Earlier, the Aga Khan was scheduled to meet President Karume before signing a co-operation agreement with the Islands Chief Minister, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha. The discussion results made His Highness the Aga Khan fail to meet the Chief Minister.

His Highness the Aga Khan, who landed at the Dar es Salaam International Airport last Wednesday, left Tanzania at the week end.

Under the agreement which was signed at the State House in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Tanzania will co-operate with the Aga Khan Development Network in areas of health, education, tourism and culture.

The agreement was a successor agreement of the Accord of Co-operation for Development signed in July 1991, relating to the socio-economic and cultural development in Tanzania.

In order to facilitate AKDN work in Tanzania, the government will permit the network to formalise the establishment of a mission in the country and facilitate the optical use of resources for the network’s development objective.

New endeavours envisaged under the agreement include major tertiary education initiatives and plan by the Aga Khan University Institute for Education Development to establish a professional development centre for teachers and managers of educational institutions in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Education Services.

Another contestant replaces Miss Z’bar

Monday, August 20, 2001

By Majuto Omary

Zanzibar will be represented in the Pilsner Ice Miss Tanzania 2001 contest by Antonia Kunambi who was the first runner-up in this year’s Miss Zanzibar competition.
The director of the Miss Tanzania organising committee, Hashim Lundenga, said their agent in Zanzibar, Zuleykha Fataky, had informed them that Kunambi would replace Miss Zanzibar 2001 Yusra Ally who had pulled out for reasons that had yet to be disclosed.
He said although Kunambi had been accepted as one of the contestants, the organising committee would ask Fataky to clearly state why Yusra had pulled out. “The rules clearly state that Zanzibar is supposed to be represented by the reigning Miss Zanzibar so it is only fair that we are told why Yusra will not be coming to Dar es Salaam for the contest,” Lundenga said.
He said Kunambi had already arrived at Dar es Salaam’s White Sands Hotel where rehearsals for the contest scheduled for August 31 are expected to begin today. She was among 23 hopefuls who attended a brush-up seminar in the city yesterday.
Others present at the one-day seminar were: Shoma Madalali (High Learning Institutions), Loyce Dotto, Catherine Matthew (Kinondoni), Aminata Keita, Rose Nicolaus (Ilala), Happiness Magesse, Khadija Sariko (Temeke), Udah Miraj, Cecilia Odemba Adella Aloyce (Lake Zone), Amina Rutta, Nelvis Francis, Rachel Robert and Lulu Amana (Southern Highlands).
Others are: Saida Kinega, Furaha Mayenga, Pamela Bernard (Eastern Zone), Sharon Poumall, Sophia Byanaku, Johari Sadri (Northern Zone), Sakina Fundikira, Anne Mwaisaka and Mary Sam (Central Zone).
Apart from earning the right to represent Tanzania in the Miss World competition in South Africa in November, the winner of the Pilsner Ice Miss Tanzania 2001 contest will also get a car worth 21 million/- and a 1 million/- cash prize.

Aga Khan Network to repair
wall protecting Stone Town

Saturday, 8/18/01
By Joyce Mkinga, Zanzibar

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has proposed to repair and construct a wall to arrest beach erosion around Zanzibar Stone Town.
The proposal was made yesterday in the discussion between his Highness Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismail Muslims and President Aman Abeid Karume at the State House here.
Briefing journalists after the discussion of more than an hour President Karume said the Aga Khan Development Network, in collaboration with local institutions intend to build and repair the seafront of the Stone Town from Africa House, along Forodhani to a point near the Zanzibar port.
"The wall was built many years ago. It has been falling because of high tides. The wall to be constructed will check beach erosion and provide safety to pedestrians," he said.
The two leaders have agreed that whatever is to be done should involve local legal institutions.
President Karume said the involvement of local institutions such as the Stone Town Development Authority (STDA) and Zanzibar Ports Co-operation involvement in the projects will strengthen them.
"We have not signed any agreement today because we need to involve the institutions concerned with their respective regulations," he said.
The Aga khan Development Network has implemented two projects. One is the repair of an old dispensary which is now a cultural centre. The second is the building of Serena Inn, a tourist hotel.
Some of the buildings, to be repaired without losing their originality include the Palace Museum House (former sultan's palace), Bet el Ajab ( House of Wonders) and the Zanzibar Anglican Cathedral at Mkunazini, a former slave market.
An earlier agreement between the Zanzibar government and the Aga Khan Development Network was signed in 1997. It involved tourism promotion, education and health.

CUF members demand end of party dialogue by today

By Guardian Reporter

8/13/01

Many members of the Civic United Front (CUF) are losing patience with the dialogue between their party and Chama Cha Mapinduzi insisting that today is the deadline the talks should end.
The members contradicted their National Secretary General, Seif Sharif Hamad, who had requested them to be patient while the dialogue between the two parties continues.
The situation changed on Friday and CUF leaders were forced to convene an emergency meeting with their members at branch and district levels at the party offices in Kilimahewa.
Those who attended the meeting told The Guardian that members insisted that the declaration reached at the youth meeting should be observed. Some said they had lost faith Hamad.
"We have told our leaders that the dialogue should end today. We are not ready to accept any extension of the dialogue," said one member from Mjini district.
The meeting which was attended by many members said that CCM did not intend to end the conflict in Zanzibar considering what its leaders were uttering.
Reports from Nungwi, a strong CUF base in Pemba said some members had threatened to return their membership cards on allegations that members participating in the dialogue were defying the agreement made at the party central committee meeting on the deadline of the dialogue.
"We have been trying to tell our members that they should be patient so that we can get the end result of the dialogue on our conflict", said the CUF District Co-ordinator, Salum Bimani.
But Bimani could not clearly explain why CUF members were complaining. But he said the dialogue which was expected to continue today would give concrete results and peace to the members.
The CUF Acting Deputy Secretary General, Hamad Masoud and Director of Youth told the members to be patient and allow the dialogue to give its end results.
Meeting are the national secretaries of the two parties, Philip Mang’ula of CCM and Seif Sharif Hamad of CUF.
Recently President Mkapa said the aim of the dialogue was to restore peace on the Island.
The dialogue is also looking at the possibility of forming a coalition government between CCM and CUF. But this is being challenged by CCM members who say the two parties have different policies.
The bone of contention was that CUF does not recognise the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar claiming last October elections had a lot of irregularities.

Zanzibari Refugees Injured in Attack

Six Zanzibaris were seriously injured on Saturday when armed raiders attacked the Ifo Transit Refugee camp in North Eastern Province.

The 2.40 am incident saw the 508 Zanzibar refugees flee the camp into the bush after the raiders started shooting in the air causing a stampede.

Talking to the Nation at Pandya Memorial Hospital, two of the escapees, Hamadi Ali Issa, 27, and Shaama Ali Hassan, 24, said after shooting in the air the attackers demanded money from the refugees.

"On realising we had no money, the attackers became agitated and produced knives and rungus before setting on us," they said.

In the ensuing attack, five refugees sustained knife cuts and oher body injuries while the sixth identified as Mrs Zueni, 50, suffered shock.

"As we are talking now, the six are hospitalised at the camp's clinic undergoing treatment," they added.

The raiders stole relief food, clothes and utensils before disappearing into the bush while still shooting in the air.

At 5.45 am, the refugees representatives went to the police station near the camp and reported the incident.

However, the police gave them a "cold" reception and they decided to travel five kilometres to UNHCR's Dadaab sub-office, according to the Civic United Front (CUF) humanitarian and relief coordinator, Mr Abdul Razak.

The officials promised to meet the refugees at their camp on Wednesday to discuss the issue but the 508 Zanzibaris declined return there expressing fears over their security.

"It was at this juncture the Dadaab district officer ordered the police to forcefully disperse us from the UNHCR offices thus injuring more people," he said.

Fishermen to Be Moved Out of Dar Port Area

ABOUT 2,100 small-scale fishermen operating along the Dar es Salaam shore face eviction following an order by Tanzania Harbours Authority to clear the harbour of small boats and trawlers.

The chairman of the Association of Small Fishermen in Dar es Salaam (Uwawada), Mr Addy Haidari, told The EastAfrican that THA has ordered small fishermen to move their vessels out of the Magogoni area where they currently operate.

Mr Haidari says the move will adversely affect the lives and incomes of 2,098 fishermen as well as the Dar es Salaam residents who depend on fish for their daily food. The move will also affect fishermen from Zanzibar, Mafia, Tanga, Bagamoyo and Kilwa who bring in fish to the Dar fish market and anchor their vessels along the Magogoni area - at the entrance to Dar port.

"We still don't know where we will go because THA has not given us an alternative site to operate from," he said.

Uwawada secretary general Mr Omary Shomary, told The EastAfrican that the fishermen were not opposed to the move to evict them but wanted a suitable alternative site.

Mr Shomary said about 187 fishing vessels would be affected by the move, warning that this would lead to a shortage of fish and force consumers pay more.

Tanzania fishermen currently harvest 730,000 tonnes of fish annually from the country's 320-km-Free Economic Zone that runs from Tanga to Msimbati in Mtwara.

In 1997, THA ordered all vessels anchored in the port area to be removed in order to implement a $24 million expansion project that included dredging and widening the port entrance channel and construction of the fish market.

However, THA has told the small fishermen to anchor their vessels at Minazi Mikinda, on the Kigamboni side of the Dar port channel, but the site is occupied by the Tanzania Navy and is too close to the ships' route into the harbour.

THA officials have proposed an alternative anchorage for small fishing vessels at Kimbiji, about 20 km from the port area, a proposal that is also opposed by the fishermen.

Zanzibar's semi-illiterate workers

ONLY 2.9 per cent the Government employees in Zanzibar are university graduates. Another 72.4 per cent of them are less qualified.

With 26,161 employees on its payroll, the Revolutionary Government is the major employer on the Isles, accounting for 70 per cent of salaried employment in the land.

The private sector accounts for just 21.4 per cent of total employment in Zanzibar, although it largely owns and controls the economy. Government corporations employ the remaining 8.6 per cent of the total 37,361 employees on the Isles.

An average of 15,000 Zanzibari youths complete school each year, to compete for less than 500 job opportunities over the same period.

While most civil servants have "primary and basic education or below," the skilled and the semi-skilled together make 23.4 per cent of all civil servants.

By comparison, civil servants on Mainland Tanzania are better educated than their counterparts in Zanzibar.

Observers blame this on the approach to education by the authorities on the Isles, as well as the islanders themselves. Religious instruction is given more push officially, while formal education is somewhat optional.

"It is common to find a family putting up a child in a Madrasa class. This is a must. Secular education is not taken seriously by most families," observed one Zanzibari in a recent interview with Business Times in Zanzibar town.

In this regard, Mainlanders cross to the Isles in search of jobs - for which they are manifestly better qualified. They, however, are resented by their compatriots across the channel.

Mainlanders are seen as a threat to the Islanders vying for the few jobs that are available both in the public and private sectors. They also find it difficult to start off in the self-employment.

A ready example of the latter is the case of Mainland and Zanzibari women fighting for hair dressing (mainly plaiting) chores for female tourists who want to go back home with a touch of African hair styles. One such recent tussle took place in a place called Kiwengwa.

Mainland wood sculptors have been physically ejected from the same location by their Zanzibari counterpart on the trumped-up allegations that they are "sources of prostitution and petty theft, robbing" tourists!

According to the Isles' ministry of finance and economic affairs, 15 projects worth USD 46.9 million (about Tsh 37.5 billion) under the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency will provide employment to about 1,447 people when they become operational.

Statistics show that up to 20 per cent of the estimated 393,150 working age population are unemployed. No wonder drug abuse and prostitution is said to be on the increase in Zanzibar.

Opposition Members Losing Patience

MEMBERS of the Civic United Front (CUF), which is the powerful opposition party in Tanzania and in Zanzibar in particular, have started to loose their patience on the peace talks saying the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is not serious with the CUF-CCM peace talks. The talks started about four months ago.

The CUF leaders are now working under pressure including holding overnight meetings aimed at looking for ways to convince members to wait for resolutions of the ongoing peace talks. There have been angry outbursts among the radical groups within the party who accuse their leaders for allegedly of selling CUF to CCM.

These allegations and pressures has even gone to the extent of asking their top party leaders including their Secretary-General, Mr. Seif Shariff Hamad, to resign. "The party leadership in Isles has recently worked overtime trying to soothe the visible anger and despair among party followers," the party's coordinator of districts, Mr. Salim Bimani, has said.

Already Mr. Hamad has issued a statement appealing to the CUF members to exercise restraint and wait for the outcome of the CUF-CCM peace talks to find a lasting solution to the divisions that emerged after last year's general elections. The elections had placed the CCM candidate, Mr. Abeid Amani Karume, in power. Following the elections, CUF had declared that the elections were not free and fair, asking for a rerun in all constituencies.

CCM and the Electoral Commission did not approve their appeal in so doing fueling the antagonism between the two parties. Since then the two parties have been holding the endless peace talks, but CUF members say such talks were too slow to bring peace.

Leaders of the CUF over the weekend held an overnight meeting trying to normal relations in the party after some hard-liners objected to comments made by the leaders. Leaders wanted inter-party talks to be given more time. The leaders succeeded in bringing calm in the party this weekend after giving detailed explanations about the peace talks. They asked CUF followers to be patient and give the talks, between their party and CCM, time so as to arrive at a solution to the Zanzibar conflict amicably.

Zanzibar to host Zone Five meeting

Friday, July 27, 2001

By Bahati Mollel

The first edition of the African Zone Five Athletics Championships will take place in Zanzibar on October 20 and 21.
Ten countries would contest the championships at Amaan Stadium, Erasto Zambi, the Tanzania Olympic Committee Secretary, said yesterday.
They are Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mainland Tanzania and hosts Zanzibar.
With the exception of Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, which will each have 20-member squads, each country will be represented by eight athletes.
Men will compete in the 100m, 400m, 1,500m, 10,000m, 4x400m, discuss, shot-put, long-jump and javelin while women will vie for top honours in the 200m, 800m, 5,000m, 4x100m, discuss and shot-put events.
Zambi said the championships would serve as trials for Tanzania’s provisional athletics team for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.
The event will be sponsored by the Olympic committees of African Zone Five member countries.

Fire destroys primary school in Zanzibar

About 800 pupils do not have a place to study after fire gutted their Mwanakwerekwe Primary school in Zanzibar Urban District on Saturday, reducing it to ashes. Arson is suspected.

Eye witnesses told PST that the fire which burnt to the ground the school buildings, text books, desks, documents and other property started a few minutes after 6.30pm.

"We saw three men walk fast through the school compound. We did not pay attention to them. However, a moment later we saw a huge pall of smoke coming out of the windows," said one pupil who was playing in the school compound.

Sources close to the school administration revealed that the fire also destroyed records of income and expenditure of the school self reliance projects.

A watchman, Machano Amani Haji, said he reported for duty at 6.30 p.m and found the school, located close to the Peoples Bank of Zanzibar (PBZ), ablaze.

Efforts to get the Zanzibar Urban West Regional Police Commander, Ramadhan Mgeni, for details on the fire proved futile.

Thousands match peacefully in Pemba

Thousands of Civic United Front (CUF) members and supporters yesterday demanded a deadline to the on-going talks between the party and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) which is aimed at ending the current political impasse on the isles.

The call was clearly manifest in placards they carried during a demonstration in support of the CUF-CCM talks which was sparked by the January 27 killing of more than 20 CUF demonstrators in a rally which was banned by the government.

Led by their national party chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, the CUF supporters marched from Macho Manne to Tibirinzi grounds in Chake Chake District where a public rally took place.

Prof. Lipumba told demonstrators that the CUF-CCM dialogue was the only means of bringing about democracy in the country.

He reiterated the party's position to be told of the outcome of the talks by July 31, saying if CCM dragged the talks, CUF would withdraw from the talks and let its members decide the way forward.

He underlined that CUF demanded fresh elections in Zanzibar, saying the October elections were marred by electoral irregularities.

Some demonstrators called for the formation of a committee to probe the January 26 and 27 killings of demonstrators.

Tight security was visible in Pemba island for the past two days. The number of policemen was increased in government buildings ahead of the demonstration.

Most of the January 27 killings of demonstrators occurred in Pemba island. Many demonstrators were weeping as Prof Lipumba was speaking.

They were mentioning names of their loved ones who perished in the commotion which occurred between demonstrators and policemen.

Dr Shein Was Named VP After Fierce CCM Debate

THE APPOINTMENT of Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, 53 (pictured right), as Tanzania's vice president on Friday, July 13, was the outcome of fierce debate in the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi Central Committee and its National Executive Committee (NEC).

Insiders said that although the new vice president had to come from Zanzibar to replace the late Dr Omar Ali Juma, who died on July 4, it was not easy to pick the most appropriate candidate.

The source said that during the two-day closed-door deliberations before July 13, sharp differences arose with some NEC members favouring Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, who has just retired as secretary general of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), because he was from Pemba and was acceptable to both the CCM and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

However, unconfirmed reports say, when he was contacted to confirm whether he would accept the nomination, he said that he was retiring from politics. Some government officials say Dr Salim did not accept the post because "he can easily easily overshadow President Benjamin Mkapa."

The political source said NEC zeroed in on candidates popular with both the CCM and CUF in Pemba. Pemba is the island where, in January, 24 people died in clashes between CUF supporters and the police. Secondly, the NEC considered the fact that the VP had to succeed Mr Mkapa in 2005 when the incumbent completes his last five-year term in office.

Several CCM members, especially those in political positions, were considered. At the end of the day, the NEC settled for Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, a Minister of State in the Isles President's Office responsible for Constitutional Affairs and Good Governance.

An insider in the CCM Central Committee told The EastAfrican last week that central to the discussions was the political situation in Zanzibar – everything hinged on stopping the Isles from drifting away from the Union.

A political source said that coming as he does from Chokocho, Pemba, a CUF stronghold, it was astute of CCM to pick Dr Shein to appease the islanders. The late Dr Omar was also from Pemba island.

"In Dr Shein's appointment was the consideration of the 2005 union presidential race and the taming of the emerging groups within CCM that have been planning to choose their own presidential candidate for the elections," the source said.

Although it is the president who must nominate the VP, he has to go through his party's top machinery, which must approve his choice before the candidate is finally endorsed by ''yes' or "no" vote in the National Assembly.

Dr Shein, who did not have to defend his candidature, was not even in Dodoma when his name was read out in parliament and votes cast. He polled 97.2 per cent by winning the support of 240 out of 247 MPs. Opposition parties welcomed the appointment of Dr Shein, and the leader of the opposition in the House, Dr Amani Walid Kabourou of Chadema, seconded his nomination.

However, at the individual party level, it was a different cup of tea. CUF chairman Prof Ibrahim Lipumba charged that the new VP was "new to the Zanzibar political arena."

He opined that Dr Shein was not conversant with the ongoing peace negotiations between CCM and CUF and other serious Union matters.

The opposition MP for Moshi Rural (TLP), Mr Thomas Ngawaiya, in an interview conceded that Dr Shein was "new," but said he was happy with the way the Union Constitution was followed. "We should adopt a wait and see attitude for at least a year to assess the performance of the new VP... I do not expect him to be like Prime Minister Fredrick Sumaye, who once told business people that 'in order for their business to shine' they had to be members of CCM," said Mr Ngawaiya.

Dr Ali Mohammed Shein (PhD in Medicine) is among the most educated Zanzibaris to have served in the Isles' government.

Born at Chokocho village on March 13, 1948, he was nominated Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania on Friday July 13, 2001. House Speaker Pius Msekwa said President Mkapa notified Dr Shein of his nomination on the same day he was appointed and dispatched his presidential jet to pick him up.

Dr Shein's political career began in 1995 when Zanzibar President Salmin Amour nominated him to the Isles' House of Representatives as Deputy Minister for Health.

Another visual delight on Isles by Jafferji

A new book celebrating the beautiful island of Zanzibar and enhancing the Isles image on the international stage by Javed Jafferji, a Tanzanian photographer based in Zanzibar and English writer Gemma Pitcher, was published earlier this month.

Zanzibar Style, a photographic masterpiece whose text has been written by Pitcher, a freelance journalist based in UK and which took almost a year to photograph and publish, is on sale for Tsh 34,000.

Javed Jafferji also exhibited pictures from Zanzibar Style at the Zanzibar International Film Festival at Stone Town Cultural Centre, and a similar exhibition is on at the Alliance Francaise Dar es Salaam from July 14.

The photographer and the writer will also be doing signing sessions in the UK, where Zanzibar Style, the 173-page book which comes in hard cover, will be distributed. The book's title flawlessly unites with the theme of the book, which is style.

Jafferji said: "After the recent political problems and slump in tourism in Zanzibar, this book will help boost tourism in Zanzibar and Pemba. It is the first book to be published in the new millennium that celebrates the many attractions for tourists on the islands. Now more than ever, Zanzibar needs international exposure, and as a photographer, that is what I am trying to achieve."

Zanzibar Style, the latest venture from Zanzibar-based Gallery Publications, defines and illustrates Zanzibar's unique look in a sumptuous, glossy, full-colour book, featuring over 175 colour photographs by Javed Jafferji.

It explores the themes that have inspired the island's architecture and interior design - the Oman sultanate, the Indian sub-continent, European colonialism and the natural colours and forms of Africans natural environment.

Jafferji is a photographer who has published many books, including Images of Zanzibar, Zanzibar- An Essential Guide, Historical Zanzibar -

Romance of the Ages, Zanzibar Stone Town- an Architecture Exploration, Tanzania-African Eden and many others. He is the publisher of The Swahili Coast magazine, which is also published on the web at www.swahilicoast.com.

New VP Pledges to Bring Unity in Isles

The new Tanzania Vice-President, Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein has pledged to work hard to bring peace and unity in Zanzibar.

Shein was appointed by President Benjamin Mkapa last week and has already taken the office.

He said over the weekend here that he would devote his time to bring a unity and end political divisions in the Isles where the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) have been in conflict since 1995. He has expressed his hope that the ongoing peace negotiations between the two political parties would be concluded amicably in the national interest.

Dr. Shein, whose appointment has received majority support on both sides of the United Republic of Tanzania, said, "I will continue with the good work started by my predecessor, the late Dr. Omar Ali Juma."

President Mkapa late last week picked Dr. Shein (53) his new VP following the sudden death of the former VP Dr. Omar Ali Juma. The National Assembly approved his name last Friday.

The name reached on Thursday to the National Assembly Speaker, Pius Msekwa in Dodoma central Tanzania. Members of Parliament (MPs) approved his name thereafter. Among 247 MPs who voted, 240 members of parliament approved Dr Shein and only 7 of them disapproved him.

In yesterday all roads led to Zanzibar municipality from the three Unguja regions, Zanzibar Urban West, South Unguja and North Unguja, as jubilant supporters thronged the Zanzibar port and streets to have glimpse of Dr. Shein, former Isles Minister in the President's Office (Constitutional Affairs and Good Governance).

Dr. Shein obtained his Advanced Level Certificate in 1970 and he got his first degree at the Odessa State University in the Soviet Union. Late he got his MSc Degree in Medical Biochemistry from the Medical School University of Newcastle, United Kingdom. Dr. Shein got his Ph.D in Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolic Medicine.

In 1977 he was selected member of the CCM Central Committee for Pemba South and before his appointment as Minister in the Zanzibar President's Office, he was Minister for Health in the government led by former Isles President, Dr. Salmin Amour.

While many Members of Parliament has hailed President Mkapa for appointing Shein new VP, some leaders from the opposition wing fears that since Shein was still young in politics, he might find difficult to manage the old guards in the ruling CCM and the government in general.

Where diverse cultures find a meeting place

Hundreds of visitors and artistes from with in the country and various parts of the world have flocked the Spice Islands of Zanzibar to attend the annual Dhow Countries Festival. The Express Photojournalist Peter Mgongo , just back from the Isles, reviews the cultural bonanza.
The Dhow Festival which is taking place at the Clove Islands of Zanzibar is rocking the Isles and touching the hearts of those attending the event.

The word dhow is not new to the ears of many people, especially those who have been living in the coastal areas of the country and in other parts of the world.
The dhow was used by traders from the Persian Gulf between 600 BC and 1900 AD. They were a major means of transport not only between Zanzibar and Mafia and Kilwa, but also from far distant lands such as the Arab countries, the Indian sub-continent.
“It is through the dhows that visitors from other parts of the world had been able to discover that Zanzibar was in fact an island with captivating scenery and was home of cloves.”
Dhows had also been used to transport slaves from notorious slaves markets in Africa before the trade was abolished in 1873.
Such is the dhow whose festival has gained popularity in India, Pakistan, Iran, Europe and America.
“It is a great event and a time will come when it will gain international recognition and will be put in global calendars of tourist events,” says Ambassador Ami Mpumbwe, Chairman of Multichoice, one of the major sponsors of the event.
This year’s Dhow festival, which is the fourth in the series, is spiced with an array of entertainment in various parts of the Island. During the launch of the event, M-Net screened three new films in the New Directions series.
The films are A Barbers Wisdom from Nigeria, Surrender from Tanzania, and The Father from Zimbabwe. The films, which were screened at the Zanzibar Cultural Centre at the Stone Town, left visitors at the event craving for more.
The event is important to the dhow countries, because it is through the festival that the rich culture of the region can be made to last from generation to generation, says Bongiwe Ngobo, M-Net New Directions Production Manager.
The event is usually punctuated with various entertainment activities, seminars, children’s merry-making grounds, film shows which stir the emotions of the onlookers. In fact, the dhow festival is designed such that it represents the actual cultural practices of the participating countries.
Bongiwe said that apart from cementing the cultures of the countries, it also helps to sharpen the talents of the artistes, especially after they meet and exchange ideas.
Various arts groups and solo artistes in the country are already on the island to entertain visitors, including the Parapanda Art, M-Net’s Best Female Artist Awardee Lady JD, Amani Music Ensemble, Chorus Sound.
From Zanzibar have come Taarab guru Bi Kidude and Msondo Trio, from Mozambique Eyu phuro, and ata Din Din Jobarteh from Gambia. These are just a few among the 60 groups from various parts of the world.
“It is at the festival that one can discover the abundant cultural treasure in the dhow countries,” says Imruh Bakari, Director of Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIIF), organisers of the event.
On new directions, Dianne Registord, Communications Manager of M-Net, said that filming programme was initiated to nurture script- writing and directorial skills amongst emerging African film makers.
He said that they had been offering a lot of help to ensure that emerging artistes get a strong foothold in the film industry, and that many of them had turned out to be self-employed experts in film making.
The Dhow Festival boasts one of the largest meeting of people with different religious faiths, age and racial backgrounds, in historically prominent venues like the House of Wonders (Beit el Ajaib), Palace Museum, Zanzibar Cultural Centre (Old Fort), which are nestled atop the tranquil shores of the Indian Ocean.

Omar's Death Derails Groupings

Contenders for the Tanzania presidency in 2005 must now go back to the drawing board following the sudden death of Vice President Dr Omar Ali Juma on Wednesday, July 4, in Dar es Salaam.

Dr Omar was regarded in political circles as President Benjamin Mkapa's most likely successor, but that did not discourage other politicians from eyeing the seat.

"There is a big U-turn in Tanzanian politics because it now gives the groups that had started to work for certain candidates a tough assignment for 2005... they need to re-group," a senior politician from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) told The EastAfrican.

Dr Omar was buried in Pemba last week.

"Now the candidature for the 2005 presidential race might go to Zanzibar because whoever is appointed Vice President [who must from Zanzibar], stands a better chance to contest and win in a presidential race ... We are in a difficult scenario, " said the CCM official.

He said the CCM Central Committee had to discuss President Mkapa's nominee for the vacant post before the president could send it to parliament for approval.

"The party National Executive Committee will then give its blessings to its Members of Parliament to endorse him or her... practically, the role of the parliament is that of a rubber stamp because CCM MPs, who are the majority in the house can't go against their party's decision," he said.

A few months ago, President Mkapa admonished CCM members who had started forming groupings in readiness for fielding their candidates for the 2005 presidential race, in which Mkapa cannot contest as he will be finishing his last term in office.

The groupings have names such as 'Boys to Men' CCM 'A' and CCM 'B'. 'Boys to Men,' features youthful leaders, while CCM 'B' belongs to the party mainstream. CCM 'B' has the party old guard. Dr Omar, regarded as front runner in the race for 2005, died of an heart attack. He had a busy schedule before meeting his death on Wednesday night at his Oyster Bay residence in Dar.

Together with President Benjamin Mkapa, Dr Omar received the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila on Tuesday and Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday morning when he flew in for the tripartite summit on the DRC crisis.

In the afternoon, Dr Omar inspected an exhibition pavilion at the Dar International Trade Fair. Later, he was driven to the Dar Airport to see off President Kabila minutes after 5.00 pm. He later returned home, and passed away at about 11.45 pm.

Dr Omar Ali Juma had been undergoing medical check ups in South Africa.

Section 50, sub-section (4) of the Tanzania Constitution requires the president to nominate a Vice President to be approved by the National Assembly within 14 days.

However, the choice must be CCM member from Zanzibar. When the President is from Tanzania mainland, the constitution requires that the Vice President, who during elections is a running mate, must come from Zanzibar, or vice versa. Mr Mkapa has a wide with many senior Zanzibari politicians to choose from. He could also get his new VP from Pemba, from where Dr Omar hailed. This would be prudent in view of the island's opposition to CCM.

Some of the Zanzibari political heavyweights in the Union government include Mr Omar Ramadhani Mapurim, a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Information, and a former Deputy Chief Minister of Zanzibar, now Education Minister there, Mr Abdisalaam Khatib. The Deputy Finance Minister in Union government and Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Mohammed Khatib, is also a possible nominee.

Others include Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, the Deputy Minister for Health and son of former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi. Dr Maua Daftari, the Deputy Minister for Transport and Communication in the Union government, is also a plausible candidate. Dr Abdulkadir Sharrif, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, too stands a chance of being picked. However, President Mkapa is free to nominate any CCM member to the VP post which opens the possibility of leaders such as the former Zanzibar Chief Minister, Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal, who last year contested against current Isles President Amani Abeid Karume for the nomination to the Isles' presidential candidacy on CCM ticket.

The other strong candidate for VP is Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, the Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity.

Dr Omar held several positions in the Zanzibar government, rising from an assistant veterinary officer in 1967 to the principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in 1984. He finally landed a political post as the Chief Minister of Zanzibar from 1988 to 1995, when Benjamin Mkapa nominated him as presidential running mate on the CCM ticket in Tanzania's first multiparty election in 1995. He was again nominated as a running mate in the 2000 general election, thus serving as Vice President for a second term.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya and President Festus Mogae of Botswana sent condolence messages to President Mkapa. Ugandan Vice President Dr Specioza Kazibwe, who attended the burial ceremony at Pemba, described Dr Omar as "a leader with vision and loyal to his President and Tanzania." President Kabila sent four ministers.

Minister admits misuse of funds
lGives House false information

Friday,
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Minister of Communications and Transport, Zubeir Ali Maulid, yesterday admitted in the House of Representatives that 320m/- had been embezzled in the Zanzibar Shipping Company.
However, Maulid refused to give further information on the issue alleging that the case was in the court and therefore the matter could not be discussed in the House.
But, the Representative for Donge, Ali Juma Shamhuna, disagreed with the minister, saying that the issue had not yet been taken to court, the fact which the Minister later conceded and had to apologise for giving false information.
Shamhuna had refused to approve the Ministry's estimates, pending explanations on the reasons which made the shipping company enter into a contract to buy a generator.
He said the legislation that led to the establishment of the company did not empower its management to enter into any contract without the knowledge of the ministry.
The minister had agreed that there was a misuse of funds, but had declined to comment further alleging that there was a case pending in court regarding MV Mapinduzi and MV Maendeleo ships until when it was discovered that he had misled the House.
The Minister of State in the Chief Minister's Office, Salum Juma Othman, intervened and promised the House that the suspected embezzlers would be dealt with accordingly.
Following the confusion which emanated from the ministers' response, the House Speaker, Pandu Ameir Kificho, urged ministers to be armed with facts before they answer questions in the House.
The shipping company had entered into agreement with a foreign company last year to obtain a generator for the government-owned ship, MV Mapinduzi, for it to operate more efficiently.
The legislators also wondered that the company had spent 300m/- for rehabilitating MV Mapinduzi in Mombasa when it had already been placed under a liquidator for its failure to operate commercially.

Stiff Competition Forces Cigarette Company to Halt Operations

Stiff competition has forced Zanzibar Cigarette Company (ZCC), which used to be a major employer in the Isles, to close down operations.

Closing down of the company denies employment to hundreds people and a revenue to the government of Zanzibar, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Marketing and Tourism, Mr. Mohammed Aboud Mohammed has told the House of Representatives.

"The ZCC, which used to contribute a lot to the Isles government, has been closed down due to various reasons including stiff competition mainly by the Mainland-based, Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC)," he has said. He told the House that his ministry was liaising with the ministry responsible for Finance and Economic Planning with a view to finding an appropriate solution.

He did not disclose them, but he said survival of the company was important in terms of employment and tax revenue to his government. According to him, by March ZCC produced 5,150 cartons worth Tshs604 million and only 4,140 cartons were sold. The company paid to the government Tshs371 million in form of taxes.

He said further that the government has approved seven industrial projects which he was optimistic they would contribute greatly to the Isles economy. The projects in the offing include for producing coconut oil, mineral water, aluminum door and window frames and glass factory. They also include for soft drinks and food packers.

Industries in Zanzibar have in the past few years been vulnerable to imported cheap products from Arabic countries.

Despite of vulnerability, the government of Zanzibar has been placing much of its hope for development on the tourism and industrial sectors. It has been the disparate plight of the national economy, which forced the government to place emphasis on non-traditional economies. Among them was Economic Recovery Program (ERP), drawn up through the assistance from the British Overseas Development Administrative (ODA). The ERP recommended tourism as one of the lead sectors in economic development for Zanzibar.

The government passed an Investment Protection Act (1986) to safeguard the interests of the would be investors. The Act encourages both local and foreign investments in Zanzibar across a broad range of industries, offering a variety of business inducements such as tax holiday, preferential income tax rates and special profit repatriation rules, among others. To-date a number of projects have been approved by the government's investment promotion agency, the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA).

Zanzibar is a high rate of unemployment, especially among youth and women whose unemployment rate exceeds that of men. The problem is compounded by the high rate of population growth which experts put current estimates at 3 percent. While in 1992 economically active population, over the age of 15 years, was only 292,530 the Department of Statistics in Zanzibar projects the figure to hit at 390,000 by the year 2005.

Zanzibar Denies Holding Opposition Leaders

The President of the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume, on Monday denied accusations by the human rights watchdog Amnesty International that the administration was holding political prisoners. Amani invited Amnesty to send representatives to Zanzibar to "witness what was happening for themselves," according to Tanzanian radio.

During talks at State House, Zanzibar, Amani told the Belgian ambassador to Tanzania, Guy Kurwer: "The law will take its course as regards those who have committed various crimes." He added that the principles of good governance meant no leader could interfere in the duties of the courts because "in doing so the law would not be upheld as required."

Amnesty International claimed in June that two "prisoners of conscience", Juma Duni Haji and Machano Khamis Ali, were being held in connection with the murder of a police officer during violent clashes on Pemba island in late January. Juma and Machano, leading members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) were thought not to have been on Pemba in January, when demonstrations against allegedly fraudulent elections erupted into violence, Amnesty said. On 28 May, Attorney General Iddi Pandu ordered the release of the two men: "The case should be dropped and the suspects released," Amnesty quoted Pandu as saying.

Zanzibar rejects Simba's
move on sugar imports

Wednesday
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar government has announced procedures which businessmen here will follow when importing sugar.
Making the announcement in the House of Representatives, the Zanzibar Minister for Industry, Commerce, Marketing and Tourism, Mohamed Aboud Mohamed, said yesterday that every businessmen in Zanzibar could import sugar.
He said the decision was in line with the free market policy being followed by the government. The restrictions announced by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Iddi Simba, in Tanzania Mainland, had nothing to do with Zanzibar.
Mohamed said the isles government did not recognise permissions given to only seven companies to import sugar in the country and did not see why Zanzibar traders who sent sugar to mainland Tanzania should also follow this process.
"The Zanzibar government does not have any plans to issue special permits to sugar importers. Representatives should understand that the sugar import restrictions have been taken by the Union government," he said.
Earlier Representatives criticised Simba for his decision to select only a few companies to import sugar in the country, when internal trade was not a union matter.
Nominated Representative, Ambassador Ahmed Hassan Diria, criticised the decision to select seven companies to import sugar, saying it was unconstitutional because it denied Zanzibar its freedom to decide on internal trade.
Before the budget estimates for the ministry were approved, Ambassador Diria and Ali Juma Shamhuna (Donge) asked the minister to explain the reasons behind increased sugar price on the isles.
They also criticised how tourism was being run, saying it denied the government a lot of money
Shamhuna said the prices of sugar and other commodities were increasing when there were no increase in tax rates.
But the minister said that the price increase was a result of strict control on tax evasion.
After approving the ministry estimates, members of the House of Representatives are debating estimates of the Ministry of Health and Community Development tabled by Dr Mwinyihaji Makame Mwadini.

Zanzibar Refugees Likely to Be Kicked Out

The 572 Zanzibaris hosted at a Kenyan refugee camp risk being declared illegal immigrants after declining voluntary repatriation.

Top UN investigators were expected in Dadaab Camp last Friday to interview the runaways, now living in squalid conditions at a transit centre as they await their cases to be determined. It is expected that at the close of the exercise, the runaways will either be granted refugee status or resettled in a third country or declared illegal immigrants.

However, the possibility of them being granted refugee-status dimmed following a statement from Mr Vedasto Joseph Mwesighe, the head of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees' office in Zanzibar, which showed that the situation in Pemba was "as it was before the violence."

The refugees, comprising women, children and youths aged between 15 and 35 years, are part of a larger group exiled by the orgy of violence on the Isles in February following Tanzania's contentious elections last October. Skirmishes between security forces and supporters of the Civic United Front, seeking repeat polls, claimed scores of lives.

The group is currently hosted at Dadaab complex, which comprises three refugee camps - Ifo, Hagadera, Dagahaley - with a population of over 130,000, about 95 per cent of them Somalis who escaped the murderous flare-up in Somalia in the wake of the ousting of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Dadaab is 300 km northeast of Nairobi.

Before being moved to Dadaab, the Zanzibaris were accommodated at Shimoni, near Mombasa. Dozens voluntarily returned home a couple of weeks ago. The UNHCR claims that the 572 exiles had refused to register for voluntary repatriation despite assurances of security back home.

"We will soon determine their status on individual basis and those who do not satisfy us, we will be forced to invoke the cessation clause," a UNHCR official said last week.

Invocation of the clause would effectively outlaw the Zanzibaris' quest for refugee status and resettlement in a third country. Those affected will therefore either personally move to another country or seek political asylum from the Kenya government.

UN conventions bar forced repatriation or relocation. In the case of the Zanzibari exiles, once the agency is satisfied they have no strong case to back up their demands for refugee status, it will decline to register them and hand them over to the Kenyan authorities.

"They will now be in the hands of the government, which will decide whether to grant them political asylum or hand them over to Tanzanian authorities," said the official who sought anonymity.

In interviews with The EastAfrican, the fugitives said they were not interested in returning to Zanzibar unless an "international commission of inquiry" was set up to probe the riots, fresh elections were called and the Union government moved to restructure the Constitution to pave way for more freedoms and democracy.

"We are ready to live here for ages, until a new government is in place," said their representative, Mr Abdulrahman Ghulam. "If we go back home, we will make the same demands but they are not ready to give in."

Mr Mwesighe said the group composed of children and youths who held no political posts back at home.

CCM `won't hand over Chief
Minister post to CUF'

Monday
By Correspondent Mwinyi Sadalla, PST Zanzibar

President Amani Karume of Zanzibar has ruled out the possibility of handing over the post of Chief Minister to the Civic United Front's Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad, as a condition to bring about reconciliation between Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF.
Karume told CCM members at Kibandamaiti grounds here yesterday that his government would not accept proposals to form a coalition government in Zanzibar.
"These people want your post but we are not ready for that...," Karume declared, pointing at the Chief Minister, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, who attended the rally.
CCM and CUF are holding meetings to attempt to solve the political crisis in Zanzibar.
The meetings are held in the wake of the bloody confrontation between CUF supporters and police force on January 27 when more than 25 people died and about 2,000 fled the country to seek refuge in Kenya.
President Karume said CUF leaders should understand that there was no room for a coalition government in Zanzibar and should wait for 2005 elections.
He said CCM was supporting the on-going dialogue between the two parties but wished to state clearly that it would not let the post of Chief Minister go to the opposition.
In the rally, also attended by former President, Salmin Amour, Karume accused members of diplomatic corps of interfering in Zanzibar's internal affairs saying it was unfair for them to use aid as political leverage.
He told the donor community that Zanzibar was ready to receive aid without conditions but added Zanzibaris were ready to endure difficulties in case no country offered aid without conditions.
Karume also accused the envoys for blaming the government for the January-27 killings in Zanzibar, saying they were instead expected to console the government at its most trying moments.

CCM And CUF in Secret Talks Over Zanzibar

Tanzania's ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi, and its main rival, the Civic United Front, who have been locked in a 10-year political impasse, have reached an advanced stage in peace negotiations.

The talks being conducted under extreme secrecy at a Dar es Salaam hotel, attended by only six top party officials, three from each the parties, on June 11 reached a crucial stage as even their members of central committees could not be confided in for fear of leaking information to the media.

A senior CUF official from Zanzibar told The EastAfrican last week that although he was a CUF central committee member, he knew nothing about what was going on. "The talks are being conducted under extreme secrecy behind closed doors and nobody among the members is allowed to disclose anything to us," the official said.

Initially, the negotiating team comprised 12 people but some have been dropped. Those dropped include Dr Masumbuko Lamwai, Dr Mohammed Sheni and Mohammed Aboud of CCM, while those from CUF are Ali Haji Pandu, Ismail Jussa and Shaibu Akwilombe.

The silence coming even from CUF ranks was clear testimony that something positive for CUF was in the offing. The party has strongly contested the results of last year's election in Zanzibar and has been demanding a re-run in the Isles. In February, 24 people died during protests organised by CUF to press for the election re-run. Another 2,000, mainly from Pemba island, fled to Mombasa, Kenya.

Although there has been speculation that CCM-Zanzibar had agreed to form a government of national unity with CUF as proposed in 1995 by the late President Julius Nyerere, nothing concrete has emerged.

There is speculation that a preliminary agreement has been reached to retain Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, but appoint a Chief Minister from CUF ranks and an equal number of Cabinet ministers.

In Zanzibar, CUF and CCM have just about equal support from the population of one million. Votes cast in 1995 and 2000 were almost a tie, which has constantly led to doubts on who actually won and accusations of ballot rigging.

In 1995, during the first multiparty general election, CCM won by less than one per cent of the votes cast. Mwalimu Nyerere is said to have proposed to the Zanzibar government then to form a government of national unity because of their equal popularity in the Isles.

However, CUF's 15 MPs boycotted the Zanzibar House of Representatives and House Speaker Kificho declared their seats vacant after being absent for three consecutive sessions. The move was immediately followed by a resolution not to hold by-elections within two months as required.

Political analysts in Dar conclude that say if the speculation was right then the House Speaker could be obliged to revoke his declaration of the 15 CUF seats or the Zanzibar Election Commission will conduct the demanded for re-run of the entire 50 seats in Zanzibar earlier than the 24 months.

However, the CUF central Committee member said whatever recommendations that will emerge from the secret talks, they will first be submitted to respective party Central Committees for scrutiny and final approval.

When last week the local media carried speculations on the progress of the talks, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Media and Policy, Mr Ramadhani Mapuri warned the local media to refrain from 'misinformation and lies,' but could not state the 'truth' on the state of the talks.

Muslim leaders advise Reps not to waste time over mosques

Monday
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Sheikhs facing the wrath of the members of House of Representatives for not praying for the Zanzibar President, Amani Karume say it is time house concentrated on the ailing economy instead of spending time on trivial issues.
Sheikhs Hamad, Nassor Bachu, Saleh Zagar, whose mosques face closure for ignoring to include President Karume in their prayers, said most Zanzibaris were facing poverty and deteriorating social service the problems worth discussion in the house.
"Zanzibaris are facing serious problems...It is strange members of the House are not discussing these and spend time discusing mosques," said Sheikh Hamad in Kikwajuni mosque.
The sheikhs of Rahaleo, Mchangani and Kikwajuni mosques have vowed to fight until death if the government closed the mosques.
Sheikh Hamad said it was not logical to complain that President Karume was not mentioned in prayers because such prayers included all members of Islamic faith, including the president.
"We believe President Karume is a Muslim like any other person... It is not correct to mention every one here in the prayers," he remarked.
He said members of the House of Representatives should know any Muslim was responsible to pray for himself or herself first instead of waiting for others to pray for him or her.
Last week, the Minister of State in the President's Office (Good Governance), Ali Mohammed Shein, told members of the House that leaders of Rahaleo mosque were to be removed and be replaced with a committee that was in favour of the government leaders in the constituency.
He said it was not wise for Muslims to ignore their President in their prayers as he was the top government leader in the country.

China to cancel Zanzibar debts, worth 7bn/-

By Guardian Reporter

China will cancel all debts, amounting to over 7bn/-, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar owes it, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation has announced in Dar es Salaam.
The ministry said in a statement issued yesterday that the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji made the pledge to cancel the debts in his meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Jakaya Kikwete who is touring China and other countries in the Far East.
In China, Kikwete also met the Chinese Foreign Minister, Tang Jiaxun.
The statement also said China also has extended over 200m/- to Tanzania as a gesture to the existing good relations between the two countries.
China also intends to cancel some debts Tanzania owes it, the statement said.
Tanzania's debts to China include loans extended during the first-phase government to finance the construction of Tanzania Zambia Railway (TAZARA), the Urafiki textile mill, the Ubungo Farm Implements (UFI) factory and Mbarali rice farm project.
Kikwete and his counterpart, Jiaxuan, also signed an agreement for the establishment of a political consultative mechanism under which cabinet ministers from the two countries would be meeting every year to discuss issues in politics, economy and international relations.
Kikwete and his delegation left Tanzania on May 23 for a tour of Far East countries including China, India, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
The minister visited farm projects and industries and met businessmen from the countries he toured.
He is expected back home this week.

`12 policemen sacked in
Zanzibar for political reasons'

Monday 6/11/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Police Force in Zanzibar has reportedly expelled 12 policemen for political reasons since the January demonstrations which led to the deaths of over 23 people.
PST investigations here have revealed that the policemen were sacked on allegations they deliberately weakened police efforts to contain the demonstrations organised by the opposition Civic United Front.
Two policemen, who are victims, told PST they were preparing their appeal to be submitted to the Inspector General of Police, Omari Mahita.
The policemen said they had not been given an opportunity to defend themselves. They were also not told the reasons for their expulsion.
They claimed the whole issue centred on political tension between Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the Civic United Front in Zanzibar.
"I believe I have been sacked because I'm from Pemba...," said one, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said high-ranking police officers in Zanzibar were in the midst of political rivalry between the two parties, clearly favouring one party.
PST discovered that the police had their mobile phones taken by police administration before the demonstrations on claims they were used to leak police strategies to CUF leaders.
Assistant Police Commissioner in Zanzibar, Juma Mtumwa Abdalla said it was not strange that policemen were sacked because "anyone who goes contrary to laid down regulations faces expulsion."
Although he did not give the number of the policemen sacked since January, he said there were policemen who were sacked because of disciplinary reasons.
Abdalla said the policemen who had been sacked had the right to appeal to contest decisions taken against them.
He however said there was not any policemen who had been sacked because he was a follower of an opposition party, stressing the police force did not sack anyone for political reasons.

Amnesty Alert On Zanzibari Prisoners

The human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Thursday expressed concern for the physical safety of two prisoners charged with the murder of a police officer during a political demonstration on Pemba Island on 27 January, and who have not been released despite Zanzibar's Attorney General having ordered the authorities to do so.

Most of those charged with the murder of a police officer during clashes surrounding a demonstration in Wete, Pemba island, have been released but "prisoners of conscience" Juma Duni Haji and Machano Khamis Ali remain in detention, according to Amnesty.

Pemba, the second largest on the archipelago of Zanzibar, was wracked by violence in late January when security forces used strong-arm tactics to put down demonstrations by the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) against allegedly fraudulent general elections in October last year.

Both Juma and Machano are leading members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), and have recently been released from custody after being held for three years as prisoners of conscience on fabricated charges of treason, Amnesty stated on Thursday. Neither man is believed to have been on Pemba at the time of the demonstrations, it added.

On 28 May, Attorney General Iddi Pandu ordered the release of Juma and Machano and told journalists that the police had "failed to produce any evidence beyond reasonable doubt against the suspects," according to the Amnesty press release. "The case should be dropped and the suspects released", it quoted Iddi as saying.

In a court hearing on 4 June, police prosecutor Ramadani Hamis challenged the Attorney General's decision and asked for "thorough clarification" before the two detainees could be released. The two remained in detention and were expected to appear in court again on 18 June, Amnesty said.

About 18 other CUF party leaders, who had also been charged with the murder and were held in Wete prison, were reportedly released at the beginning of June, and had their charges dropped, the human rights NGO stated. It appeared that the authorities still wanted three other suspects thought to be hiding in Kenya, it added.

Over 2,000 Zanzibaris fled to Kenya from the Zanzibari islands of Unguja and Pemba when the political clashes erupted in January. More than 600 were repatriated last month from a makeshift camp in the Kenyan fishing village of Shimoni, south of Mombasa. Five hundred and six others were now being registered at Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya in preparation for their voluntary repatriation later this month, UNHCR reported on Tuesday. [for further details, go to: http://www.unhcr.ch/news/media/media.htm]

Several hundred others have reportedly found shelter with local villagers on the Kenyan coast or made their own way home.

A monitoring mission to Unguja and Pemba last week reported that the situation on the islands had improved, and that "no reports of harassment had been received from those who have recently returned home", UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski stated on Tuesday.

A handful of the returning refugees currently faced criminal charges, ranging from destruction of property to minor traffic violations, he said.

The government of Tanzania has given assurances that, upon their return to Pemba, the refugees will not be prosecuted as a group for their involvement in the banned political demonstrations which had turned violent in January.

IN THE MURDER OF A POLICEMAN...
CUF leaders have case to answer, police insist

Saturday 6/09/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar.

Two top Civic United Front (CUF) leaders, Juma Duni Haji and Machano Khamis Ali, have a case to answer, police in Zanzibar still insist.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police Juma Mtumwa Abdallah said in Zanzibar yesterday that there was enough evidence to show that Haji and Ali were implicated in the murder of policeman Haji Muslim Simai.
He was reacting to the prosecutor's claim that he did not understand well a directive given by the Attorney General, Idd Pandu Hassan, on Tuesday that Haji and Ali did not have a case to answer.
ACP Abdallah said that it was true the AG had powers to direct the court on what to do in such circumstances. The police did not have such powers.
According to Abdallah the AG should have sent a special note to the court on the issue instead of sending the directive to the police.
He said that the police investigations in Pemba had cleared 17 individuals who were freed after the government had declared it did not have interest in the case.
The police are however still holding another on allegations that his brother participated in the killing of police officer Haji Muslim Simai.
The police, he said, were still waiting for clarification from the Attorney General's Chambers.
Although the AG had already said that he had gone through the file and found that the CUF leaders had no case to answer and could be set free, they were remanded again on Thursday until June 18.
The order came after the Director of Prosecution, Assistant Superintendent of Police Ramadhan Hamisi said the Investigation Department needed clarification from the AG Chambers before executing his directive.
Hamis did no say what the AG had instructed them to do in the case.
Hamis had said that apart from receiving the directive from the AG, there was need for the police to get explanation on the charges against the accused persons.
However, the defence counsel wanted the court to reject the prosecution's request because the AG had already said they did not have a case to answer.
Magistrate Yesaya Kanyange accepted the prosecution's request to adjourn the case until June 18, ordering them to report to court with proper answers then.

Three allowed to challenge
registrar of political parties

Saturday 6/09/01
By Alloyce Komba

The High Court yesterday granted leave to three retired politicians to file their main application to challenge the Registrar of Political Parties alleging him to have failed to discharge his duties.
The order of leave was granted yesterday following a chamber application filed in mid April by Peter Kisumo from Moshi, Peter Siyovelwa from Iringa and Alhaj Mustafa Songambele from Songea.
The three applicants, who during the first-phase government of the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere held various ministerial and party posts, argue that the Civic United Front had long ceased to be a political party as it has degenerated into a "terrorist organisation".
That CUF's violent move compels the registrar to cancel its registration as a political party. This decision has not been taken, they allege.
The case was filed a few days before the tenure of office of the then Registrar of Political Parties, George Liundi, expired. He was replaced by the current Registrar, John Tendwa.
In their separate affidavits and a joint statement constituting their application, the three veteran politicians contended that CUF accepts and advocates the use of force and violence as a means to attaining its political objectives which include breaking the union of the United Republic of Tanzania.
They alleged that CUF did organise, orchestrate and facilitate the January-27 demonstration in defiance of lawful orders. More than 20 people lost their lives in the demonstration.
They also stated that CUF has a special paramilitary group, "the Green Guards," whose function is to destabilise the country and that the party has on several occasions incited its members to commit unlawful acts such as arson, assaults and malicious damage to property.
"Taken in their entirety, these are acts of political terrorism...no conclusion can be drawn other than that CUF is a prima facie a terrorist organisation," concluded Kisumo, Siyovelwa and Songambele in their joint statement.
They submitted that the Registrar of Political Parties was duty bound to censure CUF for its track record which goes against the Political Parties Act, 1992 and the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977.

Opposition leaders hit at Zanzibar budget

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Officials of opposition parties in Zanzibar say the budget, announced last Thursday, will not benefit the common man.
This is so because the Zanzibar government does not control the taxation system which is under the union government.
"How come you become optimistic when the controls on the sources of revenue are, unfortunately, under the union tight control," charged a member of the Civic United Front (CUF) General Council, Hamad Rashid Hamad.
Speaking a day after the Zanzibar government released its budget, Hamad said that besides other serious shortcomings, the increase of the minimum salary to 30,000/- would not make the life of civil servants easier.
He said that Zanzibar government did not have power to deal with inflation and other technical issues influenced by the union government budget.
Such a situation had far reaching effects on the Isles economy and the life of islanders.
Hamad, a former Union Deputy Minister for Finance in the first phase government, opposed the estimated 5 per cent growth of the economy from 4.2 per cent in the last fiscal year.
"How come the economy can grow at such a rate when industries are unproductive and the import business is almost dead as a result of the changes in the taxation system?" he queried.
He said he expected the government would come up with solutions to problems affecting Zanzibaris. These were poor education, lack of employment, clean water, poor medical services and ever rising food prices.
He said he did not accept the fact that economic growth was 4.2 during the ending financial year because there was no industrial production.
"This budget is the same as that of the Zanzibar municipality and the government has no power to check inflation because it depends on the Union budget," he said.
The Tanzania Labour Party Deputy Publicity Secretary for Zanzibar, Peter Magwina, said the budget did not consider new items which might bring hope to the islanders.
"The government promises development to the people at the same time last year's projected projects were not implemented. This is cheating the electorate," he said.
The promise the government made that it would deal with misappropriation of funds was mere politicking because those who embezzled the funds were known yet the government did not take action against them.
However, the Adviser to the President in Pemba, Said Abeid said that the budget had given hope to wananchi especially in the protection of public property.
Abeid said the such measures would boost social services. The sixth-phase government was following the right direction.
Some civil servants said that no research was conducted to determine real living expenses before increasing the minimum wage.
Some said it was disappointing that the government increased the minimum wage to only 30,000/ while some government officials were earning between 300,000/ and 400,000/= a month.
Some business men said plans to raise economic development would not succeed if the government continue to neglect the business sector.
The budget which was announced on Thursday raised the minimum wage from 25,000/ to 30,000/ and promised to curb inflation and stabilise taxation.

Call for independent probe
on Zanzibar killings

Friday, June 08, 2001
By Correspondent Nancy Jacob

The International Federation of Human Rights and the Dar es Salaam-based Legal and Human Right Centre are pushing for an independent probe on the January-27 killings of opposition activists in Zanzibar.
The two institutions which yesterday launched in Dar es Salaam a report, entitled Wave of Violence on Electoral Mismanagement and Police Brutality in Zanzibar, called on the Union and Zanzibar governments to form the commission to probe alleged atrocious actions committed by some members of the Police Force and Civic United Front supporters.
They also called the African Unity (AU), the United Nations and the European Union (EU) to play their roles in the drive.
Their report insists that the commission will also bring to an end reported abuses of human rights on the isles and ensure the democratization of the electoral process.
The commission would also bring about constitutional reforms and ensure that the police respected human rights, according to the report.
The report is an outcome of a fact-finding mission formed by the International Federation of Human Rights and the Legal and Human Right Centre.
The mission was sent to Unguja and Pemba in January and February after the January 27 killings of opposition activists.
The report says that heavily armed policemen beat up
citizens in Zanzibar during the October elections and repeated their acts on January 27 leading to the deaths of people whose number is still contested by different parties.
Dozens of people died in Zanzibar when police clashed with the CUF supporters after the latter took to the streets in demonstrations that were banned by police.
The killings and allegedly harassments of CUF members including torture and rape led to exodus of more than 2,000 refugees from Pemba and Unguja to Mombasa, Kenya.

CUF demands for fresh
polls in Zanzibar `not feasible'

Friday 6/08/01
By Henry Lyimo

The Germany Ambassador in Tanzania, Dr. Enno Barker said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that demands for the Civic United Front (CUF) for fresh elections in Zanzibar were genuine but no longer "feasible" eight months now since the isles held elections in October last year.
" CUf is right to ask for elections but it is simply not feasible after all this time to go back and change everything," Dr Barker told journalists after the inauguration of Agenda: Participation 2000 in the city.
Dr. Barker was answering questions from journalists who sought an explanation on a statement he made earlier during the launching of the project focussing on free and fair elections.
He said he shared CUF's observations that the elections in Zanzibar were marred by massive irregularities but argued it would not be practical now to dissolve the government and start afresh.
CUF maintains that no elections were held in Zanzibar. It does not recognize President Amani Karume and demands fresh elections on the Spice Islands.
The position has sparked off political tension in the Isles between the two main political parties which surfaced after the 1995 general elections.
Zanzibar held general elections in October last year where Chama Cha Mapinduzi candidate, Amani Karume won. The elections were however widely discredited by international observers.
Dr. Barker said there are ways for CCM and CUF to sit together and deliberate on the ways to solve the impasse and lauded the ongoing dialogue between the two parties.
"There are means CUF can sit with CCM and tell them look the elections does not reflect the will of the people," he said.
He reiterated his government's stance of refusing to fund political parties saying financial support to a party would imply bias on one party.
"Our line, as you might know, is to never fund political parties as that would mean taking side," he said.
The Dutch Royal Embassy announced recently intention to assist some opposition political parties a position which caused a stir in the government circles and from the ruling party.
The guest of honour at the launching ceremony, the Minister of State in the Vice President's Office, Arcado Ntagazwa, called on the establishment of a code of conduct which would guide activities of political parties.
Agenda: Participation 2000 for Democratic Culture was launched by Participation 2000 in Tanzania in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
It came up with ten principles. These are Participation, Consensus, Transparency, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Truthfulness, Culture of Competition, Integrity and Equal Opportunities.

ZANZIBAR BUDGET: 6/5/01
Minimum wage up to 30,000/-

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Revolutionary Government has increased the minimum wage for its civil servants to 30,000/- a month from the previous 25,000/- an equivalent of 20 per cent increase.
Presenting the Isles government's budget for the year 2001/2002, the Minister of State in the President's Office (Finance), Suleiman Othman Nyanga said the increase was intended to easing financial difficulties the civil servants were facing.
Nyanga said the government would increase transport allowances for civil servants in the next financial year.
He said the government would control inflation and did not intend to raise taxes in coming financial year.
The economy was expected to grow by 5 per cent from 4.2 per cent the previous financial year, he said.
The government was expecting to spend 61.5bn/- for recurrent expenditure and 24.5bn/- for development activities, he explained.
Nyanga said the government intended to implement seven development projects. Four projects would involve tourist hotels and three projects would be industrial.
The projects were estimated to cost 16.4bn/-.
Speaking on Zanzibar's foreign debt, Nyanga said they were enormous, threatening to cripple the economy. From July to December last year the debt rose to 104.7bn/-. At the same time, the domestic debt stood at 30bn/-.
However, the actual debt was unknown because important statistics were not available, he said.
"I admit that statistics on the debts are not complete and there are debts the documents of which are not available...," said Nyanga.
On ghost workers in government departments, he said the Auditor General and other government officials were working hard to rectify the situation.
He said the government was compelled to use about 49 per cent of its revenue to pay salaries for its workers. A substantial amount of this money went to ghost workers.
He said cloves would continue to be Zanzibar's main cash crop and the government would clamp down on the illegal trade of the crop.
On foreign investments, Nyanga said the government would give priority to investors in water, road, electricity and communication sectors.

Webmaster's note: At current exchange rates 30,000 Tz. = about $35.00 per month

Ghost workers earn 60m/-in
Zanzibar Health Ministry

lChief Accountant suspended

Monday 6/04/01
By Mwinyi Sadallah, PST, Zanzibar

The Chief Accountant of the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and Community Development, Amour Makame, has been suspended allegedly for occasioning millions of shillings loss to the government.
The money is said to have been paid to ghost workers in the ministry. He also made other unverified payments.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Omar Sheha, confirmed the suspension, saying investigations conducted since last December up to last March revealed that the government was losing 10m/= in Zanzibar and 5m/= in Pemba every month.
He said the money was being collected by some executives of the ministry in fraudulent ways.
The final decision on Makame awaits a report from the Central Establishment so that appropriate action is taken against him and other officials in the ministry if they are implicated.
Sheha said that after taking the reins of power, the government of President Karume decided to conduct an inspection intended to boost health services on the isles.
It was acting on allegations that the health sector was spending too much money and the services were poor.
It has been alleged that some of the names which appeared on the pay list included persons who had died, resigned or had been retired.
To boost efficiency in the health sector, the ministry has transferred the Chief Medical Officer Hassan Mkoko and some of his subordinates.
Dr Juma Abuu Othman has been appointed Chief Medical Officer while Fatma Juma has been appointed secretary to the Mnazi Mmoja hospital.
Mwamini Juma has been named Chief Nursing Officer and Dr. Farid Zam has appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
There are allegations that similar problems afflict many government ministries because the government auditing department is slow in examining government books of accounts.
The last time the department audited the accounts and issued a report was in 1997.
Some senior officers in the department told PST that many ministries were burdened with similar problems and many of executives were worried now that the Central Establishment was conducting the investigation.

Zanzibar Speaker praises Tendwa

Monday 6/04/01
By Mwinyi Sadallah, PST, Zanzibar

The Speaker of the House of Representatives in Zanzibar, Pandu Ameir Kificho, has praised the Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa, for showing great understanding of democracy.
Kificho said that in nominating Tendwa, President Benjamin Mkapa did the right thing.
"I believe he chose the right person who is capable of eliminating political conflicts," Kificho said at the weekend.
Kificho's statement comes some days after the Speaker of the National Assembly, Pius Msekwa, warned Tendwa not to go beyond his area of jurisdiction.
Kificho said steps being taken by the registrar could strengthen democracy in the country.
However, this would depend on whether leaders of political parties welcomed change and were ready to enhance multi-party democracy in the country.
He called upon Tendwa to hold frequent seminars for the opposition leaders so that they understood their responsibility in strengthening democracy in multipartism.
Other political parties leaders have also congratulated Tendwa, saying they were comforted to have a leader who visited them.
The Deputy Chairman of Tanzania Labour Party Zanzibar (TLP), Mugau Mugau, said his party was delighted that Tendwa had solved problems which were troubling the party.
He asked Tendwa to help any political party which was going against its rules and regulations.
The Deputy Chairman of NCCR-Mageuzi, Zanzibar, Ambari Khamis, said the nomination of Tendwa was a consolation to the opposition.
While in Zanzibar, Tendwa said that political parties which received subsidies should make sure t the money was used as intended.
He promised that he would make sure that he would establish a sub-office on the isles so that he could easily reach political leaders in Zanzibar.

State organs in Zanzibar frustrate political parties -Tendwa

Sunday, 6/03/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa, yesterday concluded his tour in the isles, telling the Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, that the executive has been interfering with the freedom of political parties in exercising their political rights.
Tendwa said political parties in Zanzibar were operating under very difficult environment because of obstacles deliberately put by the state organs.
He said the political situation in the isles was so unconducive that some of the political parties could not hoist their flags or open new branches.
Talking to President Karume at the State House, Tendwa said, police, district commissioners and local government officials had been singled out by leaders of political parties as stumbling blocks to true democracy.
The Registrar said every party had the right to exercise its political right according to the law of the land and appealed to the government to create conducive environment to all political parties.
“I believe all these complaints are caused by sore relations between the organs of state and political parties,” he said.
Tendwa called on the Police Force to stay away from politics and perform its duties diligently to remove the notion that the Force favoured the ruling party.
President Karume however, said that it was possible that there were some government leaders who were interfering with political parties activities unknowingly, but warned that some of the opposition leaders had been laying blames to government and ruling party leaders whenever they mess up.
“What you have heard might be true, but it is also possible that the allegations might not be true,” the President told Tendwa.

Zanzibar cannot be member of EAC- Zanzibar Chief Justice

Sunday, 6/03/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Chief Justice, Idd Pandu Hassan, has said that Zanzibar alone cannot become a member of the East African Community (EAC) as it is not a sovereign state.
Pandu said Zanzibar would continue to be represented in the EAC as part of the United Republic of Tanzania, as its sovereignty ceased soon after it merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.
“Matters which are not covered in the Union would be represented in the EAC through various platforms of the Union government and Zanzibar,” he said.
Pandu’s clarification has come few days after some lawyers and academicians in Zanzibar said that Zanzibar was supposed to be an independent member in the East African Community because there were economic matters which were not covered in the Union government.
Matters which are not covered in the Union include, tourism sector, agriculture and women affairs.
The Chief Justice said claims that Zanzibar would not benefit from the Community were baseless, saying that Zanzibar would be involved in various seatings in the community.

Tourists safety tops Zanzibar commission’s arrangement

Tuesday, May 29, 2001
By Fakih Yussuf Mohamed, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Tourism Commission has completed all preparations ahead of the start of 2001 long tourism season that kicks-off early next month.
The commission’s anticipate over 100,000 tourists from all over Europe, US and Japan will visit Zanzibar (the spice Islands) this time around. Last year about 97,165 tourists visited the spice Islands. Tourisms net Tshs 54bn in the year 1999/2000.
Talking to Financial Times, the commission’s Executive Secretary, Mr Vuai Mwinyi Mohamed said all preparations have been completed from hotels, guest houses and up to “services and security at tourism spots.”
Tourists’ security was top priority during the preparations, he said adding that:”The Commission has solicited close working relations with state safety and security agencies throughout the tourism season.”
He was optimistic that the programme of action that was charted out will ensure highest security ever to the tourists.
He also called on wananchi (members of the public) to participate fully in the measures so as to ensure maximum safety to tourists. “Wananchi are required to collaborate with police and security agencies on one side and the commission on the other to thwart mistreatment of tourists from bad elements and keep Zanzibar name high in international tourism circles,” he urged.
During the whole of next week, Mr Vuai will tour almost all tourism spots in the Islands and hold talks with local government leaders, sheha and residents living nearby, especially in rural areas on the best ways to accord the tourists maximum assistance and their role in tourists’ security.
The commission’s secretary said the Islands participation in Italy and Germany tourism shows two months ago has been a success as more tour agents promised to bring tourists to the Isles.
“When we were in Milan, as well as Germany, Tanzania pavilion attracted many visitors with interest to come this side,” he said.
We expect to receive visitors from Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, UK, Spain, Finland, Canada and Australia as well as the United Arabs Emirate following Zanzibar’s special publicity campaign in those countries.
“All roads leading to tourism destinations in the Island have been rehabilitated and water and electricity have reached almost all villages with tourism spots north and south of Unguja,” he said.

CUF March Banned On Zanzibar

The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) has been banned by the Zanzibar police from holding a charity walk planned for 26 May to raise funds for the victims of political violence in January. Zanzibar Police Commissioner Khalid Iddi Nuizani said the proposed five-kilometre walk had been "legally banned" and would be halted, but the CUF planning director, Musa Kombo, insisted on Wednesday that the party would go ahead with it, AFP reported. "The police have no grounds to stop us. We will walk. Let them prepare enough bullets to shoot all of us," AFP quoted Kombo as saying. "If they carry on with it, government power will be used to stop it," Nuizani stated.

Over 30 people were reported killed in violent clashes in January, and over 2,000 refugees (mainly CUF supporters) fled to Kenya from the Zanzibari islands of Unguja and Pemba, after a heavy clampdown on CUF protests against what it considered fraudulent elections in October last year. The standoff has raised the political temperature in Unguja and Pemba, with police questioning opposition party leaders, including the CUF secretary-general and twice Zanzibar presidential candidate, Seif Shariff Hamad, AFP reported. Leaders of the opposition CUF, the National Reconstruction Alliance, the Tanzania Labour Party and the Popular National Party (PONA) were being investigated for allegedly making "seditious speeches" at public rallies in Bwejuu and Lumumba, the Tanzanian 'Guardian' newspaper reported on Thursday.

The repatriation of 667 refugees, mostly from Pemba, who fled January's political violence, had been completed on 18 May without any significant difficulty, UNHCR stated on Tuesday. The agency said it would monitor the treatment of those accused of offences during the January demonstrations to ensure they received due process, and planned to maintain a monitoring presence in Pemba and Unguja for the coming weeks.

`MAKING SEDITIOUS SPEECHES:'
Police query opposition leaders in isles

Thursday 5/23/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Police Force in Zanzibar are interrogating some opposition leaders for uttering what are being claimed to be "seditious speeches" made recently at three public rallies held on the islands.
The Mjini-Magharibi Regional Police Commander, Juma Mtumwa Abdallah, confirmed here yesterday that the decision to interrogate the opposition leaders was made after the police had reviewed video tapes taken at the rallies.
Sources told PST yesterday that the police took the video tapes enforcers at three public rallies which were held on April 28.
One of the rallies was held at Bwejuu and another was held in Lumumba area in Zanzibar.
Leaders being interrogated include those from the main opposition Civic United Front, the National Reconstruction Alliance, the Tanzania Labour Party and PONA, the sources said.
The speakers reportedly said that President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar, would be removed from the State House by force.
The police are reported to have already interrogated the CUF Chairman in Mjini-Magharibi District, Abdallah Goseji, who is alleged to have said: "Wananchi should be ready to demand their democratic rights."
The sources said the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad, and his Deputy Secretary General, Nassoro Hamis, the CUF Publicity Director, Hamad Rashid, would also be interrogated.
Mtumwa stated that if the police found evidence that the leaders uttered such seditious speeches they would be sent to court soon.
"Every person will be interrogated depending on his own speech... This interrogation is not done under the influence of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi as some leaders from the opposition camp have claimed," Mtumwa said.
The police were only doing their duty according to the existing laws and professional ethics, he said.

"No Serious Problems" With Zanzibari Returnees

The repatriation of 667 Zanzibari refugees, who fled political violence on the islands of Unguja and Pemba in late January, was completed on 18 May without any significant difficulty, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski stated on Tuesday.

The refugees, many of them supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) from the island of Pemba, had been staying in a makeshift camp in Shimoni, a small fishing town on the Kenyan coast, south of Mombasa port, he said.

These refugees were among a group of more than 2,000 Zanzibaris who fled a violent clampdown on the CUF on the islands, as the party protested against what it considered fraudulent elections in October last year. Amnesty International reported in early March that its preliminary investigation had confirmed torture, including rape and beatings, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians by security forces.

Over 500 of the refugees were transferred from Shimoni to refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, and several hundred others found shelter with friends and relatives on the Kenyan coast, which is just 40 km by sea from Zanzibar. UNHCR expects many of these to join the repatriation movement in the coming weeks.

The government of Tanzania has given assurances that those refugees who return voluntarily to Pemba will not be prosecuted as a group for their involvement in the January demonstrations, the refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Janowski said the agency's protection staff in Zanzibar were monitoring the return process, and would also be working with partner agencies such as UNICEF to ensure that the refugee children were readmitted to schools. Refugee agency staff were "working closely with the government, the opposition Civic United Front and returnee families, focusing on vulnerable groups", he said.

The refugee agency said it would monitor the treatment of those accused of offences during the January demonstrations to ensure they received due process under the law.

"No serious problems have been reported so far," Janowski said. "We expect to maintain a monitoring presence in Pemba and Zanzibar for the coming weeks."

Murder charges against
CUF leaders may be dropped

Tuesday 5/22/01
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Charges against five Civic United Front leaders that they murdered a policeman during the January 27 demonstration in Pemba, are likely to be dropped because the police do not seem to have enough evidence.
The Attorney General of Zanzibar, Pandu Idd Hassan, told reporters here yesterday that after thoroughly examining the police files on the charges it was found there was not enough evidence to continue with the case.
“Due to this fact, there is a possibility that charges against the accused persons that they murdered a policeman, one Haji Muslim, may be withdrawn,” he said.
However, he did not say whether the accused persons would be set free or the police could frame other charges according to their inve-stigations.
The ccused are the Deputy CUF General Secretary, Juma Haji Duni, and four others.

Pemba Probes Police Brutality

Police in Pemba are investigating the beating by policemen of five civilians believed to be members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

Pemba has been tense since January when clashes between the police and supporters of CUF resulted in the death of 23 people.

The regional crimes officer (RCO) for South Pemba, Mr Faraji Kayuga told The EastAfrican, "We have opened a file for investigations against the policemen who were involved in the fracas two weeks ago. To date, two of them have been identified."

He said one person, Mr Juma Salum, was severely beaten up by the police and admitted to hospital for four days.

During the same week, policemen at Madungu village on the island clashed with civilians. Four of them were injured.

According to Mr Kayuga, the injured were Mr Mohammed Zuberi, Mr Said Mohammed, Mr Khamis Masoud and Mr Said Suleyman. However, it believed that dozens more civilians sustained minor injuries in the fights, but did not report to police for fear of reprisals.

He said that at Madungu village, 15 policemen attacked civilians, accusing them of threatening to hurt them with machetes while they (the policemen) were returning from a night club to their station nearby.

"However, they have failed to say who among the civilians were carrying the machetes and we think their decision to attack civilians was uncalled for," he said.

"After taking explanations from the victims, I ordered investigations to establish the truth. All this is conducted under police force rules and regulations," said Mr Kayuga, who was the acting regional police commander when the clashes took place.

He dismissed as baseless, accusations that the police were sitting on the case, arguing that it would be unlawful to take a suspect to court without first conducting in-depth investigations.

"We are conducting investigations as per the laid down regulations of the police force and the decision will be made public," he said.

He said, likewise, any policeman, regardless of his or her rank, who harassed any of the 1,200 CUF members who have been living in Kenya as refugees and have returned home, would be punished.

The refugees fled Pemba in January and February fearing for their lives after 23 CUF supporters were shot dead by police for staging unlawful demonstrations in protest against the flawed October 2000 elections. The islanders were demanding a re-run of the elections in Zanzibar.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last Friday sent home the last batch of 481 refugees from Zanzibar and Pemba.

They were each paid a $50 stipend before being shipped back home in two boat trips by UNHCR and Kenyan officials.

Kenya's Refugee Affairs Under Secretary, Mr Nimrod Waweru, and UNHCR programme officer, Mr Alberto Carlos Cabeia, said they were closing down the makeshift camp in the southern Kenyan coastal village of Shimoni after the last of the refugees had left for home.

More than 1,000 of the 2,300 refugees orginally at the Shimoni camp had already either returned home quietly or mingled with locals in the Kenyan coast, making their whereabouts impossible to determine.

Isles should have joined EAC separately, says AG

Monday 5/21/01
By PST, Zanzibar

The legal fraternity in Zanzibar has said Zanzibar should have joined the East African Community (EAC) as a separate entity and not as part of the United Republic of Tanzania because of its constitution.
This was said in Zanzibar during a seminar on the Role of Zanzibar in the EAC which was organised by the Journalists Association of Zanzibar (JAZ).
The Zanzibar Attorney General Ally Hassani said before Tanzania joined the community, it should have considered this constitutional power to allow Zanzibar to benefit from it.
He said the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania explains clearly union and Zanzibar matters some of which concern the community.
Presenting a paper in the seminar, the Attorney General said according to Section 4 (3) of the union constitution, together with its institutions such as the parliament, courts do not have powers to meddle with matters that do dot concern the union.
He mentioned sectors included in the community treaty in which Zanzibar could make independent decisions as transport, agriculture, health, women's affairs and tourism. Zanzibar should prepare its own programmes to implement them.
He said due to the current representation in which Zanzibar participated as part of the union, it could fail to defend its policies and thus not benefit from the community.
He said there was already a big set-back after the community had agreed on the execution of some projects which would not benefit Zanzibar.
The Attorney General said Zanzibar would not benefit because of lack of a delegate to defend its interest in the co-ordinating committee in the EAC Cabinet of Ministers.
"It is true that Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania but the question of Zanzibar's representation should have been considered because its implementation will not succeed without involving Zanzibar itself," he noted.
He said because of this situation, Zanzibar would not get any of its rights in questions that did not concern the union.
The two-day seminar included some individuals vying for seats in the EAC Assembly, officers from the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and journalists.

200 refugees return to Pemba from Mombasa

Friday 5/18/01
By Henry Lyimo

The first batch of Tanzanians who fled to Mombasa in Kenya following bloody clashes between police and opposition activists in Zanzibar last January, arrived in Pemba yesterday.
The spokeswoman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Dar es Salaam office, Ivana Unlouva, told The Guardian yesterday that 205 refugees who were at Shimoni camp in the Kenyan coastal town arrived in Pemba at around 3:10pm in the afternoon.
"They have arrived and they are now boarding buses to proceed to their homes... So far everything is alright... There has been no problem," she said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed their homecoming in a statement sent late yesterday afternoon.
She said UNHCR officers, aid workers, government officials and Civic United Front supporters were among the people who received the refugees who were aboard mv Sepideh
None of the arriving refugees were arrested, signifying that the government kept its promise to let home-coming refugees go back home freely, she said.
"UNHCR was given a guarantee by the government that these people can freely go back home... and this is what happened," Unlouva said.
Other refugees, who had signed voluntary repatriation forms, were expected today and tomorrow, she said.
About 500 refugees, relocated to Daabab camp in northern Kenya, have not yet to sign the forms, but UNHCR was willing to organise their repatriation.
About 2,000 people from Pemba, mainly Civic United Front members and supporters, fled to Mombasa to seek sanctuary following a bloody encounter between the Police Force and opposition supporters last January.
About 25 people, including one policeman, died as the police were trying to contain a procession organised by CUF.

Zanzibar govt asked to research
imports downturn

Friday, May 18, 2001
By Fakih Mohamed Yussuf, Zanzibar

Zanzibar Businessmen have appealed to their government to conduct a research to establish reasons behind current poor imports trends facing the Islands.
Talking to this paper in Unguja, a number of businessmen who affirmed to now routing their goods through mainland ports, they said such a research will offer beneficial information to the nation and stipulate possible solutions.
A renown Isles’ businessman Haroub Juma Changawe said:”It is time now for the government to stop acting as a know all body ... and conduct a pilot research to get answers, before it is too late.”
“It is very disheartening to see political leaders in the government instead of probing the situation are resorting to political rhetorics that lambast Zanzibar traders as tax evaders.”
“If it is true that we are all tax evaders ... Then what are we paying now for routing the goods through mainland ports?” angry Changawe asked.
Changawe who deals with cloth fabric imports from Dubai and Thailand further said the government can even convene a meeting with Zanzibar major importers to gauge the situation. “It discourages to see leaders resorting to cheap politics and short cuts instead of seeking solutions,” he noted.
He added that: “We as businessmen feel unfairly treated for the issue to be tackled politically rather than with a deserving economic solutions.”
Another business operator, Ms Khadija Salum, said what prompted Zanzibar-based businessmen to shift to Tanga port is the economic slump facing the Isles. “The fact is business here is declining with each passing day.”
She pointed out that a number of hawkers (Machinga traders) and businessmen from the mainland who usually come to make wholesale purchase in Zanzibar has also declined due to mistreatment they received from customs officials upon arrival at Dar es Salaam port. “Even when one bought five dozens, the tax that will be imposed on him make such a trader to think twice before returning to Zanzibar.” “You can even go to the port to ascertain the current low passengers haulage facing Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar sea ferries,” she said adding that, “contrary to the situation a year ago.”
If it is true as they are saying that the country has similar import tax then what is this whole fuss coming from, she wondered.
In allegations of tax evasion, she said we just learnt such allegations from the press. When one imports through Zanzibar port he/she will find a number of responsible TRA officials waiting. “In such a situation how could one evade tax? ... We think if there is any evasion on tax the TRA people are the culprits and not we as business operators.”
She said “since the start of importing via Tanga port things are better now ... Because discharging at Tanga is discharging at the market ... No extra tax, no extra burden to our buyers from the mainland.”
The lady business operator also wondered why in Zanzibar they don’t see cargo which was brought from Dar es Salaam being charged on arrival. Among such consignment, she mentioned second-hand clothes. “Businessmen pay nothing for importing mitumba from Dar es Salaam atthe port.”
Amani Mussa Kheri, another businessman, observed that the situation as it is now about 80 per cent of business especially those dealing with clothes, shoes and house appliances and wares is moving towards closure due to market glut.
“In the last six months sales have flopped ... There was time we were making up to a million and a half shilling a day. Today if one realised Tshs 100,000 is a miracle,” he said.
He said for those operating from rented premises they face hard times as they are required to part with about Tshs 300,000 to settle bills inclusive of rent, VAT and Zanzibar Municipality levy.
Mr Kheri said routing cargo through Tanga port, is a lot of relief for them. “We pay about Tshs 6m as import tax for fully-stuffed 20ft container of cloth fabrics at Tanga port lower by almost Tshs 2m compared to Zanzibar port,” he noted adding that, “we were being charged Tshs 8m at Zanzibar port for similar cargo.”
In sugar prices rise, he said if the government removes some bottlenecks, the price of sugar can be lowered up to Tshs 350 a kilogramme

Vision 2020 for Zanzibar’s rapid
economic growth

Friday, May 18, 2001
By Moris Lyimo

The Zanzibar Government has plans to bring about rapid economic development and alleviate poverty in the coming 20 years, it has been learnt.
However, part of that miracle will be realised if credit facilities will be available to people in rural areas.
This was revealed by Mr.Khalid Mohamed, a Zanzibar-based researcher at a workshop organised by Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), held in Dar es Salaam recently.
Access to formal and quasi-formal credit by smallholder farmers and artisanal fishermen, adds that the vision places particular emphasis to the development modernization of the sector.
In his paper titled: Poverty Situation and Vision 2020, the researcher said that “poverty is considered basically a rural phenomenon that involves economic, political and socio-cultural issues.”
“Other factors that contribute to poverty in Zanzibar, include lack of resources, low technology, poor infrastructure, unreliable market, malnutrition, ignorance and diseases,” he said. He however, pointed out that despite the Country’s financial sector reforms which started in 1980s, there is still a limited number of commercial banks that operate in the Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.
“So far there are only three banking establishments in the Isles which are the People’s Bank of Zanzibar, the NBC (1997) Limited and the Tanzania Postal Bank, he added.”
He said unfortunately all these banks mostly cater for commercial sector of economy and very little for micro-enterprises sector,” he noted. The researcher said Vision 2020 gives high consideration to agricultural sector and especially, smallholder farmers. As the Vision admits these are still the backbone of the Zanzibar’s economy.
“The emphasis is on modern technology (both mechanical and biological) to promote sectoral transformation from a predominantly rural based subsistence agricultural economy to a modern economy that will ensure food security, improved rural livelihood and the expansion of rural employment,” he told the workshop.
However, the expenditure per capita criteria 52% of the Zanzibar population are defined as poor with about 36% living in absolute poverty.

Revamping of electoral bodies suggested for Isles peace

DELEGATES to the ninth conference on the State of Politics in Tanzania have made a number of suggestions, including the restructuring of the two Election Commissions, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) and the National Electoral Commission (NEC), if the current political unrest in the Isles is to be resolved.
The two-day conference organised by the Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET) in collaboration with UDSM Department of Political Science and Public Administration was attended by over 300 delegates, among them Secretary General Philip Mangula and Seif Shariff Hamad of CCM and CUF respectively.
The resolutions which were drawn after several presentations and deliberations by dons, democrats and other academicians, centred on the ongoing political instability in the Isles between the ruling CCM and their adversaries CUF, both pointing an accusing finger to each other as the source of the crisis.
In his presentation, CCM Secretary General Philip Mangula insisted that the ongoing dialogue between the two parties was the only possible means of ending the political turmoil and that the CUF should admit defeat in the last general elections which it claimed was rigged.
“They (CUF) want the dialogue to be held overnight which is not possible, ample time is needed to scrutinise all issues before for the dialogue commences,” he said.
On the other hand, CUF Secretary General accused the CCM of being directly responsible for the January 26th and 27th deaths of 27 CUF followers in the Isles. He said, as far as they know elections in the Isles ‘have yet to be held ‘ and called upon the current government to step down to give way to an interim government which will in due course organise fresh elections.
“Article 27 (3) of the Zanzibar constitution stipulates that presidential elections will be held in not less than thirty days but not more than sixty days before the president steps down, but his was not adhered to in the case of the Isles October 2000 elections,” Hamad argued.
In this context, the delegates resolved that the Isles crisis should be resolved by changing the constitution and the laws, the society should be fully involved in the process of preparing a new constitution and that fundamental foundations of nationalism should be protected.
“Both the governments, the Union government and the Zanzibar government, should ensure that the Judiciary is used to protect the interests of the nation, property and the welfare of the people and not for promoting personal interests,” read a part of the resolutions.
Another resolution was that a culture of political tolerance among political parties and social groups of diverse ideologies should be inculcated and that it is the responsibility of Tanzanians to ensure that such a culture is sustained. Political parties should be strengthened as a means of consolidating democracy in the country.
It was also resolved that the UDSM should continue involving itself in various current important issues and the challenges facing the nation, thus helping the society in all aspects.

Govt ready for pact to allow
Pemba refugees return home

Thursday, May 10, 2001
By Ramadhani Kabale

The government has no objection to a proposed tripartite agreement intended to facilitate the return of the refugees from Zanzibar who fled to Mombasa last January.
The agreement will involve Tanzanian and Kenyan governments on one side and the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on the other side.
A highly placed source in the Ministry of Home Affairs told The Guardian in Dar es Salaam yesterday such an agreement was normal when it came to voluntary repatriation of refugees.
But he did not say how soon this agreement would ba signed so that the refugees could go home.
However, he observed: "A tripartite agreement gives official status to returning refugees."
Such an agreement will give assurance that the returning refugees were not forced out of the host country, brought back through pressure by their country of origin or UNHCR was tired of them.
He said the government still stood by a press statement, signed by the Minister for Home Affairs, Seif Mohammed Khatib, last month which affirmed its intention not to arrest and prosecute the refugees in Kenya once they decided to come back home.
"The government stated it will arrest and prosecute three Civic United Front (CUF) members who are accused of killing a policeman during the January 27 demonstrations held in Pemba. That's all," he noted.

EU urges dialogue, warns of extremism

Thursday, May 10, 2001
By Wambui Chege

European Union president Sweden said yesterday that Tanzania's government and opposition risked provoking extremism if they failed to end disputes over the bitterly divided Zanzibar island.
"We cannot afford to have new killings fields in Tanzania," Sten Rylander, Sweden's ambassador to Tanzania, told Reuters in an interview.
"If there is no dialogue, if there is no peaceful
settlement, the end result will be that you feed extremism."
Sweden currently holds the sixth-month rotating presidency of the 15-member European Union.
Dozens of people were killed on islands of Zanzibar in January when police clashed with activists demanding a re-run of widely discredited elections in October.
The violence hit Tanzania's reputation as a haven in a troubled region and damaged tourism, a mainstay in one of the world's poorest countries. For much of the 1990s Tanzania relied on more than $200 million in annual aid from EU member countries.
It also raised speculation that as a result of the violence on mainly-Muslim Zanzibar, religious tolerance might be fraying in a country of 30 million divided roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
"You have fundamentalist interest on both sides (of the dispute)," said Rylander. "So in the longer term I see it as a challenge to Tanzania to preserve this legacy of a secular state where religion does not intrude into politics."
The government and the Zanzibar-based opposition have started talks to try to mend fences on a range of issues around Zanzibar, which united with the mainland in 1964 to form Tanzania, but diplomats say progress has been tentative at best.
Rylander said the government had so much support on the mainland that it could afford to make concessions to the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF), which demands more autonomy for the islands and a re-run of last year's chaotic polls.
But he also said the opposition should stop use of language that could inflame the situation, recalling that some CUF officials have threatened violence against the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) of President Benjamin Mkapa, which won the elections.
"If one side is left out in political representation, you feed bitterness," Rylander said. "The violence was due largely to a lack of dialogue. It's in the interest of everyone to compromise."

Sugar Shortage Hits Zanzibar

Sugar shortages coupled with a depreciating shilling have sent prices of the commodity skyrocketing in Zanzibar.

Surveys carried out by the local press in Zanzibar shows that retail sugar prices have gone up by almost 50 percent from Tshs400 to Tshs600 per kilogram since last week. The whole sale price per 50 bag has also gone up from Tshs15, 000 to Tshs25, 000, an increase of 66.7 percent.

The Head of Consumer Protection Unit in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Fadhil Omar Mussa, has confirmed to the Financial Times here on the shortage and price rises, saying officials from his unit were still investigating to the uncover the reasons behind the emerging situation.

He said almost all companies that deal with sugar importation in Zanzibar including Turkey Enterprises, Mkunazini General Traders, S. S. Bakhressa Company, Babu Suji, Bhopal and Yasir Provisions have either reduced their imports or stopped importation completely.

The paper established that pulling out of the sugar imports was partly due to depreciation of shilling. the survey showed that almost all godowns owned by private companies were empty. Also blamed include the Revolutionary Government for infringing the free market by fixing prices. Not only Zanzibar, but the price of sugar has also doubted on the Tanzania Mainland where the commodity now sells between Ths700 and 850 per kilogram from a price of Tshs450 two months ago.

Repatriation of 680 Zanzibari Refugees Planned

The UNHCR has registered 680 refugees who say they want to return home to the Zanzibari islands of Unguja and Pemba in Tanzania after fleeing to Kenya from political violence on the islands in late January, according to a press release from the refugee agency. Those registered to return represented all but a few dozen of the refugees remaining at a makeshift camp at the port of Shimoni, south of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast, and included community and political leaders, an agency official told IRIN on Tuesday.

Over 2,000 Zanzibaris fled a violent clampdown on the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) protesting what they considered fraudulent elections in October last. Amnesty International reported in early March that its preliminary investigation of the security forces' strong-arm tactics had confirmed torture, including rape and beatings, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians, including women and children.

The refugees in Shimoni had previously refused to return, citing fears of political persecution and for their physical safety. They had demanded amnesty from prosecution for participation in a 27 January demonstration that sparked the violence, as well as investigations into the violence and the parliamentary and presidential elections of October 2000. The refugees - most of whom were political activists, according to UNHCR - had also called for a review of the validity of the union between Zanzibar and the Tanzanian mainland.

Their decision to register for repatriation followed indications that calm had returned to Pemba and Unguja (the larger of the islands, often simply known as Zanzibar), even in the absence of an anticipated joint declaration on the results of talks between the CUF and the government, UNHCR sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

The refugee agency stated that it would facilitate the return of the small fishing dhows which had brought most of the refugees the 40 km by sea from Zanzibar to Kenya, but would transport the remainder of the refugees on a larger vessel to avoid overcrowding.

The returnees, mostly farmers or fishermen who have missed out on three months of work, are to receive a grant of US $50 per adult and $20 per child from the UNHCR to help with their immediate needs on their return. The refugee agency says it is working on the legal and logistical arrangements, which could begin as early as next week.

A total of 505 of the Zanzibari refugees left Shimoni for pre-existing refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, in the past two weeks, according to UNHCR. Though there were initially no volunteers to move to Dadaab (the refugees at Shimoni went on a short-lived hunger strike in March rather than have their political leaders separated and relocated to Dadaab refugee camp), UNHCR had recently relocated those who accepted the move, because they were not optimistic about being able to return home quickly, the agency stated on Monday.

Some 1,000 other Zanzibari refugees had found shelter with friends and relatives in villages near Shimoni and were likely to present themselves for repatriation once the return operation was under way, it added.

The government of Tanzania has indicated that the UNHCR will be able to monitor the refugees' return and reintegration on the islands, in keeping with the agency's protection mandate. UNHCR will review the status of any individuals left at Shimoni as the repatriation process closes.

CUF Issues New Report On Pemba Police Killings

The Civic United Front (CUF) in Zanzibar has issued a new report in which it "reveals the truth" about the January 27 police killings during the party's demonstration in Pemba.

The party is asking the international community to intervene by putting more pressure on both Tanzania's Union and Zanzibar governments to form an independent commission of inquiry into the killings.

However, the Prime Minister Mr Fredrick Sumaye recently said that "there was no need to form such a commission because there was nothing to hide over what happened on January 27 and nothing was in dispute."

The party suggested that the commission look into arbitrary arrests, detentions, harassment, beatings, intimidation, killings and witchhunting of CUF members and supporters, especially those of Pemba origin.

The report alleges that the death toll was 76 and not 23 as the police had said.

But police spokesman Mr Aden Mwamunyange dismissed the allegations by CUF, saying it was "mere propaganda. We do not have new reports about the Pemba killings and the number of those who died remains 23." He said that CUF was trying to deceive the world for its political gains.

According to the CUF report, the killings occurred at Mjini Unguja (10), Chake Chake (6), Wete (12) and Micheweni (11). This figure represent only those that CUF had identified. The party said that another 14 people from Wete district were still missing. They are from Msuka, Chwale, Kipangani, Chasasa, Kinyasini, Kizimbani, Njuguni, Mji Mdogo, Kojani and Pandani villages.

In Chake Chake district, the missing ones come from Furaha, Machomane, Kiwani, Mchanga Mdogo, Kiwani and Mtakata.

The report says that bout 660 people were injured during the violence, with Unguja Urban accounting for 380, Chake Chake 120, Wete 100 and Micheweni 60, while 16 were treated in Mombasa, Kenya.

It further says that from the1960s to the 1970s, when Zanzibar was under the rule of Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume and Aboud Jumbe Mwinyi, several people were killed or disappeared mysteriously.

Some of them are Abdullah Kassim Hanga, Abdul Aziz Khamis Twala, Salel Sadallah, Othman Sharrif, Mdungi Ussi, Jaha Ubwa, Amour Zahor and Hamza Giddemy.

Others were Bwana Kombanyongo, Ali Mzee Mbalia and about 10 people whom the report says came from Mombasa but upon their arrival in Zanzibar, were accused by the authorities of conspiring to overthrow the government.

Other missing people include Salim Ahmed, Hemed Said Fumba, Said Ali, Kassim Ali, Mwanga Said, Ali Kassim, Makame Juma Msorina, Makame Juma, Abdulla Suleiman and Ahmada Mngazija.

The report also says that during former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi's rule, an unknown number of people were killed by the police during demonstrations to protest against the late Sofia Kawawa's remarks on inheritance, which angered Muslims in Zanzibar.

The report does not name the victims, but says that Tanzania is trying to cover up human rights violations on its people.

Get back to work, Sumaye tells Zanzibaris

Sunday, May 06, 2001
By Henry Lyimo

The Prime Minister, Frederick Sumaye has described demands by the Civic United Front (CUF) for a re-run of last year’s general elections in Zanzibar as incomprehensible, and anti-democratic. He also said that the Zanzibar government under President Amani Karume was there to stay until 2005.
The Premier, on his one-day tour of the South Unguja Region on Friday, said the year 2001 was no time for politics, but rather for hardwork in efforts to alleviate poverty.
“No one in Chama Cha Mapinduzi can agree to a re-run. They (CUF) have been told there is no short cut to State House,” Sumaye, said at Mtende Village in Makunduchi in apparent reaction to CUF demands for a re-run of the general elections in the isles as aired again in their big demonstration held in Zanzibar last month.
Flanked by the Zanzibar Chief Minister, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, and other government leaders in the isles, Sumaye called on people to dedicate their efforts to economic activities as that was the only way to eliminate poverty.
“We should now join forces to build our country...these political campaigns are there in 2005, 2010...they do not end...,” he said.
Sumaye said the CCM government was now focusing on economic activities to build the shattered economy of Zanzibar’s twin islands, something which will help it to win people’s support in 2005.
“When you are busy demonstrating instead of working for the benefit of the people, you’re doomed to lose in the 2005 elections,” he said in a clear reference to CUF, the main opposition party in Zanzibar which held demonstrations on the isles last month.
The Premier explained the recent unprecedented move by the National Assembly and House of Representative to expel the CUF legislators from the two houses saying that the move was in line with the constitution of the country.
He said CUF ignored advice from the speakers of the two houses and religious leaders and boycotted three house sessions.

Dhow festival attracts big names

By John Ombok

This year’s Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) has attracted the likes of Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits, Zimbabwe’s biggest selling and most popular artistes and one of the Southern Africa’s greatest musicians, writers and performers, respectively.
Mtukuzi, affectionately known as “TUKU”, with his two international releases “Tuku music” and “Paivepo” have spent most of the past year at the top of the world music chartlistings in the US and Europe.
The ZIFF festival of the Dhow Countries, the fourth of its kind, is a cultural celebration inspired by the historical location of Zanzibar and its significance historically to the societies of the regions bordering the Indian Ocean.
The event’s co-ordinator Amir Hamza Amir said that this year’s film screening had attracted two African Films, one by Tanzanian Kiiza Kahama called Surrender and Mama Africa by Zimmedia of Zimbabwe which was a series of six films by women from South Africa, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
“ZIFF is committed to bringing art, education and technology together for the realisation of viable film, video, art and cultural industries in Tanzania, Eastern Africa and the Dhow region,” Amir Hamza Amir told this paper.
The festival includes seminars and workshops, women’s events and a special programme for children and youths. It is held at historic, magnificent venues around Stone Town, a UNESCO declared world heritage.
Last year’s festival featured more than 100 films, music, dance, theatre and cultural groups, fifteen workshops and seminars and events in 40 villages around the islands.

Karume Scoffs At Opposition Parties

Zanzibar President Amani Abedi Karume has told the opposition that there was no short cut to State House other than winning elections, the official Daily News reported Wednesday.

In his May Day speech on the federated islands, the Zanzibar leader advised the opposition to bid their time until October 2005 and forget about any dream "of a short-cut entrance to State House."

Karume's remarks comes against the backdrop of mounting calls by opposition parties for a repeat of the October 2000 elections, which swept to him to power in the Isles.

The opposition, led by the Civic United Front says the elections were deeply flawed and have refused to recognise him as president of the island.

Hailing a peaceful protest executed jointly by a number of opposition parties last week on the island Karume urged for continuity.

"If there is anything we learnt last Saturday, then, it is the fact that it is possible to hold peaceful and orderly demonstrations," he observed.

The police shot close to 30 CUF supporters who staged a violent demonstration in Zanzibar and Pemba islands in January this year.

He brushed off criticisms against his government over the weak performance of the Zanzibari economy saying the debts he had inherited from retired President Salmin Amour's administration were to blame.

"One of the reasons behind the fallen economy is the heavy debt burden which the sixth phase government has inherited. I should make this very clear because nobody is going to pay this debt except the workers and farmers," the daily quoted him as saying.

It added that he promised Zanzibaris an improvement in the provision of social services including medical care and education.

Govt benefits as tax evasion
control bites, says Karume

Wednesday, May 02, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Strict control over tax evasion at the Zanzibar Port accounts for the reduced volume of cargo at the port but the government is benefiting, president Amani Abeid Karume has said.
Hailing the measures to curb tax evasion as a strategy to improve the Zanzibar economy, President Karume, who was addressing workers at May Day celebrations, admitted that many businessmen were now offloading their cargo in Tanzania Mainland.
As a result of the control, the government has been able to repair 24 kilometres of roads in Zanzibar and Pemba islands, and provide tap water and medicines in many areas .
He criticised the Civic United Front Secretary General and former contender of the presidency in Zanzibar, Seif Shariff Hamad, for abandoning politics in order to count the number of containers being off-loaded at Zanzibar Port.
He claimed that Hamad has been telling the public that business in Zanzibar was falling because the Union government had imposed huge taxes in order to strangle the economy on the isles.
On the workers welfare, Karume said his government would look into the possibility of reviewing salary scales during the next budget session.
He said during the six months of his government, many achievements had been made in road repair and the provision of water and medicines.
At present, all children can be enrolled in schools, he said, announcing that his government was studying the issue of unemployment among the youth.
The government intended to give them skills which could make them employ themselves.
He also dismissed as nonsense claims made by the opposition that they would march to State House in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar if their demands for fresh elections in Zanzibar, new constitution and independent electoral bodies were not fulfilled.
Karume urged the opposition to prepare for the next elections in 2005 for there would not be any elections before that year.
He said the on-going dialogue between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF had nothing to do with the results of last October's elections.
Other leaders who attended the May Day commemoration were the Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pandu Ameir Kificho, Zanzibar Chief Justice Hamid Mahmoud and former chief minister Dr. Mohamed Gharib Bilal.

100 films to feature at Isles dhow festival

By Express Reporter

This year the festival of the dhow countries will feature around 100 films and documentaries, plus 50 music groups will perform at various historic and magnificent locations in Zanzibar’s Stone Town.
The festival of the dhow countries, which is in its fourth year, is a cultural extravaganza of cinema and music from all over Africa, the Gulf States, Iran, India, Pakistan and the islands of the Indian Ocean.
The centrepiece of the festival, according to the organisers Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), is the international film and video competition where the prestigious Golden Dhow Award will be given for the best feature film.
Other attractions — during the three-week event from June 29 to July 14 — are dance and theatre acts, recitals by poets and performances by artistes from the region.
The festival has grown rapidly and become very popular in its four-year existence attracting many thousands of local people and as well as international visitors.
Artistes that have appeared at the festival to date include National Dance Group of Mozambique, Andy and Brown plus the Storm Of Zimbabwe, DJ, Rita Ray of UK,
Mr. II, Remmy Ongala, DCC Mlimani Park, Tanzania Rukiza Okera of Guyana, Channel O Djs of South Africa and Tyoussi Mad of Morocco.
The aims and ideals of ZIFF reflect the fascinating island of Zanzibar in the spirit of humanism and sharing, by showcasing the best artistic talent from the region and its global diaspora.

Zanzibar President's Mother Visits Comoros

Fatuma Karume, mother of president Amani Karume of Zanzibar, at the weekend visited The Comoros Island "to initiate the fostering of closer ties" between both islands, local press reports said.

The reports said Karume held talks with women leaders in the country including the NGO "Women and Development Network", which hosted her at a reception at the home of Assoumani Aboudou Jacqueline.

But members of the "Swahili" Diaspora, who recalled that their parents had to escape Abeid Karume's "Afro-Shiraz" revolution, were not pleased with the visit.

They charged that the Karumes "have Comorian blood on their hands".

Karume nevertheless lauded the long-standing kinship and cultural relations between Zanzibar and the Comoros, before deploring the Comorians' general tendency to keep away from their continental neighbours due to the language barrier.

Comoros is a Francophone country.

She said the language barrier has caused the Comorians to miss several opportunities with their Zanzibari kinsmen.

Karume then suggested that both sides should step up study visits to learn English and Kiswahilli, with which the local Kikomor speaking people of Comoros can communicate with their Zanzibari kinsmen.

"We are one people, we have the same culture", the former Zanzibar first lady said, calling on Comorian women to explore the Tanzanian market for products such as orchids and contribute to cultural exchanges.

"We have taken good note of Mrs Karume's wishes," Zahara Toyb, a leader of the network, told PANA. We will probably develop projects for Zanzibar," she added.

A critic of the visit charged that "they did not only chase our parents from their country, but perpetrated several assassinations that are still unpunished".

"Said Mdahoma Kombanyongo, who was kidnapped during his wife's burial has since not been seen," a journalist and member of the community said.

Halima Darioueche, a well-known nurse in Moroni, also said that her father Kassim Darioueche, a former police inspector in Zanzibar, was chased away from Zanzibar without receiving his salary and entitlements.

"We had to restart from scratch here," she said, adding: "the Network is free to believe Mrs Karume's words, but we suffered from ethnic hatred and its ravages when her husband was in power. We cannot forget that part of history".

Zanzibar Tourism Still Booming (?)

ZANZIBAR'S ongoing political problems do not seem to have affected the Isles' important "backpacker" tourist market.

While there have been numerous reports of cancellations from middle-aged, more affluent tourists in the upmarket hotels following the violence in January, the popular Nungwi beach area is said to be still thriving.

"Nungwi now encapsulates the worst - with only a little of the best - of Zanzibar's current tourism policy," the London-based newsletter, Africa Analysis, says. "Beach bungalows here have overwhelmed the northern peninsula in five short years."

The report says that while some people in the area have got rich on the backpacker trade, many others are irritated both by the daily massive deliveries of water, which have ruined the local road, and by the erosion of local culture by the Western tourists who often dress in an "insensitive" manner.

"Nungwi's elders have declared themselves in favour of tourism, which they say is more profitable and less dangerous than fishing. But the social fabric is gradually being eroded," says the report.

The report questions the ruling party's attitude towards tourism and its knock-on effects on local people but concludes by saying that "the Karume government cares little one way or the other about the negative aspects of tourism - as long as the rent keeps coming in."

Union should not make
Zanzibaris slaves - Hamad

Sunday, April 29, 2001
ZANZIBAR

Tens of thousands of protesters massed at one of Zanzibar’s biggest ever opposition rallies yesterday to demand a re-run of last October elections, witnesses said.
Although dozens of people were killed when police clashed with activists on the Indian Ocean island in January, the latest in a series of unprecedented mass protests against the government in mainland Tanzania passed off peacefully.
“We did not join with the mainland so that we can be slaves, that’s why we’re asking to be left alone so we can run our economy,” Seif Hamad, secretary-general of the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF), told the crowds.
“The only way to resolve the Zanzibar political crisis is to repeat the elections,” he said.
CUF officials put the crowd at 85,000, while police said up to 60,000 people had attended the gathering near the seafront outside the town of Zanzibar, the island’s main centre.
Protesters clogged traffic in the picturesque tourist resort, arriving piled into pick-up trucks and crammed into buses, many sporting the CUF’s red, white and blue colours and waving placards saying “No Retreat, No Surrender.”
“If they don’t give us an election in Zanzibar then they’re going to have trouble, they have to read the mood of the people, people are tired,” said Ismail Jussa, a senior CUF official.
CUF has gained massive support on the island with its demands for greater autonomy for Zanzibar, which joined Tanganyika in 1964 to form Tanzania.
But some on the mainland resent the island for what they perceive as its disproportionate influence on the union’s affairs, fearing that CUF’s demands for greater autonomy will ultimately lead to the island’s secession.
Politicians from a dozen parties joined the rally, reflecting a new unity among Tanzania’s usually fragmented opposition, galvanised by revulsion at January’s bloodshed.
Opposition leaders and diplomats say between 60 and 70 people were killed in January’s protests, mainly opposition activists. The government maintains that only 23 people died.
“I am ready to die, anything is better than this slavery we are in, the government must listen, we want fresh elections in Zanzibar,” said one of the demonstrators, trader Saidi Abdallah.
CUF rejected last year’s polls, when the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) won 34 of the 50 seats.
Commonwealth observers described the vote as “a shambles”.
CUF, whose stronghold is Zanzibar, has refused to recognise Zanzibar’s President Amani Karume and Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa.
The latest controversy has intensified political turmoil on Zanzibar, which flared in 1995 when the CUF rejected a narrow victory by CCM, saying the elections were rigged.
The demonstration follows a historic protest by Tanzanian opposition parties earlier in April, when around 60,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Dar es Salaam in what analysts said was the biggest anti-government rally in the country’s history.
January’s violence, which stained the country’s reputation as a haven of stability in a troubled region, has dealt a serious blow to the island’s economy, crippling tourism and trade.

Zanzibar tax dodgers making
unfounded allegations-Minister

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar government has expressed its disappointment over a statement made recently by the Chairman of the Zanzibar Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ZCCIA), Nassor Mazrui, that the Union government was strangling the Isles economically.
The Zanzibar Minister of Trade, Industry, Market and Tourism, Mohammed Abood said this week that such a statement was likely to weaken the good relations existing between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.
Abood said it was disheartening to learn that such a strong accusation came from a leader of Mazrui’s calibre.
In his accusation, together with other things, the ZCCIA chairman had said that, the Union government had decided to hike duties on all goods entering through Zanzibar port, thus creating an environment whereby the Zanzibar port would not receive goods from outside.
The ZCCIA boss had also said that the current Zanzibar government was being bulldozed by the Union government, and that this would not have happened during Dr Salmin’s tenure of office. Dr Salmin preceded the current Zanzibar President, Aman Abeid Karume.
The minister called on the business community to shun politics and concentrate on their businesses.
The Minister said there was no such thing as a “ deliberate move” to weaken Zanzibar economically as some businessmen were alleging.
He said what the government had done was to improve the system of tax collection to make sure that all those trying to evade paying taxes were netted easily.
The minister said those complaining about the new set up were those who were benefiting from the former loose tax collection system.
“There are those who were evading tax, and those who were exempted. They are now running to other ports on the Mainland,” he said.

300 refugees from Pemba
shift to Daadab camp

Saturday, April 28, 2001
By Ramadhani Kabale

Two pregnant women are among 300 Pemba refugees who have lef Shimoni camp in Kwale District, Coast Province, for a permanent camp in Daadab, in north eastern Kenya.
The women, Amina Abdallah Mohammed and Shemazi Manji, are among the first batch of the 700 who have chosen to go to Daadab rather than sail back to Pemba.
They left in the morning aboard six coaches hired by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
A British Broadcasting Corporation Amka na BBC programme monitored in Dar es Salaam yesterday, said another trip will follow next Monday when the second batch of 300 refugees, most of them young people, will go to Daadab.
The Daadab camp, about 500 kilometres from Mombasa, shelters Ethiopia and Somali refugees.
The UNHCR Resident Representative in Kenya, Sergio Norina, told BBC the shifting of some 1,200 refugees came after the Kenya government pressed UNHCR to persuade the refugees to either go back to Pemba or go Daadab camp.
Norina said most of the 700 refugees, going to Daadab are young people who have not heeded pleas made by the Union government and the Civic United Front (CUF) to return home.
"All former members of the House of Representatives in Zanzibar on the CUF ticket have opposed going to Daadab. They say that the situation in Pemba is calm. But the young people think otherwise," he said.
Norina said the 700 refugees who have opted to go to Daadab have said they will not go back to Pemba unless terms they set for their return are met by both Isles and Union governments.
The terms include the release of CUF members and activists now in different police stations on the Isles and the formation of an independent commission of inquary to probe deaths as a result of the January 27 demonstrations held by CUF supporters in Unguja and Pemba.
Commenting on the shifting of the refugees, an official in the Kenyan High Commission in Dar es Salaam said the refugees going to Daadab would find a shelter with more space compared to Shimoni which is not intended to shelter refugees.
A Kwale District Officer, Dr Peter Muthoka, has been quotted by a Standard reporter as saying the camp at Shimoni would not continue accomodatingthe refugees because of health reasons.
On Thursday, a senior CUF official and the Minister for Home Affairs, Mohamed Seif Khatib separately assured refugees from Pemba, sheltered at Shimoni, they could return home.
However, Khatib said four CUF members, now in Shimoni, will be arrested on arrival to face a murder charge.
The four, Hamdani Ali Sultan, Said Kijaa, Ali Hussein Ali and Said Hussein, are linked to the murder of a police constable during the January 27 clashes in Pemba.

CUF Asks Shimoni Refugees Facing Charges Not to Return Home

SHIMONI refugees facing charges in Tanzania have been urged to remain in Kenya, the sources within the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) has told this agency today.

The sources said that the party has asked them to remain at Shimoni until they were assured to be free. "We have urged them not to come back home as we are still pressing for the government to declare that they will not be sued," the sources hinted. Asked for those not facing charges, the sources said the party has asked them to return home.

The caution comes when the government has announced that four out of over 1000 Tanzanian refugees at Shimoni will face criminal charges once they come back home. The Minister for Home Affairs, Mohammed Seif Khatibu said the suspects were accused of killing a police during a banned demonstration on last January 27 in Pemba.

Apart from a police, the security forces killed about 23 civilians. Except those facing charging, yesterday the CUF national leadership officially declared that it has asked its followers who fled to Shimoni in Mombasa, Kenya in the wake of the bloody-opposition-led demonstrations, to return home.

The suspects facing criminal charges are Ali Hussein Ali, Hamdani Ali Sultani, Said Hussein and Said Bin Alias Kijaa who are reported to be hiding among the exiled Tanzanians at Shimoni camp in Kenya's port of Mombasa.

So far, two CUF leaders are in custody charged of the same incident of January 27.

The suspects who are charged with the murder of a policeman assigned to disperse CUF demonstrators on January 27, are the party's deputy secretary-general, Mr. Juma Duni Haji and the party's director of intelligence services, Mr. Machano Hamis.

Initially the two suspects were charged with unlawful participation in the banned demonstrations organized by CUF but later police dropped the charge and replaced it with a murder case.

Substituting the charge, the police had told the Mwanakwerekwe primary court in Zanzibar that they had decided to drop the earlier charge because it did not correspond to the offence Haji and Machano committed. The police later-re-arrested Haji and Machano outside the courtroom and drove them straight to a Vuga regional court and charged them with murder of a policemen.

Refugees From Pemba And Zanzibar Islands Will Go Back If Tensions Ease: UNHCR

Tanzanian refugees who fled to Kenya from the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar have told the United Nations refugee agency that they would be ready to return home if talks between the Government and the opposition lead to a joint declaration that would ease tensions on the islands, agency officials said today.

According to a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), refugees made their intentions known during a meeting yesterday with UNHCR staff and Kenyan officials at a temporary site in Shimoni. The refugees said that a joint declaration resulting from the discussions between the Tanzanian Government and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) would be the signal they were waiting for in order to go back home.

Spokesman Kris Janowski said UNHCR was waiting for a formal agreement to start making preparations for the return.

He reported that calm had returned to Pemba and Zanzibar since clashes between opposition supporters and security forces last January had driven 2,400 people into Kenya. Some 1,300 refugees remain in Shimoni, while the rest have moved in with friends and relatives among local inhabitants, he said.

According to UNHCR, Kenyan authorities have agreed to delay until Thursday the planned controversial transfer of the refugees to Dadaab camp in the north- east of the country.

The operation was originally slated to start on 19 April, after Kenyan officials rejected establishing an alternative site closer to the coast.

The UN agency has made arrangements for a transfer to Dadaab, including supplying the refugees with medical care and food during the 600-kilometre journey. UNHCR has indicated, however, that it will not transfer any refugees who do not volunteer to go, noting that so far no one from the group has signed up for the transfer.

UNHCR asks Tanzania to list threatened Zanzibari exiles

The UNHCR has called on Tanzania
to reveal which Zanzibari asylum seekers face prosecution for
participating in a banned demonstration, so that other refugees can
freely return home.
   "It is the sovereign responsibility of Tanzania to decide who
will be put on trial," UNHCR chief Ruud Lubbers told a news
conference late Friday.
   "If you let us know who in your opinion have violated laws and
you want to put on trial, then we'll know how many people can
return," the head of the UN refugee agency said.
   "For those who may be put on trial, maybe they might think that
time is not ready for them to return, but the majority of those who
have not violated any law can return easily," Lubbers added.
   Riots during illegal demonstrations on the island of Pemba in
the semi-autonomous offshore state of Zanzibar killed at least 33
people on January 27.
   Protesters on Pemba were calling for a rerun of last year's
elections which returned Tanzania's long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi
(CCM - Revolutionary Party) to power in Zanzibar, which has its own
government and legislature.
   The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) said more than 50 people
were killed.
   In Dar Es Salaam, Lubbers said the best solution for about 2,000
Tanzanians exiled in Kenya, most of them from from Pemba, was to
return to home.
   But he reiterated that they needed to be guaranteed immunity
from criminal charges.
   "The few who may face criminal charges may choose to remain in
Kenya and be moved to permanent refugee camps or resettled in a
third country," Lubbers said.
   Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa told Lubbers earlier Friday
that the asylum seekers were free to return home without fear of
prosecution.
   "There is no cause for those in exile to fear for their lives,
since there are other 300,000 people on Pemba island right now
carrying out their daily activities normally," Mkapa told Lubbers,
who is a four day visit here.
   Lubbers is to tour the Mtabila and Muyovosi refugee camps in
Tanzania's western region of Kigoma on Saturday, and will meet
representatives of Burundian and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
refugees to get their views on their prospects for repatriation.
   Lubbers will then travel to Bujumbura on Sunday for talks with
Burundian President Pierre Buyoya on the repatriation plans.
   He said DRC refugees would be repatriated, but not until peace
was restored in the war-torn country.
   On the other hand, Rwandan refugees have not expressed their
desire to return home, despite the situation in Rwanda being
"relatively stable."
   Tanzania hosts more than 525,000 refugees from mainly Burundi,
Rwanda, DRC and Somalia.

Opposition demo given go ahead in Zanzibar

Wednesday,
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Police in Zanzibar has given a go ahead for the opposition organised procession, demanding a re-run of last year's general elections in the Isles, to be held next Saturday.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Juma Mtumwa Abdallah said police had allowed the procession to take place after being satisfied with the security situation in Zanzibar.
ACP Mtumwa said to ensure that the procession did not affect other economic activities, the co-ordinators of the procession will have to meet with police to work out strategies for a successful and peaceful procession.
"It is true, we have been informed of the procession and we don't have any objection except that leaders will have to get some guidelines for a a peaceful and calm procession," he said.
The Civic United Front Co-ordinator, Salum Dimani said national opposition leaders would lead the procession to press for a re-run of general elections in the Isles, constitution reform and a new electoral commission to strengthen democracy in the country.

Sustain Union, Karume tells Tanzanians

Tuesday, April 24, 2001
By Kenneth Simbaya, PST, Mafinga

The President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council Amani Karume has appealed to Tanzanians to sustain the 1964 Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar because of its multiple benefits to both sides.
President Karume made the appeal yesterday when he was addressing hundreds of people who gathered at Mashujaa Stadium at Mafinga in Mufindi district.
He said the Union has merged the people from the two side into one country. They now live like brothers and listers of the same family.
He said people from Isles and those from the Mainland have many things to share because of the union.
"For instance we in Zanzibar buy a lot of things from Tanzania Mainland, particularly from Iringa Region," president Karume said, three days before Tanzanians mark the Union Day on Thursday.
President Karume lashed out at opposition party leaders who are against the two tier union, saying that they are just after money and positions but they were not interested in solving problems Tanzanians encounter.
He said that opposition leaders will divide the country. The result will be chaos." They are good at running away leaving innocent citizens suffer the consequence of their ill leadership."
Meanwhile, President Karume has pledged to assist the Tanzania Glue-lam factory at Mafinga to get a market for its products.
He said this when being briefed about the factory the company Managing Director, Bjorn Schau.
He said that the products, such as furniture, doors, tables and wardrobes, could get a good market in Zanzibar.
President Karume also visited the ChaiBora factory.

Cargo dwindles at Z'bar port

April 25, 2001
By Fakih Mohamed Yussuf, Zanzibar

The booming Zanzibar port is now facing the challenge of attracting more cargo.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Excise (Zanzibar), Mr Khamis Mussa Omari, the port faces an acute decline in imports.
The decline, he said is partly attributed to Zanzibar businessmen’s decision to shift their port of discharge to either Dar es Salaam or Tanga.
The Deputy Commissioner noted sadly however, that the situation has a negative impact on the Tanzania Revenue Authority’s collection in the Isles.
Mr Omari said the situation started to go awry in the period between July 2000 and January this year.
Elaborating, he said about 4014 containers of imports were handled by the port between July 1999 and January 2000, while only 2953 containers were discharged between July 2000 and January this year. This tally is lower by 1,061 containers.

ZCCIA Chairman accuses mainland
of economic sabotage

Sunday, April 22, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Chairman of the Zanzibar Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Nassor Mazrui, has accused the Union government of formulating deliberate strategies to strangle the Isles economically.
Mazrui said the Union government had created an environment whereby the Zanzibar port could not receive goods from outside.
He made the accusation on Friday when he was talking to journalists here.
He said following this strategy, the Union government had deliberately hiked duties on all goods entering through Zanzibar port.
Mazrui said the charges, which were higher than those charged in the Tanzania Mainland ports, were a deliberate move to damage businesses on the islands.
He said a container which was formerly charged 3.5m/- now costs 15m/- in Zanzibar, although he said the same container was charged 4m/-at Tanga port.
Mazrui said the volume of cargo in Zanzibar port had declined tremendously because many cargo ships now prefer to discharge their goods in Tanga.

Minister Blames Zanzibar's Political Unrest On Currency Weakening

THE Ministry of Finance has said political unrest in Zanzibar had its share of blame on the dwindling of Tanzanian shilling which has been depreciating at a tremendous rate.

The Minister for Finance, Mr. Basil Mramba said mid this week when asked reasons behind tremendous weakening of a Tanzanian shilling that several factors were to blame including political unrest in Zanzibar. He cited the case of January demonstration in which about 24 people were killed an incident, which he said hit hard the tourism sector in the Isles.

The exchange rate has reached at about shillings 850 from less than 820 per dollar early this year. The commercial rate is higher reaching around 888.01 per dollar as analysts have projected that the exchange rate could hit 1000 by June this year if the trend was not changed.

"The drop in the number of tourist visits in Zanzibar caused by the political unrest there towards the end of January, had its share of blame on the dwindling shilling," he said when responding to a questions raised by academicians of the city-based Institute of Finance Management (IFM).

Since last November situation in Zanzibar was tense following political unrest as the main opposition Civic United Front did not accept election results of October 2000 polls.

The political crisis has continued to erode Tanzania's reputation especially in Zanzibar where CUF believe that the last general elections were rigged. Since then several bomb blasts have been reported in various places in Zanzibar. Tourists have feared to visit the Isles on the same factors.

Other factors behind depreciation of shilling according to Mr. Mramba include low remittance of export proceeds due to a sharp decline in the demand of cash crops in the world, especially cashewnuts and fall in price of coffee. As opposed to other analysts, Mramba was optimistic that the shilling would soon stabilize without the intervention of the government or the central bank.

A Tanzania shilling has continued to depreciate despite that the inflation rate has been going down reaching at a lowest point ever touched for the past 25 years.

As the depreciation woes of a Tanzanian shilling continue, especially against US dollar, analysts say that a local currency sees a historical new record low.

In the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market (IFEM) during early this month, the Tanzanian shilling continued to depreciate trading with the US Dollar at unprecedented record low. The weighed average price, which determines the official mean exchange rate, for late last month hit at TSZ 832.84 per dollar, then a new record, went up further.

The price of a dollar went on to hit new higher record levels until it reached a new record high at TSZ 883.33, as per the central bank.

Zanzibar Seeks Fifa Membership

Zanzibar is seeking membership of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), a senior government official said Thursday.

A two-man delegation of senior sports officials will next week go to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland to press for membership of the international soccer body, Zanzibar's Deputy Minister for Education, Culture and Sports, Sultan Mohamed Mugheriry said.

"In Zurich, we shall hold discussions with senior FIFA officials on Zanzibar's chances of joining the organisation," he said.

"We shall explain to FIFA the situation of our island's soccer development and how the world body could help us in improving our soccer standard."

Under Tanzania's constitution, sports is not a Union matter. Mainland Tanzania (former Tanganyika) and the islands of Zanzibar merged in 1964 to form the present United Republic of Tanzania.

Union matters relate to national defence, foreign affairs, finance and public security.

Zanzibar has its own football association and sports council. The island's decision to join FIFA has the blessing of the Union government whose Labour, Youth Development and Sports minister Juma Kapuya intends to go to the FIFA headquarters on the same issue.

Soccer pundits in Tanzania view Zanzibar's resolve to join FIFA as a protest over the Mainland's dominance in the game's administration.

"This is a sign that Zanzibar sports administrators are tired of being overshadowed by their mainland counterparts in the running of football affairs," said a retired national football coach.

"What Zanzibar is doing is to seek freedom to run soccer without being bulldozed by their counterparts on the mainland".

But soccer fan Amrani Mashaka said Zanzibar's decision looks more of a political rather than a football development matter.

"This is clearly a form of protest against Tanzania Mainland's oppression and dominance in the political arena. Zanzibaris now want to assert their independence in thinking and doing whatever pleases them.

"You might treat this decision as a minor issue, but when it is analysed carefully, it could be a rumbling of some major political implications to come," Mashaka added.

Kikwete criticises donor
community on Zanzibar crisis

Wednesday, April 18, 2001
By Henry Lyimo

The donor community handling the Zanzibar crisis with aid as political leverage, puts the 1964 Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar at stake, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Jakaya Kikwete has said.
"It is sad to say that donor handling of the question of aid in Zanzibar nearly created a strain in the good relations between the Union government and the Zanzibar Revolutionary government," said the Minister yesterday at the University of Dar es Salaam when he was launching a book on politics, aid and environment in Zanzibar.
The book is entitled `Environment, Aid and Politics in Zanzibar' and has been authored by Prof. Seith Chachage of the Department of Sociology.
The Minister said it was evident that the donor community used aid as instrument of introducing political changes in Zanzibar since 1995, an approach that made the matter worse.
Donor community froze aid in Zanzibar after the 1995 general elections in which the then CCM candidate, Salmin Amour won by a slim margin against the Civic United Front (CUF) candidate, Seif Shariff Hamad.
CUF refused to recognise the Zanzibar President, Salmin Amour, charging that the votes were rigged in favour of CCM a position that resulted in a political crisis on the isles.
Kikwete called on the donor community to revisit their position and aid to Zanzibar, saying the present position did not help to solve the crisis on the spice islands.
"Any other approach, especially that of using aid stick will not bear the desired results. Donors risk reaping resentment," said the minister.
The Minister spoke also about the decline in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) for sub-Saharan Africa which is being replaced by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), saying the latter could not adequately replace the former.
He said the notion that increased trade and investment to poor countries would be able to accomplish what aid could have done was irking.
"I am not denigrating the importance of trade and foreign direct investment to our countries. I simply do not subscribe to the notion that FDI can replace ODA," he said.
He said it was obvious that investments in infrastructure and some social services like water, education and health, could not easily attract the private sector.
According to him, Tanzania and other poor countries needed both direct investments and overseas assistance with governments having years of providing vital social and economic services.

Zanzibar Probes Amour Regime

THE NEW Zanzibari government is investigating former President Salmin Amour.

President Amani Karume has formed a team to investigate contracts entered into and review projects commissioned by the government during Dr Amour's 10 years in power. He ruled from 1990 to 2000.

Most of the projects are said to have been mismanaged, while questionable contracts are thought to have denied the government revenue.

Some investment projects have already been cancelled and some contracts revoked, but details about the actions taken by the new government have not been made public.

Last week, a workshop attended by Cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries, Members of Parliament, members of the House of Representatives and academicians recommended a probe into Dr Amour's governance.

Sources told The EastAfrican that most participants expressed their bitterness at Dr Amour's rule.

The Cabinet Minister for Children, Employment and Women, Ms Samia Suluhu, reportedly accused the former government of laxity and misuse of funds.

According to the source, the Nungwi peninsula investment project owned by a British national, Mr Thomas Wells, which has already been suspended, will be investigated. Mr Well is reported to have claimed that he had $4 billion to invest, which later turned out to be untrue.

Another project to be scrutinised belongs to an Irish businessman, Mr John Reginald Nolan, who had received approval for a multimillion dollar fishing investment under the Dar es Salaam-based Africa Shipping Company. The project has been cancelled by the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA).

Allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds would also be probed, the sources added. "It reached a point where businessmen became too close to the government. Some of them evaded taxes with impunity."

A source in the ruling party said a probe into allegations of corruption and mismanagement was proposed during Dr Amour's time in office but the idea was shot down by some of his closest allies.

"The investigation could have been conducted earlier, but it was unclear who between the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the government had the mandate to institute a probe committe," the source said.

The source expressed optimism that the CCM Central Committee meeting scheduled for April 17 would discuss the matter at length.

'Pay US Or We Spill the Beans On Zanzibar'

Some of the policemen sent from the Tanzania mainland during the October general election in Zanzibar have not been paid.

The security men had been promised a "special assignment" package but 110 of them have not recieved a penny. They were being paid Tsh10,000 ($11) a month during the assignment.

Zanzibar conducted a general election on October 29, but the opposition alleged massive rigging in favour of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi. Re-runs were conducted in 16 out of 50 constituencies. The ruling party won but its victory is still being contested by the Civic United Front (CUF).

"The policemen have threatened to spill the beans if they are not paid promptly," a source said.

"We know exactly how this election was won. We will give a report to the international community if they do not pay us," said one of the men claiming to be a member of a "task force" to ensure CCM won the election in Pemba.

According to the policemen, 172 security officers from the mainland were deployed in Unguja and Pemba islands from August to February 24 to oversee the election.

Officers on such assaignments are normally paid out-of-station allowances per day according to their ranks. Besides the Tsh10,000 they received every month, the officers were given food rations.

In Dar es Salaam, police bosses confirmed that some policemen had not been paid. Police spokesman Aden Mwamunyange told The EastAfrican: "We know about their claims, but we have asked them to be patient. We are obliged to pay them. I am surprised they have decided to go to the press."

But the policemen said: "We have been told by the headquarters that we do not deserve to be paid."

They claimed that eight bomb experts sent to the island in December following a series of explosions in Pemba were paid promptly. "They arrived on a Sunday and were paid Tsh600,000 ($666) each the following Tuesday."

The experts, who were led by a Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, stayed in Zanzibar for two months, and it was claimed one of them was paid Tsh2.4 million ($2,666) at the end of the assignment.

"This is very discouraging. Did we risk our lives and leave our families behind for months to be treated like this?" lamented a policeman.

Discussing the bloody January 27 incident in which 25 people were killed, a policeman said they knew the CUF demonstrators would turn violent but the officers were ill-prepared to contain the situation. The policeman was stationed at the Wete Police Station, where one of his colleagues was beheaded.

According to sources, police headquarters had to hire a Air Tanzania plane to fly reinforcements to Wete as demonstrators seemed to overpower the police.

The nationwide demonstrations followed the lapsing of a 90-day ultimatum the CUF had given the government to repeat the elections.

The party had initially called for a peaceful rally to protest at allegations of massive rigging and demand a reconstitution of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.

The protesters had also planned to demand fresh elections and changes in the Tanzania Union constitution.

Tanzania govt says no to
Zanzibar clashes inquiry

Thursday, April 12, 2001
DAR ES SALAAM

The Tanzanian government said yesterday it would not yield to international and domestic pressure to investigate January's violent clashes between police and opposition protesters on Zanzibar.
Dozens of people, most of them opposition activists, died in the clashes between police and protesters of the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) demanding a re-run of last October's widely disputed elections on the Indian Ocean islands.
At least 2,000 Zanzibaris fled to neighbouring Kenya.
While the government maintains only 23 people died,
opposition leaders and diplomats say between 60 and 70 people were killed in the protests and have demanded an independentinquiry.
"I do not see the need to hold an independent inquiry,"
Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye told a news conference.
"If the government was disputing the event and saying nobody died, then we would investigate. But we agree there were clashes and 23 people died."
On Wednesday, Denmark expressed concern over the political situation in Zanzibar and "urged the Tanzanian government to take immediate steps to investigate and identify those responsible for the killings".
Last weekend, thousands of opposition members took to the streets in a march to demand a re-run of the Zanzibar elections, an independent inquiry into the January clashes and reform of the state-appointed electoral commission.
Zanzibar has been in political turmoil since 1995 when CUF rejected a narrow victory by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), claiming the elections were rigged.
CUF, whose stronghold is in Zanzibar, again rejected last
October's polls and demanded a repeat. It has refused to
recognise Zanzibar's President Amani Karume and Tanzanian
President Benjamin Mkapa.
Zanzibar joined with Tanganyika mainland in 1964 to form
Tanzania but still enjoys considerable autonomy, with its own parliament and president.

19 Zanzibar CUF Reps lose House seats

Saturday, April 07, 2001
By PST correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar

Nineteen members of the House of Representatives yesterday officially lost their seats for failing to abide by the Zanzibar constitution and their constituencies have been declared vacant.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pandu Ameir Kificho, said that the House has taken the decision after the Representatives, from the opposition Civic United Front, failed to attend sessions since they were elected last October.
He said according to Clause 71 (1) C of the Zanzibar Constitution there was no reason why the 19 representatives, 16 of whom were elected, should retain their positions after failing to attend three consecutive House sessions.
Those who lost their seats include Ali Rashid Wame (Ole), Juma Abdulhaman (Ziwani), Khatib Hamad Sheikh (Tumbe), Kombo Khamis Kombo (Wingwi), Maiba Mussa Sikuni (special seats) and Miraji Ramadhani Halili (Konde).
Others are Muhiddin Mohamed Muhiddin (Mtambile) Musa Haji Kombo (Chake Chake), Omar Ali Jadi (Kojani), Rashid Jabu Dawa (Micheweni), Safia Juma Maalim (special seats), Said Ali Mbarouk (Gando) and Salim Abadallah Hamad (Mtambwe).
Salim Yusuph Mohamed (Pandani), Zaikia Omar Juma (special seats), Abbas Juma Mhunzi (Chambani), Abdallah Juma Abdallah (Chonga), Abubakar Khamis Bakar (Mgongoni) and Ahmed Seif Hamad (Utaani) also lost their seats.
There were cheers when the Speaker read the names of representatives, especially when he mentioned the name of Bakar who was the leader of the opposition.
The Speaker said he intended to inform the Zanzibar Electoral Commission that the vacant seats were held by CUF House representatives who had boycotted sessions.
The representatives had boycotted the sessions to support their party which refused to accept results of last October elections saying the voting contravened election laws.
Meanwhile, the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government has required citizens to disclose the names of leaders involved in graft so that appropriate measures can be taken against them.
The Zanzibar Chief Minster, Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, yesterday said this when adjourning the House of Representatives.
Hr said wananchi could bring the names of such leaders to his office and he would deal with the issue fairly.
At present in Zanzibar, especially in offices, leaders were not ashamed to sell citizens' rights for their own benefit.
"The government will be steadfast about this issue since it is not confined to the president and ministers alone. We request the help of citizens," he said.
He also said that from now on he would follow up closely agricultural officers who stayed in town leaving farmers in the rural areas without expert advice.
Adjourning the house, Nahodha said that steps taken to amend laws were taken in good faith and were not intended to intimidate any party.

Isles President Signs Emergency Certificate

to Amend Electoral Law

The President of Zanzibar, Mr. Amani Abeid Karume has signed an emergency certificate seeking an amendment to the electoral law to enable by-elections to be held within a period of two years instead of the present three months (90 days) after a seat has fallen vacant.

The Deputy Speaker Kamal Basha Pandu revealed this yesterday at the on-going meeting of House of Representatives in Isles. He told the members of Representatives in Zanzibar that the motion to amend to the electoral law was brought the House of Representatives following an emergency certificate signed by the President, Karume.

He did not explain further, but the tabling of the government motion came amid speculation that House Speaker Pandu Ameir Kificho was today expected to make an announcement on the fate of the legislators who have so far refused to be sworn in and attend House sessions.

Fifteen Members of Parliament (MPs) from Pemba Island from opposition Civic United Front (CUF) have lost the legislative seats for failing to attend three consecutive National Assembly sessions without giving any information to the Speaker, Mr. Pius Msekwa.

Msekwa declared the seat vacant in Dodoma, the Tanzania's capital city yesterday saying also that he would inform the chairman of the Electoral Commission, Justice Lewis Makame for further action.

It was established yesterday also that Kificho would announce the fate to befall the 19 CUF legislators, who have forfeited their seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives after failing to appear for the three consecutive sessions.

The CUF's Representatives have been boycotting the National Assembly sessions, partly because they did not recognize the current Isles government under President Amani Abeid Karume. They wanted a rerun for all 50 plus constituencies of Zanzibar.

Emergency certificate to amend electoral law for Zanzibar came few days after the Union Assembly has amended to the Election Law ordering the National Electoral Commission to organize fresh elections within 24 months from the date the seat fall vacant.

However, the Chairman of National opposition party NCCR-Mageuzi, Mr. James Mbatia told the media here yesterday that they were consulting with their legal and governance expert to file the case to challenge such amendments.

Should the seat fall vacant, the present electoral law required the Electoral Commission to organize fresh by-elections within 90 days. Last Wednesday the Union Assembly amended to the Election Act of 1985 by affecting the previous law whereby the National Electoral Commission was required to organize fresh elections after three months after the seat fall vacant.

The grossly outnumbered opposition had, however, walked out in protest, leaving the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to carry the day without much ado.

The proposed amendment enables, however, for the holding of a by-election earlier, depending on circumstances, which might deem it necessary to fill a vacant seat immediately.

Tabling the motion in Isles yesterday, the Zanzibar Attorney General, Mr. Idd Pandu Hassan said the proposal, which seeks to amend the Election Law of 1984, has been motivated by two major reasons.

They are economic factors and the need to build a climate of political tranquillity made more relevant by the Zanzibar situation. Explaining further, he said by-elections were a very costly exercise, considering the fact that the number of occasions necessitating them was not known in advance.

"By-elections interfere with budgetary trends and, at times, the government has been forced to take money from development votes to finance by-elections at the expense of improvement of social services," he explained.

Moving the motion for the amendment of the 1985 Elections Act in the House on Wednesday, the Union Attorney General, Mr. Andrew Chenge said the government has spent TSZ 7 billion on by-elections between 1995 and last year the money, which he said were enough to construct 60 kilometers of tarmac roads.

Ferry owners, travel agents at loggerheads

Monday, April 02, 2001
By Felix Andrew

The Tanzania Society of Travel Agents (TASOTA) is planning to meet sea ferry owners to reach an agreement, after the ship owners decided to prevent travel agents from selling tickets for their ferries.
TASOTA chairman, Mr Moustapha Khataw, said last week the Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar-Pemba sea ferries owners’ recently decided to stop the travel agents from selling their tickets.
The owners, most of whom are Zanzibar-based, withdrew their tickets stocks from the travel agents offices. The travel agents earn a commission on each ticket sold.
Mr Khataw said it was very disheartening for the sea ferries owners to take this unexpected action, without any prior notice to the ticket agents. It is also not clear whether the ferry owners are quitting the association or not,” he noted.
“We will make sure that our fellows rejoin us in our endeavours to offer better services to tourists and other customers making use of the sea ferry services.
Efforts by this paper to get some ferry owners in Dar es Salaam proved fruitless as one official of Sea Bus told this reporter that he will responde to his problem through questionnaire.
The Chairman revealed that TASOTA has set four priorities to which travel agents all over the country have to adhere.
He said that firstly, TASOTA wants to enhance interaction between the servicing agents and the principal products suppliers .
“Second, the organisation wants to fully participate in the activities of the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania which was officially launched last week,” he said.
The association will continue to interact with international organisations such as UFTAA, IATA, to represent the interest of its membership as well as interacting with National Tourism Association and members of the hospitality industry for integrated efforts towards the promotion of the country as a unique tourist destination.
“We are aware that IATA accredited travel agents are facing some grave problems which retard their progress, but TASOTA is looking for ways to solve these problems,” he said.
There have been reports that some TASOTA members were once harassed by VAT officers who accused them of not paying VAT on air ticket sales’ commissions, he said, adding that the organisation made a presentation to the Treasury immediately after the incident.
“ We have a document from the Treasury advising us to be patient while the policy analysis department makes a case, and submits it to the Minister for Finance for the final decision.

Analysts Say New Splinter Party Lacks Credibility

Tanzanian political analysts said Wednesday the envisaged formation of a new breakaway political party of former disgruntled members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) will not alter the latter's strength in Zanzibar politics.

"I met some of these guys who want to form a new party. They are discontented elements lacking the strength to weaken CUF's hold on power in the islands," a renowned political commentator told PANA in an interview Wednesday.

"These people (mainly from the mainland) are not at all a threat to CUF because the party has a large following in Pemba and Zanzibar islands. By nature, Zanzibaris do not behave like flags that follow the wind," said Prince Mahinja Bagenda, a political analyst and former ideologue of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.

On Tuesday, Tanzania's Registrar of Political Parties, George Liundi, told journalists in Zanzibar that former CUF members were intending to form a new political group known as National Alliance Party or NAP.

Would-be office holders of the new party have already submitted to the registrar a draft constitution as required by the law empowering registration of political parties, Liundi said.

Although he declined to reveal names of the new party leaders, Liundi said the motive behind the launching of NAP was the group's dissatisfaction with current CUF leadership in handling Zanzibar's volatile political situation.

Among key conditions required for registering a political party include a national outlook in which a party must draw its representation from both the islands and mainland Tanzania.

Recently, senior leaders of CCM and CUF signed a declaration to end political animosities between the two following the 27 January bloody riots in Pemba and Zanzibar which left 30 people dead.

The cessation-of-hostilities agreement has drawn bitter criticism from some sections of CUF supporters who accuse their leaders as wolves in a sheep's skin.

In particular, CUF Secretary General Seif Sharrif Hamad has borne the brunt of the harsh criticism because of his key role in the discussions that led the peace accord.

Commenting on the CCM-CUF declaration, Bagenda said the move was an intelligent step that would help CUF strengthen its position on the islands.

"People who oppose this declaration, like the ones who want to form a new party, do not have the interest of Tanzania at heart. Neither can their party have influence in Zanzibar politics," he said.

Another political commentator, who asked for anonymity, said Tanzania has a myriad of political parties and it was, therefore, a useless idea to think of launching other new parties.

"Let's strengthen the existing parties to command a large following in the country. We'll not build democracy by launching political parties everyday," he emphasised.

However, the key question among political observers is whether CCM is behind the formation of the splinter parties in the country as one of way of weakening the opposition.

The answer, according to Bagenda, is "Yes."

"The CCM government," he alleged, "has infiltrated opposition parties through its security agents. These people are mainly there to weaken the opposition camp."

"As a political analyst, I cannot rule out the possibility of the CCM government destroying other parties through its security agents," he added.

Z’bar: TBL hoping for change in policy

Wednesday, March 21, 2001
By Guardian Correspondent, Zanzibar

Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) is ready to sponsor sporting activities in Zanzibar, according to TBL Chief Executive Director Justice O’Donovan.
He said, however, that this was subject to a change in the policy of the Zanzibari government which prohibit firms dealing in alcohol from sponsoring sports in the isles.
O’Donovan made the remarks yesterday in an exclusive interview with The Guardian.
He was in Zanzibar to present malaria drugs worth 10 million/- to the Zanzibar Women’s Development Society, whose chairperson, former First Lady Salma Salmin, received the donation.
O’Donovan said TBL had been in the forefront in providing assistance in various sectors and would continue doing so whenever the need arose, adding that the firm set up a special fund for this purpose in 1998 and had to date spent about 1 billion/-.
Sports fans received with mixed feelings the government’s decision to allow TBL to donate the drugs.
Some said the government was exhibiting double standards by barring beer firms from seeking publicity through the sponsorship of sports while at the same time allowing the companies to assist in other sectors.
TBL sponsored the 1996 Union Super League, but the firm pulled out after the Zanzibari authorities banned their teams from donning jerseys advertising TBL products.
The teams were also prohibited from accepting cash prizes and other incentives offered by the firm.

Disappointed CUF members
form splinter group

Wednesday, March 28, 2001
By Correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah PST, Zanzibar

Some founder members of the opposition party, Civic United Front in Zanzibar have formed a splinter group following disappointment on the manner CUF was handling political affairs.
The Registrar of Political Parties, George Liundi told the press yesterday in Zanzibar that the new political party to be called the National Alliance Party, has already presented a draft constitution to the registrar in the process to acquire interim registration.
Liundi said that he has already read the draft constitution. He would then hold a meeting with leaders of the new party to explain to them how they should go about registering their party.
Some of the leaders of the new party, Liundi said, were members of CUF's governing council. But he would not mention them.
Liundi said that the founders of the new party wanted him to keep the information on the new party secret.
But such a thing was not a secret as far as his office was concerned, he said.
The formation of the party comes in the wake of apparent mixed reactions from the CUF members on the way their leaders were handling talks with the ruling the Chama Cha Mapinduzi to ease political tension in the twin islands of Zanzibar.
CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad and his counterpart from CCM, Phillip Mangula are in series of meetings aimed at convincing members and supporters of the two parties to end political animosity in the isles.
Early this month, the two leaders signed an agreement to end the hostility in Unguja and Pemba which climaxed with the killings of over 23 people in January 27 when police force confronted CUF x.
Todate about 2000 opposition supporters have taken refuge at Shimoni town in Mombasa, Kenya fearing police persecution after the foiled January demonstration.
Despite the signing of the agreement CUF leaders maintain their position of refusing to recognise the Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume and demands for formation of another electoral commission were unchanged.

Life of Uncertainty for Pemba Asylum Seekers

Singing and cheering, they usher in a new day the way they know best - swimming. The young and middle-aged male swimmers are some of the 2,303 asylum seekers from the isle of Pemba and a few from Zanzibar who escaped bloody fighting between police and supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) which started on 27 January.

The clashes are believed to have claimed the lives of at least 30 people with several others injured. Six of the asylum seekers arrived at the port at the weekend, UNHCR said. Their day now starts at about 05.00 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) with prayers at a mosque at the Shimoni shopping centre, Kwale district on the Kenyan coast. From the mosque, they proceed to the ocean to bathe or swim. Their arrival is heralded by shouts, songs, chants as they prepare themselves for swimming competitions as individuals or teams. Watching or listening to them, one has an image of a contented, happy crowd at peace with all around them.

As it approaches 08.00 a.m. (05:00 GMT), most of them retreat to the temporary camps, their new homes since their arrival at the Kenyan coast, at the Shimoni Department of Fisheries' compound. The temperatures steadily climb and the atmosphere is heavy with humidity. After a cup of tea or coffee, the asylum seekers set out trying to find something to keep them busy.

They break up into small groups and engage in intimate low-toned discussions. They like keeping together according to their clans or areas of origin back home. Others spend long hours going through religious instructions. Some stroll back to the shopping centre and sit on the verandas or stand under the single tree in the middle of the shopping centre. A few of them can afford one thing or the other from the shops and the little hotels at the centre.

The population in the area has definitely increased and according to the local transport (matatu) operators, there are many people travelling now to and from Shimoni following the arrival of the "refugees". Mothers who wake up much earlier to wash clothes, carry on with "house" chores like preparing some "meals" for their young ones. The children spend their day playing, oblivious of their plight, while the elderly find their slot in the different groupings. The 17 politicians also take their corner to compare notes on whatever news they have heard concerning their situation. The young men, who cook in turns for the entire group, start preparing for the days' lunch. As some ferry firewood from the store, others carry water to the communal cooking point.

UNHCR trucks some 26,000 litres daily from Diani in Kwale district for their use in cooking and drinking, it provides the firewood, most of the utensils. The group has found itself having to start eating foods alien to their diet which mainly comprise of sea foods and rice. "The other day we brought cabbages and they had a problem. They did not know how to cook it so we asked the locals to do it for them," UNHCR's Programmes Officer Peter Karanja told IRIN.

UNHCR has been supplying the food rations, complemented by private organisations and individuals. It says that with availability of more funding, it could provide more of the basic needs.

The afternoons are very slow and heavy-going for the visitors, especially because they do not have anything to do. "We just have to sit or sleep," a Member of Parliament (MP) told IRIN. "We just escaped the way we were. It is not home, so what can one do?" "Our future is very uncertain here or even back at home," he added.

After 04:00 p.m. young and middle-aged men rush back to the ocean to do what they love most, swim. Some then go to the mosque for the evening prayers as others gather in the roomy 'Nilipi' eating place at the shopping centre. Here, the radio is tuned to the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC's) Kiswahili service at 6.30 pm local time. The volume is increased and there is absolute silence. They also listen to Pemba radio. "We get to know what is going on back at home and what our leaders and the government are doing or saying," a young man Khamis told IRIN. A few traders in cloves also row their boats with the goods from Pemba to Shimoni almost daily and often update the "refugees" on the situation.

The visitors then retire to the "camps" where they sleep in huge tents donated by UNHCR and other aid agencies, local NGOs and individuals. Some of the tents can accommodate between 50-70 people. Men and women sleep in separate tents, although those who escaped as a family are allowed to stay together. So far, UNHCR has put up 13 permanent latrines for the visitors' use. "These we intend to hand over to the local community after the visitors leave," Karanja noted.

"We have brought the lives of those who lived here and were using this office to a standstill," another MP, Khalifa Mohammed Issa told IRIN.

More than 20 Kenyan police officers were deployed to Shimoni after the arrival of the "refugees". "But they are very peaceful people. They are very organised and very cooperative," Chief Inspector of Police Frederick Marete told IRIN. "We don't have any problem with them except that UNHCR has refused to put them in a fenced or surrounded area," he noted.

"The asylum seekers are not detainees nor criminals. They are not in a detention camp so we cannot put them in an enclosed area," Karanja said. UNHCR depends on the local health facilities. It says it will help replenish the facilities with medicines. Most of those who arrived at Shimoni port with injuries have now been discharged from the Msambweni district hospital.

Zanzibar Peace Initiative Runs Into a Brickwall

A reconciliatory bid between Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and the opposition Civic United Front following last January's bloody confrontations in Zanzibar was making little headway, Dar es Salaam sources said.

The two sides have been meeting to break the stalemate over the spiraling political crisis on the federated island of Zanzibar, following a widely discredited election last October.

Notwithstanding the initiative, pundits note that the CUF continues to demand the nullification of the island's 2000 election results that catapulted President Amani Abedi Karume to power.

The CUF also demands a reconstitution of the country's electoral bodies and a new Constitution to provide Zanzibar with more autonomy.

The CCM-led government has persistently ejected both demands, and an initial peace settlement signed by the two parties on 9 March to end the crisis seemed now dogged with controversy.

The declaration calls for a moratorium on the use of inciting language by the two parties and advocates the return of over 1,500 Zanzibaris who fled the archipelago at the height of the conflict in late January.

While certain quarters of the opposition hail the accord, others dismiss it as an evil machination by the ruling party to further weaken their already vulnerable camp. Some have gone as far labeling Seif Shariff Hamad who signed for CUF, a traitor.

According to the chairman of the NCCR-Mageuzi, James Mbatia, the accord contravenes a plan of action by the country's 12 opposition parties on how best to deal with the ruling party.

At a meeting in Dodoma last month, the parties agreed to fuel a series of violent demonstrations in a bid to have the government comply with a set of demands relating to the future of democracy in the country.

More criticisms sprang from the CUF stronghold of Pemba, with zealots advising Hamad to renege on the declaration.

"We request you not to sign agreements which do not represent or protect our interests," some supporters of the party are reported to have told Hamad during a visit to the island.

They told Hamad to call off discussions and agreements which they deemed anti-democratic, and warned that he would be blamed in future should peace fail to take hold on the troubled islands.

Although Hamad himself supports the peace initiative, he says the opposition party would not back off its crusade for a re-run of the Zanzibari elections.

He added that the party would not back off from a continuing boycott of parliamentary sessions to press for fresh elections.

"Our MPs and Members of the House of Representatives (in Zanzibar) will not attend sessions because CUF does not recognise the results which gave CCM the mandate to rule," he said soon after the signing of the declaration.

Despite the accord throwing out a number of tricky issues, a number of opposition parties including Chadema, Tanzania Labour Party and the United Democratic Front manifested support for Hamad.

More Flee Tanzania Troubles

Six more Tanzanian refugees crossed over to the coastal town of Shimoni bringing the number of refugees to 2,303.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Newton Kanhema said the latest arrivals from Pemba island said they fled because of persecution by Tanzanian authorities.

He said the new wave comes shortly after Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Nahodha assured the UNHCR that the refugees could return home as calm had been restored.

Mr Kanhema, who spoke by telephone, said the refugees had given several conditions to be met before they returned home, among them that all political prisoners arrested over the bloody January 27 demonstrations be released.

They also want a general amnesty for those who participated in the demonstrations in Pemba and Zanzibar.

Mr Kanhema said that a UNHCR team sent to Tanzania to assess the situation in the two islands arrived back in Nairobi yesterday and will soon release a report of its findings.

The team including the UNHCR Kenya representative Mr Daniel Tshitungi had travelled to the isles to asses whether the refugees could be allowed to return home.

Mr Kanhema said that since the refugees arrived in Kenya on January 27, the Kenyan government had yet to recognise their refugee status.

He said that after visiting the refugees in Shimoni, he found the refugees living in appalling conditions in a fishery compound meant to accommodate not more than 600 people.

"UNHCR is having difficulty in its humanitarian work at Shimoni due to lack of space in the camp. Just last week we completed the construction of the first 13 latrines in the camp which was a difficult task as the area is swampy", he said.

Mr Kanhema said that 80 per cent of the people continued to sleep in the open as there was not enough space to set up their tents.

Disabled Comprise 10 Percent of Zanzibar Population

Zanzibar has 38,000 disabled people who comprise about 10 percent of the Island's total population.

Speaking at a forum to discuss the plight of the disabled held in Zanzibar on Tuesday, the Executive Director of Zanzibar Disabled Society Khalfan Hemed Khalfan said that a good number of the disabled are a result of political conflicts.

Poverty and accidents have also contributed to their number, the Executive Director noted. He said, however, the majority of the disabled were languishing in abject poverty as the government was doing little to incorporate them in development activities or help them to be self reliant.

Citing reports given by officials of the Civic United Front party last week, the Executive Director said that 163 people sustained disability following the riots which happened on 27 January in Zanzibar. About 74 children were orphaned, he noted.

Khalfan called on the Zanzibar government and the society in general to assist the disabled because they are part of the society.

During the same occasion the President of the World Federation of the Disabled people, Joshua Malinga said that governments must change their attitude towards disabled people. Instead of thinking that the disabled are people who always beg for alms, they should think of them as people who can contribute to the development of society.

Thus they should be given opportunities for employment and training in various field of life so that they become independent, he said.

UNHCR completes mission
to Pemba; report awaited

Sunday, March 18, 2001
By Mwinyi Sadalla, PST, Zanzibar

The fate of Tanzanians who have sought refugee status in Kenya following recent clashes between demonstrators and the police in Zanzibar is to be known next week.
It will also be known whether the refugees will be allowed to continue living at Shimoni in Mombasa as refugees or whether they will have to be repatriated.
This follows a five-man delegation to Pemba of officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assess the political climate and whether the refugees can be allowed to return home.
The officials have just ended their visit to the isles during which they also met and held talks with the Civic United Front (CUF) Secretary General Seif Sharriff Hamad, and top government leaders.
Informed sources from members of the delegation said the officials had compiled substantive data from the victims of the clashes during which more than 23 people lost their lives, while scores of others were injured.
The sources said members of the delegation had taken a keen interest both in the political and economical condition of the isles following the clashes which had resulted in many people fleeing from their homes.
One of the delegates said they had been sent to assess the general situation in Pemba and submit a comprehensive report on whether it was conducive for the refugees to be allowed to return home.
“We are already through with our mission,” the delegate, said adding that they were now expected to make a report on their findings.

Hamad defends dialogue with CCM

Saturday, March 17, 2001
By Mwinyi Sadala PST, Zanzibar

Members of the Civic United Front have been asked to respect the on-going dialogue between their party and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi for this is the only way the political crisis in Zanzibar can be solved.
Addressing a public rally at Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Zanzibar yesterday, the CUF Secretary General, Seif Sharrif Hamad told members and supporters of CUF that they must now peg their hopes on the dialogue because CCM has shown seriousness in the issue and that dialogue was the only shortcut to the end of the political impasse in Zanzibar.
"Let me assure you that I have not betrayed you by taking part in the dialogue with CCM. The whole thing takes care of your interests and those of the nation," Hamad told thousands of people who attended the rally.
Stressing the importance of dialogue, Hamad said all over the world people who resort to fighting as a solution to political crisis eventually revert to dialogue.
So, Zanzibaris should use the same method to arrive at a permanet solution to their political problem.
However, he cautioned that at this stage, CUF still maintained it did not recognize the Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume and that its Members of Parliament, members of the House of Representatives and councillors would not attend sessions.
Clarifying on the dialogue between his party and CCM, Hamad said that the dialogue would centre on major issues such as conducting fresh polls in the whole of Zanzibar, the formation of an independent electoral commission and amending the constitution.
Earlier the CUF Director of Human Rights, Hamad Masoud, said that the party has started identify names of policemen who allegedly committed crimes during the January-27 demonstration.
He alleged that about 50m/- had been stolen from shopkeepers and a lot of property was stolen and some destroyed.

CUF holds public rally today

, March 16, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Police Force in Zanzibar have allowed the Civic United Front (CUF) to hold a public rally today but with conditions.
The party is expected to clarify what is contained in the recent declaration with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Today's CUF public rally would be addressed by Hamad who signed the declaration on behalf of his political party.
In his letter to CUF, the Unguja Urban District Commanding Officer George Kiziguto, said the public rally should be held at Mnazi Mmoja grounds and not at Malindi grounds as suggested by the opposition party.
The OCD said neither CUF leaders nor party members or supporters would be allowed to attend the rally while armed with any type of weapons.
He directed CUF leaders to ensure that no single party member would be carrying any placards or portraits at the planned public rally.
No demonstration is allowed during today's CUF public rally, according to Kiziguto.
He added that an abusive or inflammatory language against government leaders would not be allowed. CUF should grant the media an access to its rally at Mnazi Mmoja grounds.
The OCD assured CUF of a maximum security to be offered by law enforcers at the public rally so that law and order are observed by all.
The rally comes few days after CUF members and supporters had divided themselves over the declaration.
Some CUF members have been charging that Hamad had betrayed them by signing the declaration while others supported him.
Earlier, Hamad travelled to Pemba where he made similar clarifications on the declaration between the opposition party and CCM.

TLP subsidies' dispute rages on

Friday, March 16, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Some leaders of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) in Zanzibar have turned against the party's vice-chairman on the isles, Sheikh Ali Iddi, over the latter's allegations levelled against Augustine Mrema that he embezzled 34m/- being party subsidy.
Earlier this week, Sheikh Iddi accompanied by his Deputy Secretary General, Said Soud, and a member of TLP National Executive Committee, Farahani Mzee Farahani, had charged that about 34m/- had been embezzled by the TLP National Chairman, Mrema.
Other TLP leaders who were on the list of alleged party subsidies' looters were Harold Jaffu, a TLP Secretary General, Leo Lwekamwa who is vice-chairman for Tanzania-Mainland, Thomas Ngawaiya, a publicity secretary, Stephen a treasurer, and planning and economy secretary Peter Mziray.
TLP publicity secretary in Zanzibar, Peter Magwina, said here yesterday that Sheikh Iddi's allegations were baseless and were only aimed at fermenting unnecessary squabbles within TLP.
He said no legally recognized meeting was held in Zanzibar to deliberate on Iddi's allegations over TLP top leadership.
"Iddi's allegations are merely aimed at mud-slinging our top leaders," Magwina said.
Farahani Mzee Farahani yesterday advised both factions to present their grievances before relevant party organs.

UNHCR Team Assesses Political Situation In Zanzibar

UN High Commissioner for Refugees officials are on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba to assess the political and security situation there in order to pave the for the voluntary return of hundreds of Zanzibari refugees living in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The five-man team Wednesday held talks with Pemba government leaders and officials of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party.

The UNHCR fact-finding mission talked to several people on the island and toured some places which were the scene of the January killings of 24 people following clashes between policemen and protesters who were, among other things, demanding a re-run of the Zanzibar general elections.

On Thursday the UNHCR officials held talks with Zanzibar government authorities, particularly on claims by the refugees that the political climate in Pemba was still tense for their return because of police harassment of those suspected to have participated in an outlawed demonstration of 27 January.

More than 2,200 Zanzibaris - mostly CUF supporters from Pemba island - fled to Kenya's Shimoni area after the bloody riots on the two islands.

The refugee crisis has tarnished Tanzania's human rights record with some western donor nations, including European Union member states, who have threatened to cut off aid to the East African nation.

Last week Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog, also raised questions by urging the government to set up an independent commission to probe the Zanzibar killings.

Also the plight of the Zanzibar refugee gained international attention after Kenyan authorities early this month decided to relocate them from Mombasa to the north-eastern Daadab camp along the Kenya-Somalia border.

Representatives of the refugees, who include CUF Members of Parliament, rejected the decision, saying it was a Kenyan government plot to eliminate them on their way to Daadab camp.

In the process, UNHCR officials in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi had to intervene to halt implementation of the relocation exercise for the 2,270 Zanzibar asylum seekers.

To pave way for the return of the refugees, senior officials of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF last week signed an agreement to end hostilities between the two major political groups after assessing the political and security situation on Pemba Island.

Already, reports from Zanzibar said Thursday that 17 refugees have returned to Pemba where even CUF leaders confirm the once tense security situation has now normalised.

On their repeated pleas, Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and his Zanzibari counterpart, Amani Abeid Karume, have been appealing to the refugees to return home, guaranteeing them security and freedom from prosecution.

Zanzibari refugees demand guarantees to return home

Zanzibar refugees marooned in a
makeshift camp at Shimoni on the Kenyan coast are seeking guarantees
before they return home to their offshore island state, their
leaders said here Tuesday.
   "We are ready to go home, but under certain guarantees by our
government and Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa himself, who must
show total commitment to end the Zanzibar crisis," Miraj Hariri, one
of 17 legislators camping at Shimoni with 2,270 of their compatriots
told AFP by telephone.
   The refugees have been camping at the small fishing and trading
post since early February after fleeing post-election violence which
rocked the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar and Pemba
on January 26, leaving at least 33 people dead.
   Last Friday, the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary
Party) signed an agreement with the opposition Civic United Front
(CUF), to end the political crisis in the Indian Ocean islands.
   CUF has been demanding a re-run of last October's disputed
presidential elections in Zanzibar, which coincided with elections
in the rest of Tanzania.
   Zanzibari President Amani Karume defeated CUF secretary general
Shariff Hamad, who has twice run for the presidency.
   Saying that they were offering an olive branch for peace, the
legislators pointed out, however, that they were sceptical Mkapa
could change direction and address the disputed polls.
   "We shall return home once Mkapa's government agrees to
guarantee our safety and freedom, witnessed by international
observers. We can't go back to face prison or prosecution for
demanding our rights," Hariri said.
   The refugees' stand is supported by an influential group of
local Kenyan Muslim clergy, who persuaded the refugees to break a
three-day hunger strike last week.
   Sheikh Juma Ngao of the Council of Imams and Muslim Preachers of
Kenya said Mkapa must prove he is genuine in efforts to resolve the
crisis.
   The refugees' hunger strike was in protest at Kenyan
authorities' order to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
to relocate them to Daadab camp in northeastern Kenya -- home to
thousands of Somali refugees who have fled conflict in their
countries.

Z’bar triathlon set for June

Monday, March 12, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

The Zanzibar International Triathlon will be held in June, according to the Zanzibar Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA).
ZAAA Chairman Hassan Juma said 100 participants from South Africa would be among competitors from several foreign countries who will vie for honours in the competition which would feature swimming, cycling and road race events.
He also said the international mountain cycling event that was programmed for March 21-24 in Zanzibar had been postponed to October.
The competition has been rescheduled at the request of a group of Italians living in Zanzibar who have organised the event in collaboration with ZAAA and the Zanzibar Tourism Commission.
He said the Italians wanted the event to be pushed back to enable more mountain cycling enthusiasts to participate.
The ZAAA chairman also said Zanzibar’s provisional athletics team was currently gearing up for this year’s National and East and Central African championships

UN Plea Over Refugees

A UN agency has appealed to the Government to reconsider the decision to relocate Tanzanian refugees.

The High Commissioner for Refugees's senior programme officer in Nairobi, Mr Alberto Cabeia Chys, said that since their arrival in Kenya, the Tanzanians had demonstrated a willingness to return home.

The Government announced last week it was planning to move them from Kwale's Shimoni village to the Dadaab refugee camp, North Eastern Province.

"They have indicated they would not like to be refugees here for long and that is why we are appealing to the Government to give us an alternative site near where they are now based as we explore ways of seeing them return home," he said.

Mr Chys said the UNHCR was grateful to the Government for agreeing to host more than 2,000 refugees.

At the same time, Kwale leaders have offered more than 75 acres of land to relocate the Zanzibari refugees, local politician Kassim Abdalla Juma said.

Mr Juma accused the under secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Heritage, Mr Nimrod Waweru, of being arrogant to the refugees.

The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya's secretary-general, Sheikh Mohamed Dor, expressed disappointment at Mr Waweru's treatment of the refugees.

Mr Waweru has, however, denied it, saying he was only a Government messenger.

The Coast provincial police boss, Mr Stanley Manyinya, also said the refugees must move to the designated camps.

Citing security reasons, Mr Manyinya said the refugees had to be moved at least 100 kilometres from the border with their country.

Western Media Query Mkapa's Zanzibar Action

A series of Western media reports have questioned President Benjamin Mkapa's handling of the Zanzibar crisis over the past week.

The latest edition of Africa Confidential for example, questions "whether the President appreciates the full extent of the damage [Zanzibar has done] to the country's high reputation for peace, stability and progress. Nor does he seem to appreciate how much will be needed to put things right."

The appointment of the highly respected Tanzanian High Commissioner to London, Dr Abdelkader Shareef, as Foreign Affairs Minister is seen as a good step towards improving relations with the Arab world but Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete's visit to Britain, the US, Canada and Sweden late last month has, it seems, done little to stave off criticism of Dar's handling of the Zanzibar crisis.

Another London-based publication, Africa Analysis, described Tanzania's image abroad as "being in tatters," adding that this was now threatening investment both to Zanzibar and the mainland.

Already, the Isles' tourism industry is close to collapse, with the important cruise market having pulled out and many tourists cancelling their holidays or going elsewhere.

Africa Confidential says criticism had not only been voiced by Western donors and human-rights groups but also by organisations like the OAU and respected local groups such as the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation and the Tanzania Law Society.

It adds that a country once respected for taking in almost a million refugees from neighbouring countries in recent years, now has an exodus of its own.

While President Mkapa's hard-line strategy on Zanzibar is justified by the government on the basis that it will prevent a re-run of the 1960s crisis, the newsletter says that its effect has been to make this more likely. "(Mkapa's) strategy seems to be building support for a divorce with the mainland as well as for those groups arguing for Islamic law. These hardliners will gain influence unless there is progress towards reform."

Africa Analysis suggests that President Mkapa's hardline stance stems from his overdependence on the army resulting from his weak power base in the CCM.

"It appears that on certain issues, Mkapa takes orders from the security chiefs, which perhaps explains why, unprecedented in the country's history, military officers now act as government spokesmen."

Police road blocks, house to house searches and arrests of opposition Civic United Front (CUF) supporters in Zanzibar, have prompted the London-based Amnesty International to probe human-rights abuses.

These have continued since January 27, when CUF supporters demonstrated countrywide to protest against the botched October 29, 2000 election. The opposition party is demanding fresh elections.

The police and other security organs have been accused of imprisoning CUF supporters and causing terror that has seen more than 1,700 islanders flee to Mombasa, in Kenya as refugees. These include 14 CUF members of the House of Representatives.

Violence deters tourists from Zanzibar

(AP) -- Political violence in Zanzibar has led to the cancellation of 70 percent of tour bookings to the tropical Indian Ocean archipelago. Hotels and restaurants have been forced to shut down or lay off hundreds of workers.

After growing 501 percent since 1985, tourism in Zanzibar -- the islands' second-largest industry -- is bracing for major loses in 2001. At blame are recent deadly clashes between police and opposition party supporters, says Issa Mlingoti, director of the Zanzibar Commission of Tourism.

Police say 23 people were killed when police opened fire on demonstrators from the opposition Civic United Front between January 26-27, but opposition leaders claim at least 75 people were killed. More than 800 others fled to neighboring Kenya for refuge from the worst violence in Zanzibar since the 1964 bloody uprising that overthrew the Omani Arab sultan.

''February is the peak of the tourism season in Zanzibar, with hotel occupancy rates (usually) in excess of 90 percent,'' says American hotelier Emerson Skeene. ''But we are now extremely low ... as low as you can get, with occupancy rates of 10 percent to 30 percent.''

Several large hotels on Zanzibar's east coast have shut down and sent staff on compulsory leave -- many without payment, says Pereira Silima, permanent secretary in the ministry of trade, industry, marketing and tourism.

Other establishments are struggling along after laying off 50 percent to 60 percent of their workers, hoteliers say. Only the island's clove industry brings in more income that tourism.

International air charter companies that would normally bring hundreds of tourists every week have stopped flying to Zanzibar, tour operators say.

"Air Europe that flew into Zanzibar three times a week from Milan with about 200 tourist per flight is an example of a carrier that stopped services to Zanzibar,'' Mlingoti says, ''it's only expected to resume flights in July.''

The impact is felt throughout Zanzibar's economy as suppliers, souvenir shops, tour guides, Internet cafes, restaurants, travel operators and others servicing the industry lose business.

''We are bleeding off our profits big time,'' says Mouna Hafidh, manager of the seaside Pichy's Bar and Restaurant. ''Turnover has shot down by a dramatic 75 percent and we had to lay off half of our staff and cut back on supplies.''

She says that on a normal February day all 68 seats would be full of tourists at lunch time, ''but these are not normal days and I would be lucky to serve four tourists in a day.''

Taxi driver Abubakar Mwinyi, who used to earn an average of 20,000 shillings ($25) a day, says he now pockets about 4,000 shillings ($5) after 12 hours of business.

But the few tourists still in Zanzibar have found nothing to stop them from enjoying the sun, sea and scenery of the archipelago, despite the political tension.

''Other countries in Africa are at all-out war, but Zanzibar is paradise,'' says Javier Martin of Valladolid, Spain, while hunting through the tiny shops lining Stone Town's narrow, winding alleyways. ''I have been here for seven days and hakuna matata (Kiswahili for 'no problem')."

Graeme Sharp and Angela Wright from Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, arrived in Zanzibar expecting the worst, and ended up enjoying a peaceful seven-day holiday.

''We came here with plans to move to Nungwe (on Zanzibar's northern coast) and enjoy our holiday there in peace if violence broke out in Stone Town,'' Sharp says, standing outside the historic Beil el Ajaib Palace. ''I would definitely recommend a visit to Zanzibar to anyone because the place is very safe and secure.''

Despite the confidence of the few tourists in Zanzibar, the tourism industry is expecting a long spell of trouble.

''Zanzibar is off the agenda of international tour operators, meaning that holidays to Zanzibar are not sold anymore,'' Skeene says. ''These operators do business years in advance and it will take a minimum of four to five years before Zanzibar picks up from where it left off.''

''We will stay in the business for as long as it takes because we are confident about the future, taking into account Zanzibar's unique cultural and historical attractions,'' says Hafidh, the restaurant manager.

Zanzibar gets Kenyan cooperation
in fight against clove smugglers

Friday, March 09, 2001
By Fakih Mohamed Yussuf

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the Kenyan Government have agreed to collaborate in the fight against cross-border cloves smuggling.
According to reliable sources, the Zanzibar government sent a delegation to Mombasa at the end of last month to discuss the issue of increased smuggling of cloves with Kenyan government officials.
“The discussions were very fruitful, and the Kenyan counterparts have expressed great readiness clamp down on cloves smuggling,” Deputy Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industries, Trade, Marketing and Tourism, Mr Haroub Shaib, told Financial Times.
He said the Zanzibar delegation to Mombasa was lead by Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Mohamed Aboud Mohamed and it was received by the Coast Provincial Commissioner, Samuel K. Klimo .
Mr Shaib said the two sides have already begun to implement the agreement .
He said from now onwards all businessmen from Kenya interested in purchasing cloves from the islands are required to follow laid down procedures.
As laid down in the agreement, the businessmen will be allowed to buy cloves only from the recognised authorised dealer, the Zanzibar Trading Company. Punitive measures will be taken against culprits using short cuts, he said.
He also said the Zanzibari and Kenyan Governments have agreed to explain to Kenyan traders the procedures to be followed when purchasing of cloves, the leading Zanzibar export.
“Our main problem has been lack of communication with our Kenyan counterparts, but we are happy things have been sorted out and now we are looking forward to a better future, with a cloves smuggling free zone with our northern neighbours,” he added.
For sometime now Zanzibar has been facing cloves illegal smuggling that robs the country of millions of shillings in foreign currency every year.
It was suspected the cloves smuggling was being carried out in a coalition between cloves farmers especially in Pemba and businessmen from Mombasa, Kenya.

CCM, CUF sign accord to bury hatchet

Saturday, March 10, 2001
By Correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah, PST Zanzibar

The two opposing political parties in Tanzania, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday signed an agreement to end their differences and bury the hatchet.
The agreement signed by the CCM Secretary General, Philip Mangula, the political adviser to President Benjamin Mkapa, Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru and a party National Executive Committee member, Mohammed Aboud.
The CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad, a member General Council, Hamad Rashid Mohammed and the CUF Planning Director, who was formerly the Zanzibar Chief Justice, Ali Haji Pandu, signed for CUF.
The agreement which has come almost six months after last year's elections was drawn jointly by Mangula and Hamad.
The accord, signed at the Bwawani Hotel in front of journalists, has six clauses which stress the need to open a new chapter of co-operation and let by-gones be by-gones.
One clause calls upon CCM and CUF to put the past and hatred behind them. It also wants Tanzanian refugees at in Mombasa to come back and join their families as the situation is calm.
The accord stipulates that each political party must respect the principles of multi-party democracy, end animosity between the two camps and restore normal political life on the isles.
The accord requires state coercive organs to fulfil their laid down obligations in accordance with the laws of the land and ethics.
The terms of references in the CCM-CUF talks were the disputed general elections held last October, the political situation on the isles and Tanzanians who fled to Mombasa seeking refugee status for fear of persecution and intimidation.
It was not immediately known whether the accord will make CUF recognize the government of President Aman Abeid Karume.
According to the agreement, whose copy was made available to the press, Mangula and Hamad will meet at a later date to discuss other issues intended to enhance peace and stability here.
During the signing ceremony, Mangula said CCM and CUF would also plan a special session and invite other parties to get their views on the matter.
Speaking at the occasion, Hamad underscored the need to put national interests above anything else.
He said the political friction, confrontation and polemics would not benefit either party.
"All Zanzibaris are travelling on the same boat. If there is a hole all passengers will drown," he said.
Mangula said all parties, their respective of policies, must respect the national solidarity and unity.
"CCM will remain with its the self-reliance policy and CUF will continue with their enrichment policy. But people should refrain from playing with peace, he emphasized.
The political crisis on the isles surfaced after the October elections. CUF complained that the elections were flawed and should be rerun. CCM insisted that they were free and fair.
Last January 27, CUF followers fought with the police who
wanted to disperse demonstrators. As a result 23 people were killed and others injured, some seriously.

Papers Campaign for Return of Zanzibar Refugees

Leading Tanzanian dailies were this week awash with new about the destiny of over 2,000 Zanzibari refugees in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa and the charged political climate in Pemba island.

The Kiswahili and English language papers on Monday and Tuesday focused on the hunger strike staged by the refugees to protest a Kenyan government decision to transfer them from Mombasa's Shimoni suburb to Daadab camp in the north-eastern semi-arid part of the country.

Kenyan government authorities said early this week that they had decided to relocate the Zanzibari refugees on security grounds and refuted claims by the refugees that it was a plot hatched to kill them.

Reporting on the hunger strike, which ended Wednesday, and the problems that generally confront refugees, the Tanzanian newspapers supported recent government initiatives to urge the Zanzibar refugees to return home since the security situation in Pemba island is said to have normalised.

"We appeal to the refugees to trust their government and come back home. As Tanzanians, and as a nation, we must learn to bury our differences," wrote the Kiswahili paper "Majira" in its Wednesday lead story on the refugee crisis.

"We appeal to politicians to create a conducive environment for the return of the refugees. Zanzibar must build a spirit of love and tolerance," it added.

Also "Mwananchi" another Kiswahili language tabloid, echoes Zanzibar President Amani Karume's message of love and tolerance saying "true democracy is a brain child of community harmony, unity and solidarity."

During Tuesday'ss muslim celebrations of Eid el Hajj, President Karume appealed to his compatriots to bury their political and ideological differences, quoting the holy books, which said that "a house divided against itself, cannot stand."

In what is seen as deliberate move to create a favourable environment for the voluntary return of the 2,270 Zanzibar refugees in Kenya, senior leaders of Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the opposition Civic United Front or CUF, Friday toured Pemba island to assess the security situation there.

The joint tour is an outcome of a series of meetings between the two political groups aimed at reversing their unfriendly relations following the 27 January bloody political riots in Zanzibar and Pemba, which claimed 24 lives.

Political analysts in Dar es Salaam say the CCM and CUF visit to Pemba is poised to lay groundwork for the return of the refugees now facing transfer to Daadab camp.

The Tanzanian press this week also played up stories related to gender issues as women all over the world marked the International Women's Day Thursday.

Commenting on the entrenched culture among some Tanzanian tribes to deny women education, the privately owned English daily, "The African" says "time to regard girls as a source of wealth in the name of dowry is now over."

"Who doesn't know that educated women are good mothers? They understand health problems affecting their children, they understand what better child-care means, and they understand possibilities of what education can create."

Riot police patrol streets in Zanzibar

Friday, March 09, 2001
By Correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah, PST Zanzibar

Policemen in full riot gear were yesterday deployed in the Zanzibar Municipality following reports that women members of the Civic United Front (CUF) planned to stage a demonstration to complain against unfair treatment they receive from the state organs.
The CUF Directorate of Women was said to be behind the organisation of the demonstration.
In a show of strength, police vehicles patrolled along several streets of the municipality, especially along Komba Wapya area where the demonstration was planned to start.
In the morning, the busiest parts of municipality were subdued as people were afraid of possible violence between the police and demonstrators.
The situation returned to normal by mid-day.
All roads leading to the office of the Zanzibar's Chief Minister were temporarily closed. Policemen were stationed at every corner close to the office in case of any disturbance.
The police did not permit the demonstration on the ground CUF would have taken advantage of the situation to instigate chaos.
Instead, they advised the CUF women to participate in the national women's celebrations.
The CUF Deputy Director for Women, Aziza Nabahani, said the national women's celebrations, organised by the government, were aimed at spreading political
propaganda for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi.
The CUF women reportedly decided to call off the demonstration in response to advice given by the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad.

Bahrain investor to build
three hotels in the Isles

Friday, March 09, 2001
By Fakih Mohamed Yussuf, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Revolutionary Government has licensed a Bahrain-based investment group to build three 5-star hotels in the Isles.
An official with Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA) told the Financial Times that two of the 100-room hotels will be built at Pwani Mchangani, Unguja and the third one will be built at Wambaa, Pemba South.
Ms Fatma A. Jumbe, Information Officer with ZIPA said
33-year land rights leasing certificate have already been issued.
She said the investors have assured construction of the hotels will start in June this year. The first phase will costs US $ 6 million.
The announcement came at the end of a week long visit by a 12-man business delegation from Bahrain. The delegation was comprised of businessmen, investors and economic journalists from the Gulf state.
Ms Jumbe said this was the second visit for the delegation which toured Zanzibar early last year seeking investment opportunities the tourism and industry sectors in Zanzibar .
The delegation left for home on February 27, 2001 after meeting with President Amani Karume, Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahoda, ZIPA leadership and a visit to Pwani Mchangani.
The government has made assurances that it will offer maximum security to all foreign investments and personnel. President Karume has also asked the delegation to advertise Zanzibar tourism in the Gulf States.
The leaders of the delegation, Mr Mohamed Yatim, on the other hand accepted the challenge, but said more efforts are needed to advertise Zanzibar in the Gulf, because there are many wealthy investors there but they know nothing about investment opportunities in Zanzibar.
The investors have also pledged to contribute towards improving religious and social services in the areas in which they are going to invest. Mr Hatim contributed US $ 5,000 for improvement of a mosque, dispensary and school in Pwani Mchangani.

Mangula, Hamad lead team to Pemba

Friday, March 09, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

The secretary generals for Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Civic United Front (CUF), Phillip Mangula and Seif Shariff Hamad respectively lead a delegation of six people from the two parties on a trip to Pemba today.
A statement issued yesterday by the CCM office in Dar es Salaam said the delegation would give a joint declaration on the agreement reached by the two parties following last month's political clashes in Zanzibar where over 25 people died.
The agreement follows a series of meetings held by Mangula and Hamad in the wake of political tension on the isles highlighted by an unusual exodus of Tanzanian refugees from Pemba to Mombasa, Kenya.
The delegation would travel to Wete town of North Pemba to meet members of political committees of the two parties at constituencies and district levels, the statement said.
According to the statement, the two secretary generals would sign the declarations before CCM and CUF leaders at district and regional levels.
Mangula's signature to commit CCM in the declaration would be followed by another two from the member of Central Committee, Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru and National Executive Committee (NEC) member Mohamed Aboud Mohamed.
On CUF's side, Hamad would be followed by Hamad Rashid and a member of the party's supreme council, Ali Haji Pandu, the statement said.
The meeting will be held at Jamhuri hall this morning the statement added.
Similar meetings were expected to be held in South Pemba Region, Chake Chake and in Unguja, the statement said.

US Slams Dubious Human Rights Record

A new report on human rights practices in Tanzania has made shocking revelations of state-sponsored human rights violations with a clear repressive and discordant focus.

State-functionaries performed a number of extra-judicial killings during 2000 and either failed or refused to investigate similarly-instigated deaths committed over the years, the report, compiled by the State Department, charges.

One of the cited cases involves the beating of a man to death by the notorious paramilitary police for not paying what is called "development levy" in the southern Iringa region.

The report also mentions many instances of how the government perpetrated terrorist acts against civilians during the year with the sole aim of suppressing popular activism on the federated island of Zanzibar.

Describing the government's human rights record as "poor", the report depicts serious human rights violations against suspects, members and supporters of the opposition as well as children.

Credible evidence indicated that police seriously injured children as young as seven years of age and elderly residents, in some cases inflicting limb fractures and facial scars during insurgencies against civilians in Zanzibar.

There was also credible evidence that police officers used torture, including beatings and floggings, notably on the island of Pemba.

The report says both the Zanzibar and Union Governments have denied the charges, and no action was taken against those responsible for the abuses.

"Several diplomatic missions formally criticised the government for these abuses. The government had not investigated the incident nor punished the responsible officers by year's end," the report points out.

It says police brutality, which was manifest in Zanzibar last year was, heightened after the Union Inspector, General Omari Mahita said publicly that the show of force was necessary to restore respect for the police in the archipelago.

As a consequence, several people received injuries that required medical treatment, including a 13-year-old girl who sustained a fractured elbow in insurgencies that began on April 6 to continue throughout the month.

According to the report, conditions blew out of proportions as the country ambled towards multiparty elections in October, which turned into a farce in Zanzibar.

"Police continued to harass and intimidate members and supporters of the political opposition before and after the October elections.

"Security forces committed extra-judicial killings and beat and otherwise mistreated suspects. The police in Zanzibar attacked and beat civilians, and there were reports that police used torture, including floggings. Police also beat demonstrators," the report says.

Zanzibari Refugees End Hunger Strike

More than 2,000 refugees from the Zanzibari islands of Unguja and Pemba, who fled a violent political clampdown by the government of the semi-autonomous region of Tanzania in late January, have called off a hunger strike in Shimoni on the Kenyan coast, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The refugees at Shimoni, south of Mombasa, were protesting against a decision by the Nairobi government to move a number of their leaders - including 16 island MPs of the Tanzanian opposition Civic United Front (CUF) - to the established refugee camp of Dadaab in northern Kenya on the basis that it cannot guarantee their safety where they are. The Zanzibaris, mainly political activists from the island of Pemba, called off their three-day strike after a visit by Muslim leaders from the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, who visited Shimoni on Wednesday and promised to use their influence to have the relocation plans rescinded.

Seven Tanzanians who fell ill during the brief hunger strike were admitted to Msambweni District Hospital, north of Shimoni, Kenya Television Network (KTN) reported on Wednesday. UNHCR warned on Tuesday that the situation at the refugees' makeshift camp at the fisheries compound in Shimoni had become "desperate" as more people followed the initial Zanzibari refugees who arrived on 28 January. "UNHCR is building minimal sanitary facilities, but the situation in the compound remains critical and poses a health hazard," said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski. "The majority of the refugees are sleeping in the open because of the limited space, which makes it impossible to set up tents for all refugees." Heavy rain is also expected at any time, which would worsen sanitation and shelter conditions. The proposed relocation to Dadaab appeared to have stalled, as there were no signs of movement in Shimoni despite the Kenyan government's insistence that the move was irrevocable, KTN reported on Wednesday.

Zanzibari President Amani Abeid Karume has urged people in the Indian Ocean isles to put their political differences aside to stand together as one people, local media reported on Wednesday.

Zanzibaris should put national interests and patriotism as their top priorities to promote national unity, solidarity and peace, Karume said.

Noting that it is impossible for all the people in a country to share the same political and ideological ideals, the president stressed that divergent political views do not mean that people can not love one another in the "true spirit of unity, solidarity and peace".

Violence has since last November dogged the Zanzibar Isles, which joined with mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964 but has kept its own president and government.

The major opposition Civic United Front (CUF) on Zanzibar alleged that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi won last year's October/November general elections on the isles through ballot-rigging. They demanded total fresh elections.

At the end of January, a total of 25 people, including one policeman, were killed during violent clashes between CUF supporters and police trying to put down their demonstrations which the authorities had declared illegal.

The Government of Zanzibar has issued an order to stop distribution of a consignment of canned tonic water from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pending further investigations that may lead to a total ban on the drink in the isles.

The Zanzibar's Pharmacy and Drugs Inspection Unit has issued the order following early tests that revealed consumption of the tonic water could be harmful to consumers. Head of the Unit, Mr. Burhan Othman Simai has said, "The unit resolved to stop the distribution and sale of the UAE imported beverage because the products have expired and contain quinine which is commonly used in the treatment of malaria."

He told the Financial Times here that they were aware the beverage in 150 millilitre cans is available in many shops in Zanzibar Town so they urge those who either stocked or received it to bring the cans to their office for destruction. He said the precautions are necessary to ensure safety of the islands' consumer.

Mr. Simai said in-depth tests are still going on but there are clinical fears that consumption of such a drink may cause chronic malaria to consumers as the constant consumption of quinine may cause plasmodium, the parasites that spark malaria, to become resistant to treatment.

He said told a weekly publication, that his unit in co-operation with Consumers' Protection Unit of Zanzibar has resolved to ask all shops with such a drink to surrender it to the government offices before the introduction of punitive measures. He further said samples of the drink have been taken for further in-depth investigations to ascertain if there is any other health hazard that may face any one who consumes such a drink.

The unit has also instituted regular pharmacy and clinic inspections to counter those selling expired drugs and contravene drug regulations. They will soon start inspection of food stores as well as part of the measures to protect consumers.

Elaborating, he said many pharmacies contravene medicine regulations by supplying drugs such as Tetracycline, Ampicillin Syrup and others to consumers without proper instructions or prescriptions. Explaining the success of the inspection exercise so far, he said the unit had intercepted a big haul of expired drugs in one of the clinics under the management of the Zanzibar Municipal Council.

He said 71 types of drugs found in the hospital, including syrups and tablets, as well as gloves, had expired as early as January 1999 but were still being prescribed to patients. The hospital that provided services to Municipal workers has already been reported to the Tanzania Pharmaceutical Board for further action, he said.

Zanzibari refugees on hunger strike

Zanzibar and Pemba refugees camped at Shimoni, Kwale, have started a hunger strike to protest at the government's plan to move them to Daadab.

The refugees, who include 17 MPs, accused the government of colluding with Tanzania to make their stay in the country difficult so that they could leave and return home.

Three MPs, Mr Miraj Ramadham Hariri of Konde constituency, Mr Said Ali Mbaruk (Gando) and Mr Kombo Hamisi Kombo (Wingwi), said an under secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Nimrod Waweru, informed them of the relocation plan to Dadaab over the weekend.

Mr Kombo wondered why the government wanted to separate political leaders among the refugees with their electorate.

He said Mr Waweru's argument that the leaders were being moved for security reasons was not plausible as they were safer in Shimoni than Daadab.

The MP said the leaders will not agree to be separated from the rest of their compatriots and consequently started a hunger strike to press the government to reverse the decision.

Mr Hariri said they feared that the government may have entered into a deal with Tanzania to have them arrested or eliminated on their way to Daadab.

He asked the Council of Imams and Preachers, who were to give them 100 goats for the Idd Ul Hajj celebrations, to postpone the presentation "since the entire refugee population is on hunger strike".

He said it was difficult for all the leaders to be taken to Daadab when there were two women leaders in the group.

The two women are nominated MP Dawa Bakari and Mrs Riziki Omar, a district party secretary.

Mr Hariri said they may not be able to cope with the harsh climatic conditions at Daadab.

The Council of Imams and Preachers secretary-general, Sheikh Dor, accused the government of trying to frustrate the refugees to pressure them to go home.

Speaker Warns Renegade MPs

The speaker of the Tanzanian parliament has warned that 15 Zanzibari MPs from the opposition Civic United would lose their seats if they missed another parliamentary seating.

The state-owned Daily News quoted Pius Msekwa on Saturday, as saying he would declare the seats vacant should the boycotting MPs fail to attend the next session later this month.

Section 71 (1) (C) of the Tanzanian constitution declares an MP who misses three consecutive sessions without the speaker's permission to have voluntarily relinquished his or her seat.

The 15, some of whom have fled to Mombasa, Kenya as refugees, have been on a boycott of the Union parliament as well as the House of Representatives in Zanzibar to protest the results of the island's 2000 elections, which were widely discredited.

The ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, won the controversial elections with a 68 percent majority while the Civic United Front or CUF emerged with 16 of the island's 50 parliamentary seats.

Since then, several CUF demonstrations have been forbidden and violently suppressed.

Tension has been exacerbated by the government's refusal to order a re-run of the entire poll as suggested by international election monitors.

The controversy snow-balled in January when CUF organised mass protests across the country to press the government to order a re-run resulting in the killing of at least 30 civilians and the displacement of hundreds others as refugees in Kenya.

Zanzibar refugees' plea for shelter

The more than 2,000 refugees, who are camping at Shimoni Village in Kwale District, yesterday said there were few tents at the camp as rains started pounding the Coast region.

Mr Athman Faume, one of the refugee's leaders, said some of them slept out in the cold on Wednesday.

Mr Faume also expressed concern that there could be an outbreak of disease due to lack of sanitary facilities.

At the same time, the refugees' spokesman expressed concern that the police had not briefed them on the fate of seven people identified as members of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi who attempted to enter the camp.

"Since we handed over these people, we have not seen them again and the police have not told us what action they have taken against them," he said.

On Monday, refugees told the Nation that seven CCM supporters arrived at Shimoni, posing as members of the Civic United Front, who are being targeted by security forces.

"We became suspicious about these people when the vessel they came with sped off after they had disembarked which is not the normal procedure," one of the refugees, Mr Mohammed Osman said.

He said normally when a vessel brought fleeing Tanzanians into Kenya they went and alerted the local police who received them before handing them over to the UNHCR for screening.

"We suspected they had a hidden agenda since they are CCM members who together with Government security agents are persecuting CUF supporters," Mr Osman said.

Efforts to get a comment from both the Kwale District Commissioner, Mr Stephen Kibkebut and the area police boss, Mr Dominic Mutevu, were unsuccessful, as they referred us to an under secretary in the office of the President, Mr Nimrod Waweru, who could not be reached…

NGOs mulls training of police commanders

Friday, March 02, 2001
By Agnes Temu

The Tanzania Legal Human Right Centre (LHRS) is planning to conduct training on human rights to police commanders and members of the Field Force Unit (FFU) as way of maintaining peace in the country.
LHRS director Hellen Kijo Bisimba said this yesterday when officiating at a meeting to examine the political situation in the country held in the Dar es Salaam.
Bisimba said law enforces, including police commanders, needed training on human rights so as to understand what they were supposed to do.
He said police have been using excessive force whenever people contravened their orders, which was against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which gives priority to the people's lives.
"Police commanders are well trained in military issues but they also needed to understand human rights issues," she said.
The Director said police did not know what disturbed peace and training would help them establish a good relationship with the wananchi.
Bisimba said the training would not affect their job but would instead improve their day to day work.
She further said her organisation was still investigating on the January 27 killings in order to identify who was responsible so that the culprits would be charged in court.

Amnesty International Calls For Independent Inquiry

Amnesty International is calling on the Tanzanian Government to establish an independent and impartial inquiry into the recent killings, systematic torture and mass arbitrary arrests of opposition party supporters in Zanzibar during and after the demonstrations of 27 January 2001.

"If the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and justice for victims and survivors of the recent spate of violence are to be ensured, the Tanzanian Government must establish and explain what happened, as well as bring to justice any public official responsible for human rights abuses and unlawful action. Tanzania must abide by the obligations of international human rights treaties it has signed," the organization stressed.

Preliminary findings by an Amnesty International mission to Tanzania confirm reports of torture, including rape and beatings, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians, including women and children. Women were stripped naked at gunpoint, at times in front of their families or male police officers.

The delegation received eyewitness testimonies indicating that most of the killings by security forces may have been unlawful. There was evidence that Tanzanian security forces violated the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms which states that the use of lethal force must be still be consistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality.

"The international community must bring pressure to bear on the government of Tanzania to respect fundamental human rights guaranteed by international rights law to which it is signatory. All torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and those responsible should be brought to justice. It should also ensure that future public meetings and demonstrations can proceed peacefully," Amnesty International emphasized.

88 Zanzibaris released in Tanga

Tuesday, February 27, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Tanga

More than 88 people from Zanzibar, held by members of Tanzania People's Defence Forces here over claims they were on their way to seeking refuge in Mombasa, Kenya, have been released.
Reports obtained from regional leaders here said the Zanzibaris were released after the Inspector General of Police Omari Mahita intervened.
The IGP had pressed regional leaders to ensure that the people let free.
The Acting Tanga Regional Commissioner, Meck Sadick confirmed the release of the Zanzibaris on Sunday evening.
He said the regional defence and security committee had established they were not going to Mombasa. He said they numbered only 86 and only one came from Pemba. The rest came from Unguja.
He said the committee was satisfied that three dhows in which they were travelling anchored at Pangani instead of Tanga after they were hit by a rainstorm. They were on their way to Tanga for business.

Some Tanzanian Refugees Return From Kenya

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 26, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Tanzanian opposition supporters who fled the semiautonomous Zanzibar region to seek political asylum in Kenya have started to return home, the official Daily News reported Monday.

The first batch of more than 200 people, followers of the Civic United Front (CUF), had already voluntarily sailed back from the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Many more are expected to follow suit, the Zanzibar Commissioner of Police, Khalid Nuizan, was quoted as saying Sunday.

By the end of last week, a total of 216 people had returned to the country from Mombasa. Among them, 16 people arrived in Pemba Island of Zanzibar on Friday night in canoes from Kenya and 200 others anchored at Tanzanian port of Tanga on their way back to the island, said police officials.

"They say they are returning to the country following pleas from the union and Zanzibari government and they will not be arrested," said Nuizan.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Khatibthe, home minister of the country, reiterated Sunday the government's appeal to the fleeing Zanzibaris to return home, stressing that they will neither be arrested nor persecuted as the opposition leaders had claimed.

"Tanzania is still the safe haven as it has always been. We urge all those who are seeking asylum in the neighboring country to return to their homes," the minister was quoted as saying.

About 1,400 Tanzanians, mainly from Pemba Island, were seeking political asylum in Kenya. They fled to Kenya's Mombasa port following the bloody clashes between the CUF supporters and police on February 27, which reportedly claimed 23 lives.

The clashes were prompted by countrywide demonstrations called by the CUF to demand fresh elections in Zanzibar.

Pemba residents hit at `indifferent' party leaders

Monday, February 26, 2001
By PST correspondent, Tanga

Leaders of political parties in Zanzibar have been blamed by more than 80 residents of Pemba for leading them into trouble and forgetting them.
They said the leaders were only interested to see party flags flying high and did not bother about the welfare of party members and supporters.
The remarks were yesterday made y in Tanga by some Pemba residents who were held by police at the Tanga Regional Commissioner's office for their alleged illegal entry in the region two days ago.
They said when riots erupted in Pemba only common party members and supporters suffered most. Therefore their leaders should not abandon them.
Before being transported to Dar es Salaam aboard Takrim and Tawfiq buses, they said Pemba was not yet calm since the January-27 demonstration carried out by Civic United Front members. The government had earlier banned the demonstration.
They appealed to government leaders to talk to ordinary citizens on the island and take their advice on how to end the crisis which has made more than 1,700 people flee to Kenya.
One Pemba resident, Juma Haji, said the situation in Zanzibar was a challenge to President Amani Abeid Karume. He should find a solution so that residents in the spicy islands would continue leading normal lives.
"We appeal to the Zanzibar president to seek advice from anybody, irrespective of his social status, on how to bring back peace on the isles," he said.
They also appealed to politicians to use the wisdom of veteran politicians, such as Hassan Nassor Moyo, in order to end conflicts which increased hatred rather than harmony among people.
Regional authorities decided to send more 88 Pemba residents to Dar es Salaam so that they could return home.

Fleeing Pembans nabbed in Tanga

Sunday, February 25, 2001
By PST Correspondent Tanga

More than 80 people from Pemba were yesterday arrested here as they were trying to cross to Mombasa, Kenya.
Reliable sources told PST that the 80 plus Pembans arrived in Pangani from Pemba aboard two boats which anchored at Kigombe harbour on Friday evening.
After disembarking they dispersed, some going to Pangani town, while others went to surrounding villages.
However, sources said, members of the Marine Police Unit, on patrol in the Indian Ocean searching for fishermen using dynamite managed to apprehend 88 of them.
Sources said the Pembans hurled stones at the soldiers as they were trying to arrest them. The fracas went on for almost 20 minutes before policemen from Pangani town arrived at the scene to help the Marine police.
They were then overpowered and taken to the Pangani District Commissioner’s office, who hired a bus to take them to Tanga. They arrived at 10.30 p.m. on Friday and were then taken to the Regional Commissioner’s office.
Most of those arrested are youth and women, and when PST visited the RC’s office, they were under police guard, including some who were lying in the ground.
As police officers were guarding them, regional officers were holding an emergency meeting in the regional block.
However, policemen who were guarding the Pembans barred journalists from interviewing them.
Tanga Regional Police Commander, Faith Amour, told the journalists that the issue was being handled by the Regional Commissioner’s office and referred them to the Regional Administrative Secretary, Getrude Mpaka, who also declined to comment.
The latest information reaching this paper late yesterday evening had it that the Pembans, believed to be refugees, had been brought to Dar es Salaam.

Deserted families now facing starvation

By Mwinyi Sadala, PST, Zanzibar

Several families of followers of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) who fled to Mombasa to seek political asylum after the January 27 illegal demonstration are facing an acute food shortage in Pemba.
Reports from Pemba said the most affected families were in Micheweni, Maziwa ya Ng’ombe, Wingwi and Kiuyu villages where the land is not fertile and the main occupations are fishing and livestock keeping.
Reports say some CUF refugees now in Mombasa did not leave money behind for their families as they feared police beatings and prosecution.
The affected families including children under five have now been forced to vacate their houses and move in with their relatives to save their lives. Some residents in Pemba are blaming the isles government for failing to render humanitarian assistance to members of the affected families.
They also want the Zanzibar and Union governments to publish a list of names of people taking refuge in Mombasa to know whether or not their relatives are alive.
“Several of our relatives have run away and we are not sure whether or not they are alive,” said one of the Pemba residents.
They said Pemba was not yet calm as policemen were still seen moving about in full riot gear, an environment which instils fear in the residents. Over 23 people were left dead in an anti government demonstration to press the isles government to call for a re-run of elections and reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission which failed to supervise free and fair elections last year.

TPDF forms committee
to probe soldier’s murder

Sunday, February 25, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) is reported to have formed a special committee to investigate the killing of Corporal Mohammed Ali last week in Zanzibar, allegedly for political reasons.
The late Corporal Ali was brutally killed after being roughed up by a gang of unknown people, stoned and slashed to death with machetes at Matarumbeta within Zanzibar Municipality.
Reliable sources within the TPDF in Zanzibar said the formation of the committee was necessary following widespread rumours that he was killed in retaliation for his active involvement in stopping the January 27, banned demonstrations organised by the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) on Pemba island.
The sources said the late TPDF member was forced to give a helping hand to the Police Force to bar a group of demonstrators, believed to be CUF members, from advancing on a Wete police station.
The late Corporal Ali was stationed at Vitongoji military camp at Chake Chake in Pemba and was later given a special assignment to train militiamen in Wete district.
According to reports, TPDF transferred the late Ali from Pemba to Unguja following reports that reached the military offices that the deceased was on a “wanted” list due to his participation in stopping the demonstrators.
On arrival on Unguja island, TPDF sources said the late Ali, who was staying at his Kilimani residential flat in the Urban district, was attached to Dunga military camp in Unguja Central district as his new work station. On the night of February 18, the late Ali left his home in the company of an unknown woman who was dressed in a veil for a night walk.
However, the military man was the following morning found dead at Matarumbeta area with unconfirmed reports claiming that he fell victim to mob justice after an alarm was raised indicating that he was a “thief”.
Unconfirmed reports from the scene of the incident showed that the late Corporal Ali was deliberately misdirected by his girlfriend to enter into a certain house at the area and wait for her.
But his girlfriend disappeared moments after the soldier stepped into the house, leaving the ‘stranger’ alone, a situation which forced the residents of the house to raise several questions before pouncing on him.
Efforts by the late Ali to produce his military identity card with force number MT 71102 in a desperate attempt to prove that he was not a “thief”, but had been directed to enter the house by his girl- friend proved futile.
The Zanzibar Urban East Regional Police Commander, Ramadhani Mgeni, said they were still investigating the matter.

Fight against tyranny still on-opposition

Sunday, February 25, 2001
By Observer Reporter

Opposition political parties are still determined to take President Mkapa to the United Nations Security Council for allegedly killing his citizens, leaders of the main opposition parties said yesterday.
Mid this month, leaders of twelve political parties met in Dodoma to evaluate the political situation in the country and said they would ask the UN Security Council to take legal actions against President Mkapa for the January 27 killings in Zanzibar, where more than 20 Civic United Front (CUF) supporters were shot dead by police in riotous demonstrations.
Talking to this paper on different occasions yesterday, the Chairman of United Democratic Party (UDP), John Cheyo, Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) Chairman, Augustine Mrema and CUF’s Deputy Secretary General Wilfred Lwakatare, said they had not given up their fight against tyranny.
UDP Chairman, John Cheyo, said all peace loving Tanzanian should condemn leaders who use state organs to muzzle the opposition to protect their own interests.
Cheyo said the twelve political parties have already contacted some lawyers who were now working out the legal modalities of addressing the issue.
CUF Deputy Secretary General, Lwakatare, said general secretaries from all 12 parties will meet at the end of this month to prepare a programme of action. He said the meeting of general secretaries did not take place earlier as Dr Walid Kabourou, MP for Kigoma, who was assigned to convene it, was busy with parliamentary duties. He is the leader of the opposition camp in the parliament.
Lwakatare said the opposition were serious about their decision, and that there was nothing which would bar them from taking President Mkapa and his government to the United Nations Security Council.
TLP Chairman, Augustine Mrema, said the Zanzibar killings were a massacre, saying all those who plotted them should be dealt with by the international body of justice.
He said after the meeting of general secretaries from all parties, leaders would meet to work out strategies and select the people who would present their case at the UN Security Council.
He said it was the same meeting which would determine ways of raising the money to enable those who would be selected to go the UN Council to do so.
Meanwhile, Mrema will today hold a public rally at Mwembe Yanga, Temeke, in Dar es Salaam.
Talking to this paper, Mrema said the aim of the meeting was to inform the public about the current political situation in the country.

Two CUF leaders charged
with murder of policeman

Saturday, February 24, 2001
By PST Correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah

Two outspoken leaders of the opposition Civic United Front, Juma Duni Haji and Machano Khamis Machano, now face a murder charge.
The police in Zanzibar substituted the new charge against Haji and Machano yesterday after dropping the earlier charge of participating in anti-government demonstration on January 27 which left more than 23 people dead.
Yesterday, the police told a Mwanakwerekwe primary court that they had decided to drop the earlier charge because it did not corresponding to the offence Haji and Machano committed.
The police later re-arrested Haji and Machano outside the court room and drove them straight to a Vuga regional court and charged them with the murder of a policeman, Constable Haji, in Mtemani village., Wete District, Pemba, on January 27.
Assistant Superintendent of Police John Kimario, who is also the Zanzibar Urban West Regional Crime Officer told the court that Haji and Machano jointly murdered Constable Haji who was assigned to disperse
demonstrators.
Haji and Machano were among 18 CUF leaders charged last year with treason. However, they were acquitted after the Court of Appeal of Tanzania declared that treason is not possible in zanzibar because the island nation is not
a sovereign state.
ASP Kimario requested the regional court to transfer the preliminary enquiry to Pemba where the
offence was committed.
The defence counsel, Nassor Khamis, said that changing the charge from participation in the illegal demonstration to murder was an indication the police had no case but were framing Haji and Machano to penalise them.
He said he was surprised that Haji and Machano were linked to the murder of Constable Haji in Pemba while they had a perfect alibi -- in fact they were in Unguja.
the counsel also objected to the police application to transfer the proceedings of the case to Pemba from Unguja saying there was an acute shortage of magistrates
in Pemba. The police move was intended to delay the case.
On March 8m, the Vuga regional magistrate will rule on the prosecution application.
Juma Duni was the CUF running mate for the union presidential candidate in the 1995 elections. He is now the party deputy secretary general while Machano, a retired senior police officer, is now the CUF
Director of Intelligence Services.

Surrender : A movie that leaves you with questions hanging

After Egoli and Isindigo, M-Net last Saturday unveiled its latest film, Surrender, which was short in Zanzibar and screen-played by a Tanzanian artist Kiiza Kahama. Express Writer Fred Okumu who was at the launch reviews the 30 minutes movie.
In the tranquil setting of a small fishing community in the east coast of Zanzibar , a fire is raging in the hearts of three young individuals and the entire community feels the heat. Surrender is a story about Amri, a man whose love and interests are caught up between the traditional role of the father and husband his father expects him to fulfill, and his personal desires to enjoy his friendship with Mashua, a fisherman. He has to make choices between his inner needs and the urge to please the society. A complicated triangular relationship is formed.
The story unfolds with Amri dangling his legs from the boat, as his friend, Mashua, carries on with normal duty. Amri is portrayed as the man from an affluent home, who spend most of the time with his friend.
At one point, Amri went to the beach , found his friend Mashua busy with nets and fish told him to stop messing with the fish. Everyday it is you with the fish. At home Amri’s father becomes alarmed by the growing relationship between the two.
It reached a time when He tells his son that he wants him to be married to a girl, he had selected for her, but Amri refuses. But I don’t like the girl, she is not charming. That is the girl I have chosen for You, his father answers as he pulls himself inside the house.
After Amri is married, the father gets more worried about his son spending time with Mashua while leaving family care aside, and takes the courage to go to Mashua. “Please leave my son until he brings forth a grandchild for me,” he says and offers money, which Mashua declines to take.
After the marriage, Amri gets a child, and his father is shown in one part playing with his grandchild. At the end of the film, Amri is shown going to the beach, where he meets his friend Mashua.
The end of the film leaves the viewer juggling with answers over who surrendered. Did Amri surrender to his father’s with that he stops his friendship with Mashua until she is married and his wife delivers a grandson.
Or did Amri surrender to the old friendship with the fisherman, after staying indoors for quite sometime to take care of his wife and make sure she delivered a grandchild for his father?

Kenya expands Shimoni refugee camp

Friday, February 23, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

Increased number of Tanzanian running from Pemba at Shimoni in Mombasa has forced the Kenyan government to expand the camp to enable it accommodate more refugees.
Regional Police Commander for Kenya's Coast Province Stanley Mnyinya said until yesterday the number of refugees had reached 1,717, an increase of 122 people compared to the previous day.
An official in the Kenyan Ministry of Home Affairs Nimrod Waweru said the expansion work was being done in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The expansion follows a decision by the Kenyan government to halt its earlier plan to shift the refugees, mostly from Pemba and Unguja islands to Kakuma and Dadaab permanent camps in North Eastern part of the country.
The refugees had earlier appealed against any decision to relocate them far from where they are now.

Tanzanians Barred From Visiting Zanzibari Refugees

The Kenyan government has barred Tanzanian politicians and government officials from visiting Zanzibari refugees at a camp in the country's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa.

Reports from Mombasa say the decision was taken to stop Tanzanian opposition leaders from using Kenyan soil as a platform to attack the Tanzania government.

"Effective now, we shall not allow any Tanzanian politicians to enter the camp because some people use the refugee issue as a forum for enhancing their political ambitious," a senior Kenyan government official said.

"What is needed is the will of Tanzanian opposition leaders and their supporters to hold dialogue with government authorities and reach a compromise on the plight of the Zanzibar refugees here," said Nimrod Wawere, who is in charge of refugee matters.

Kenya currently hosts more than 2,000 Zanzibari refugees, mainly from Pemba island, who fled the 27 January political riots that erupted in the two islands between policemen and CUF supporters.

In the past two weeks, CUF leaders have been visiting the Mombasa-based Shimoni camp housing the Zanzibari refugees. The visitors are said to be carrying political messages of insecurity and persecution in Pemba Island so as to instil fear among the refugees.

The CUF leaders who visited the camp include the party's Secretary General, Seif Sharrif Hamad, Vice-Chairman Khams Shaaban Mloo and a former leader of the opposition in the Union Parliament, Fatma Maghimbi.

The wave of Zanzibari refugees is reported to be a huge burden to the Kenyan government, which does not get adequate support from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"The influx of Zanzibari refugees has caught us unprepared. If we don't get assistance here, we are up for major health problems like cholera and other communicable diseases," Wawere said.

Refugees from Pemba are still fleeing to Kenya claiming that the security situation in the Indian Ocean island is still tense as policemen continue to harass civilians during raids to track down ring leaders of the 27 January riots.

Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Zanzibar counterpart, Amani Karume, have appealed to the refugees to return home since the security situation has been brought under control.

But the refugees, with backing from CUF leaders are apprehensive of the security situation claiming that police brutality against Pemba residents, in particular, was still continuing.

Police arrest three top CUF leaders in Zanzibar

Wednesday, February 21, 2001
By Mwinyi sadallah, Zanzibar

Three outspoken leaders of the opposition Civic United Front have been arrested by police in Zanzibar for allegedly organizing the anti-government demonstration on January 27 which left more than 23 people dead including a policeman..
The trio who had been put in police custody yesterday at the Zanzibar High Court are the CUF Deputy Secretary General, Juma Duni Haji, the Director of Planning and policy, Hamad Masoud, and the Director of Intelligence Services, Machano Khamis Machano.
They were arrested shortly after attending the hearing of an armed robbery charge against CUF Secretary General, Seif Sharrif Hamad, who lost last October elections to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi presidential candidate, Amani Abeid Karume.
Haji, Masoud and Machano appeared in the public for the first time since the January-27 demonstration.
The trio had faced a treason charge and were put in remand for about two years. They were acquitted hardly two days after President Karume was sworn in.
Later the Tanzania Court of Appeal declared that treason were not possible in Zanzibar because the isles were not a sovereign state.
Police reports indicate that the trio were accused of co-ordinating and masterminding the illegal demonstration. They may be brought before the court today if preliminary investigations are completed.
The arrest was led by the Zanzibar Urban West Regional Criminal Investigations Officer, John Kimario. Accompanied by other officers, he positioned himself at the doorsteps of the court room.
The police loaded Haji and his colleagues in a waiting white police land rover, TZH 4360, and drove them straight to Mwembemadema Central Police station for interrogation.
The Zanzibar Urban West Regional Police Commander, Ramadhan Mgeni, confirmed the arrest of the CUF leaders but advised reporters to contact the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigations in Zanzibar, Ally Omar Ally, for further details.
However, Ally refused to give any details re-directing newsmen back to the Regional Police Commander saying the RPC was the competent authority to speak on
police matters occurring in his region.
Some CUF followers who were around the high court building quietly left the area for home.
Commenting on the arrest, the CUF National Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba said it would derail efforts to find a solution for the political impasse in Zanzibar.
Meanwhile, the hearing of the armed robbery charge against Hamad and his 18 followers was adjourned until April 17 as the court authorities have not yet picked a magistrate to handle the proceedings.
Emmanuel Swalo who was hearing the case died last month.
All the accused persons are out on bail.

Zanzibar Shipping plans comeback

Wednesday, February 21, 2001
By Fakih Yussuf Mohamed, Zanzibar

Zanzibar Shipping Corporation (ZSC) is finalising the refits of two of its four ships which will resume services late next month.
ZSC General Manager, Al-Haj Masoud Sururu, told the Financial Times that the famous MV Mapinduzi will soon resume operations.
The corporation has ordered two generators worth US $ 360,000 from Europe for the ship. The generators are expected to arrive in the country early next month.
After receiving the generators, MV Mapinduzi will be sent for extensive maintenance work at a dry-dock in Madagascar. On its return the ship will ply between Zanzibar and the East African ports of Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Mombasa and possibly the Comoros Islands.
The company is also planning to lease its other ship, MV Maendeleo .
“We are ready to offer it for hire, but this time around we will be more careful,” he said.
Recalling an earlier , unsatisfactory ship-hire experience, Mr Sururu said the company entered into a three-year joint operation partnership with a Zanzibar-based firm, Mkunazini General Traders from September 1997 to November 2000. However the experience was not encouraging.
He said they ended taking the joint partner to the Vuga Regional Court five months ago for its failure to honour its pledges in the partnership agreement.
Among the misdeeds, he said Mkunazini failed to take the ship for dry docking maintenance to enable it attain a sea-worthiness certificate.
He said, “whenever they were reminded about their obligations, the partners ended up giving false promises,” adding “by the time the ship was returned to ZSC it was in a very bad state ... unfit for service.”
“ Even when the court ruled in our favour and requested the firm to undertake the repairs and ensure it was sea-worthy, Mkunazini appealed against the decision to the High Court of Zanzibar. The appeal was filed as we were waiting for an inspection report that would have revealed the actual cost of repairs,” he said.
On received reports that the ship was involved in sugar smuggling between Mombasa and Mtwara, Mr Sururu said he was not informed. He however agreed that sometime in August last year, senior criminal investigation officers came to his offices to check on the capacity of their ship.He told them it was 660 tonnes, and not the 800 tonnes recorded in their reports.
After realising it would take a long time to resolve the problem through litigation, they resolved to seek out of court arbitration.
He said Mkunazini appointed two people, and ZSC another two to oversee the arbitration exercise under the chairmanship of Salum Juma Othman, Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office.
On the third tanker-ship, MT Uhuru, he said ZSC has already sent a proposal to the Ministry of Finance seeking its disposal. “We don’t have the money required for the major repairs needed by the tanker,” he complained
He said that the ship requires over US $ 550,000 to bring it back into service. “It’s better to acquire a new ship rather than wasting all those resources on repairs,” he added.
The firm was established in 1978 and owns four ships; two passenger/ cargo vessels, and two oil tankers.

Row over Zanzibar waters is first test for East African Community

Experts in marine resources, tourism, immigration as well as police from Tanzania and Kenya were meeting here Monday to discuss the illegal use of a sea channel.

The experts were meeting under the aegis of the newly-formed East African Community (EAC) -- made up of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda -- to examine complaints by the government of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous offshore state of Tanzania, that the Pemba channel and its resources had long been exploited with little revenue accruing to the state.

The channel, which lies between the Zanzibari island of Pemba and mainland Tanzania, "has been used as a gateway for smuggling of cloves, coral heads and seashells as well as trafficking of narcotics between our partner states," the principal secretary in Zanzibar's finance ministry, Julian Raphael, told the meeting.

"This is in no way a welcome trade phenomenon, and we should use all the resources at our desposal to combat it," he added.

The channel, characterized by sandy, muddy tidal flats, mangroves, coral reefs and rocky platforms is rich in fish and marine resources.

Nyamajeje Weggoro, an economist working with the EAC, told AFP that Zanzibar has been complaining of not benefiting from the rich channel which lies in its territory.

"Under the request of the Zanzibar President Amani Karume, the EAC secretariat decided to call for a meeting in Zanzibar to discuss and reach a lasting solution to the dispute," Weggoro said.

Soldier killed in Zanzibar

Tuesday, February 20, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Unidentified people have killed a Tanzania People's Defence Forces soldier, Ali Mohamed alias Kidi by slashing him with a machete at Matarumbeta in Urban West Region on Sunday night.
Reports reaching PST here yesterday said that before his death, Mohamed, accompanied by unidentified woman left his house at Kilimani around 10 p.m.
The reports indicated that Mohamed was recently transferred from Vitongoji TPDF barracks on Pemba island to Unguja island.
It was reported that Mohamed and the woman left for an undisclosed destination. He was later found dead in a house at Matarumbeta, Kwahani constituency, in Zanzibar.
Some residents at Matarumbeta told PST yesterday Mohamed went to a house where some people were waiting for a wedding ceremony scheduled too be held after midnight last Sunday.
It is reported that Mohamed and the woman, identified by only one name, Asha, entered a room.
It is alleged that Asha's father, identified by only one name Shaha, went to the room, asking for his daughter. He did not get an answer.
A few minutes later, Shaha allegedly entered the room and collided with Mohamed.
"People started to shout at the soldier, charging that he was a thief. He was then slashed with a panga and beaten to death," one resident said.
The late Mohamed, who was a corporal, was buried at Makunduchi village in South-Unguja District, according to eye witnesses.
The Urban-West Regional Police Commander, Ramadhan Mgeni, confirmed the killing but declined to give further details.
Mgeni said the police were investigating the incident.
The killing of Mohamed comes a few days after the secretary of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Chake Chake constituency, on Pemba Island, Rashid Omar Alli, was killed.
Alli was killed by unidentified people who slashed him by a machete in Chake Chake area last week.

Despite Killings, Donors Pledge To Support Zanzibar

Despite the recent killings in Zanzibar, donors continue to pledge more assistance to Zanzibar to support the government's efforts geared at developing the Islands.

Apart from the European Union which has recently said would not withhold development assistance to Zanzibar following the recent killings of residents by police forces, India has also expressed its willingness to enhance wide-ranging cooperation with Zanzibar and continue to support the government in building the Islands.

The Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr. Virendra Gupta has made the pledge to Zanzibar President, Amani Karume during his working visit on the Isles late last week. Gupta, according to the statement to the media, told President Karume that his country was eager to provide more economic development support including facilities to Zanzibar.

He said India was willing to continue supporting Zanzibar government in economic development of the Islands including in important fields like small-scale industries, healthcare, information technology and agriculture.

The envoy had also presented a consignment of 112 books on agricultural science, animal husbandry, dairy products, irrigation, poultry and livestock for the Zanzibar-based library of Kizimbani Agricultural Training Institute (KATI). He also presented a consignment of anti-malaria medicine to an organization named WODFA under the leadership of Ms Salma Salm, wife of former Zanzibar President, Dr. Salmin Amour.

Since the killings of January 26 to 28 last month in which over 20 people died when police were trying to control and bar the demonstrations organized by the Civic United Front (CUF), political leaders from the opposition wing have been urging donors withhold aid for Tanzania.

However, the Ambassador of Sweden to Tanzania, Sten Rylander, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union said recently that donors would not withhold aid for Zanzibar saying the aid stick belonged to the past and has become out of fashion in today's more modern partnership.

He said some of the donors have been the first ones to argue against demands by some CUF leaders that assistance should also be stopped to the Tanzania Mainland. "But you can hardly expect close partners not to react when you see one part of Tanzania develop into killing field and when you see police brutality of the worst order being displayed against defenseless civilians.

European Union had after the 1995 elections, which led to the prolonged conflicts between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF for Zanzibar, withheld aid meant for social and development. This followed a refusal by the CCM to implement a couple of recommendations put by mediation team appointed from the Commonwealth.

Gangsters kill CCM leader in Chake Chake

Monday, February 19, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Pemba

Political tension in Zanzibar resurfaced at the weekend after unknown people hacked to death the Chake Chake District Secretary of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Pemba, Rashid Omar Ali, on Friday night.
The Acting Pemba South Regional Police Commander, Haji Kificho, confirmed the killing, saying Ali was stopped and attacked with machetes by the gang when he was riding his motor cycle on his way home.
Kificho said that after killing Ali, the gangsters stole the motorbike, ZNZ 19929, which is the property of CCM.
Police have launched a man-hunt but nobody has been arrested so far.
Yesterday, the Chief Minister, Shamsi Nahodha, and other government officials attended Ali's funeral at Mavungwa in Ziwani.
The late Ali is survived by a widow and nine children.
His killing comes after the government has announced that the political situation in Unguja and Pemba has returned to normal after two weeks of confrontation between
the police and Civic United Front members.

Meanwhile, the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad, returned to Zanzibar after a one-month tour abroad in an attempt to drum up political support from the west.
Many people visited Hamad's Mtoni residence to console him following the death of CUF supporters in the demonstration held last month.
Several senior CUF officials, including the party deputy Secretary General, Juma Duni, were still in hiding apparently to evade possible police arrest and prosecution for instigating people to take part in the demonstration which the government said was illegal

Wounded Opposition Supporters Languish in Hospitals

At least 15 members of the opposition party, Civic United Front, who survived a shooting fling late in January during mass protests in Zanzibar, are fighting for their lives as a political crisis on the semi- autonomous island threatens to turn the archipelago into a beachhead.

Scores of women are also lonely and traumatised after their husbands were shot dead in cold blood and themselves allegedly raped by police during the 27 January demonstrations, which were sparked off by dissatisfaction over the island's 2000 elections that were widely discredited.

"The situation is very bad," Ibrahim Lipumba, the chairman of the beleaguered party said. The wounded, most of them men, sustained serious bullet injuries - in the buttocks, hands, legs, thighs and abdomen - and need urgent surgery. Among them is a former Regional Commissioner for Pemba South, Juma Ngwale Kombo. They are currently hospitalised at the Mkoani Hospital in Pemba although the medication there was grossly inadequate, Lipumba told PANA Sunday.

"Some of the survivors - at least three - are in critical condition," he said. "Some still have bullets in their limbs. They have not been operated on," he lamented. He charged that while doctors traumatised the patients, the police threatened them with arrests. "One patient was actually whisked off the hospital and taken to remand. (But) when his condition worsened, they brought him back," Lipumba explained.

And in what is seen as a complete farce of professional ethics, some patients claimed doctors told them they were under instruction "to finish them off". At least 50 people were reportedly gunned down during the police fiasco, according to independent observers although the government puts the figure at 24.

The Civic United Front has demanded that the patients be transferred to a superior medical facility like the Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam, the largest referral hospital. "Patients who are in a critical condition and require specialised treatment should be moved out of Pemba," the party said in a statement.

It demands that the government allows the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent to visit remand prisons and hospitals where it's injured were either being held or receiving treatment.

It also demands the setting up of an independent panel of inquiry into the allegations of gross human rights abuse, and appealed to local NGOs to help the traumatised Zanzibari women, some of who claim police raped them after the abortive demonstrations.

Zanzibar Cracks Down On Illegal Immigrants

Authorities in the politically agitated islands of Zanzibar on Friday started a crackdown on aliens living there without proper residence or work permits.

Most of those hauled in the search by the police and immigration officials are Kenyans, but the nationalities of others have not been established. A senior immigration officer in Tanzania's federated islands, George Jacob Kaswende told journalists that foreigners caught in the surprise swoop would be taken to court next week to answer charges in connection with their illegal stay in the islands.

Kaswende said the Kenyans were working either as handicraft dealers or tour guides on the eastern shores of Zanzibar. Reliable reports from the islands said many Kenyans had immigrated to Zanzibar and adopted new names so that they could 0be recognised as bona fide Tanzanians.

One of them, 30-year-old Joseph Nyagiti Osiri, was convicted of the offence, fined 50,000 shillings (1US dollar = TShs 800) and ordered to leave the island immediately.

The crackdown on illegal immigrants in Zanzibar came in less than four days after three Zanzibaris, believed to be members of the government's anti-smuggling naval unit, or KMKM, were nabbed in a camp hosting Tanzanian refugees near Mombasa in Kenya. Kenyan officials said they did not intend to prosecute the marines but they would hand them over to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees when investigation is completed.

Zanzibar has been in a political turmoil since the bloody riots on 27 January and the subsequent high-handed reaction by authorities to clamp down on supporters of the main opposition party, Civic United Front (CUF).

The government blamed the CUF leadership for staging the riots, but the opposition in Tanzania charges that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and its government have been overbearing in their attitude towards other parties. Clashes between security forces and CUF supporters in Zanzibar have driven hundreds of people out of the country to seek asylum in neighbouring Kenya.

In a bid to quell the political storm on the islands, the government of Zanzibar and that of the Tanzania union recently appealed to the refugees to return home. At stake was Tanzania's reputation, which in the past four decades of independence from British colonial rule had been politically stable while it hosted thousands of refugees from different countries in Africa.

To the amazement of the government, the first Tanzanian refugees in the country's history have rejected the gesture maintaining that enough calm had not returned to the islands to guarantee their safety. The CUF leadership too has added its voice to the their concern.

Strangely, though, other opposition parties seem to have a split opinion on the Tanzanian refugees issue.

After a visit to Pemba island, located north of the main Zanzibar island, last week some Members of Parliament who represent the opposition said the mass exodus of refugees to Kenya was triggered by incentives allegedly promised by CUF leaders to their supporters.

Dr Aman Kabourou, secretary general of Chadema party and MP for Kigoma constituency charged that leaders of CUF had solicited the party zealots to go into voluntary exile, promising to pay them 2,000 shillings (about 25 US dollars) daily. However, Kabourou said the claim of such payment was only part of his team's findings and that the government was planning another fact finding tour for the legislators to the refugee camp in Mombasa.

In a related development, the Tanzania government has sent a mission abroad, headed by foreign affairs and international co- operation minister Jakaya Kikwete to counter what officials said was "negative propaganda" by the CUF on the prevailing situation in Zanzibar. The delegation is touring the United Kingdom, the United States, France and the Netherlands, among other countries "to put the record straight before the international community" in connection with what the officials say is a distorted image of Tanzania, portrayed by CUF.

CUF secretary general Seif Sharrif Hamad has been on a tour abroad trying to convince the donor community to put development aid to Tanzania on hold in the wake of the disputed results of the general elections held October and November 2000 in Zanzibar. CUF insists that a rerun of the polls should be held in Zanzibar because the last voting was not free and fair. It was the party's insistence on the issue that led to the mayhem on 27 January.

The European Union (EU) will not withhold development assistance to Tanzania in the aftermath of clashes between the country's opposition and the police, a Swedish diplomat said here on Friday.

The EU does not intend to use aid as an instrument to respond to Tanzania's recent violence, which resulted in the death of 23 people in country's Zanzibar region, said Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania Sten Rylander in a statement.

"Some of us are here to deepen the partnership and to increase the assistance, not the other way round," said the ambassador, whose country holds the current EU presidency.

"Some of us have also worked tirelessly to try to help create conditions for a resumption of the development assistance to Zanzibar," he said.

He promised that the EU will act over the longer term as a close and dedicated partner of Tanzania in its fighting against poverty and its efforts for sustainable development.

The envoy also expressed shock at the recent unrest in the country, traditionally known as a haven of peace and stability in Africa.

The EU hopes dialogue will prevail between the parties concerned in order to safeguard the national interests, he said.

Killings scares away Zanzibar’s tourists

Sunday, February 18, 2001
By Fakih Yussuf Mohamed, Zanzibar

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has conceded that the political chaos that marred the islands of Pemba and Unguja on January 27 this year as police used force to stop Civic United Front’s peaceful demonstration may have long term economic repercussions.
Talking to reporters in the Sauti ya Tanzania Zanzibar Hall, Minister of State in Chief Minister’s Office, Mr Salum Juma Othman, said the tourism business has already begun to feel the pinch. Unfortunately the sector is one of Zanzibar’s major foreign exchange earners .
He said government revenue will decline further because even sea-going transport between the islands and other parts of the world is at a low ebb.
Last week, Kenya Port Authority announced that about 10 tourists ships which were heading for Zanzibar have cancelled the trip and will now dock at Mombasa port due to security risks in the islands.
He asked journalists to assist the government in restoring tourists’ confidence. “It would not be sensible for you as journalists to spread false information that can affect the economic well being of the whole society,” he cautioned.
“Tell them the truth that Zanzibar is safe ... And I can make assurances on behalf of the government that the safety of whoever visits the spice islands as a tourist is guaranteed,” he said.
“Remember all of us are travelling in this same dhow called Zanzibar so if some of us are destroying the hull we will all perish,” he warned.
However, over 850 CUF followers from Pemba are still in Mombasa where they sought refuge after escaping from police beating.
On the cloves harvest, the Minister said smuggling is rampant as over half of the 1,500 tonnes from the current season’s harvest were purchased by private businessmen at hiked prices.
The government lost a lot of foreign exchange because of the businessmen’s plot. Elaborating, he said the government expected to collect over 1,500 tonnes of dry cloves but managed to collect less than 15 tonnes.
He fears that the smuggling is being encouraged by some foreign institutions. “How could a private businessman manage to purchase a kilogramme of cloves at a price ranging between Tshs 3,000 and Tshs 4000 without foreign backing?” he wondered.
The government does not envisage any legal measures against neighbouring countries that collude with clove smugglers. “There are no such formalities in place. We will continue to urge our businessmen and farmers to desist from involving themselves in such kind of trade,” he said.
Currently we are reviewing cloves prices and examining the possibility of raising the price from the current 800/- to 1,500/-.
In the main cloves season the government managed to purchase 8,000 tonnes through Zanzibar State Trading Corporation out of a target of 11,000 tonnes.

Pemba refugee trickle turns to flood

Sunday, 2/18/01
By Mwinyi Sadala, Zanzibar

A large number of Zanzibaris has been reportedly seeking membership in the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) and leaving for Mombasa, Kenya, to seek political asylum status in a camp sheltering Tanzania refugees.
A survey, conducted in Zanzibar yesterday, indicated that CUF had of late recruited many members especially youths and that membership cards are now being sold at up to 50,000/= each instead of the usual 1,000/=.
A senior CUF official, Salum Bimani, confirmed that they had in an unprecedented move, received a big number of new members since last month’s demonstrations which left more than 23 people dead and several injured, some seriously.
Bimani, however, said he was not in a position to make a statement whether or not the new recruits sought the party’s membership and then later rushed to Mombasa to stay in the camp sheltering Tanzania refugees.
Hundreds of Zanzibaris continue to leave the island and join the camp in Mombasa so as to be awarded political asylum status, following widespread reports that the refugees would soon be shifted to one of the European countries to make a living.
The survey further revealed that the new CUF members included some of jobless followers of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
One CCM member in Zanzibar municipality, who identified herself as Mwanajuma, confirmed that four active members had joined the opposition CUF and left here for Mombasa last week.
Many Zanzibaris now leave through Dar es Salaam en route to Mombasa to join the refugee camp after the isles government intensified security on Pemba island apparently to prevent people from sailing to Mombasa.
Some of the islanders have left their newborns and small children with their grandparents before heading to Mombasa to seek refugees status.
So far the number of refugees in Mombasa has reached at 1200, including 17 MPs and members of the House of Representatives.
More than 60 per cent of Zanzibar’s one million population, particularly teenagers, are jobless and it appears that the government’s plan for job creation has been unsuccessful.
The exodus of Zanzibaris to Mombasa has created a situation of uncertainty for investors especially in the tourism sector .
About 500 workers in the privately owned tourism beach hotels have been forced to go on unpaid leave due to a sharp decline in tourist arrivals since the January 27 killings.
Both Unguja and Pemba islands are now calm and people continue with their daily activities after two weeks of terror as a result of CUF’s decision to stage an anti-government demonstration to press the government to re-run the elections.

Mageuzi MPs escape in matatu

Four MPs yesterday jumped into a matatu to evade police after they were barred from visiting Tanzanian refugees camping at Shimoni in Kwale District.

Mr James Orengo of Ugenya, Mr Waithaka Mwangi of Kinangop, Mr Moses Mwihia of Gatundu South and Mr Njeru Kathangu of Runyenjes had been ordered to leave Shimoni immediately or face the "full force of the law".

A Land Rover full of police in riot gear drove into the camp just as the MPs, all members of Muungano wa Mageuzi, took off in a derelict matatu sandwiched between other passengers. Police mounted road blocks at the Msambweni division headquarters and checked all vehicles travelling towards Mombasa. But the MPs managed to slip through.

Trouble started when the four demanded to have a word with the 17 MPs from the Civic United Front (CUF), who are among 1,187 refugees from Pemba and Zanzibar camped at Shimoni.

An administration officer, Mr Kaburu Kayimba, and a police inspector named only as Mr Marete held brief discussions and told the MPs to leave at once.

In the ensuing exchange, Mr Kathangu demanded to know why they should be barred from entering the camp when the East African Community was in operation. Mr Kayimba advised the MPs to seek the authority of the Kwale district commissioner, saying he had "orders from above" to bar the MPs, whom he referred to as "you people".

Earlier, Mr Orengo managed to have a quick word with one of the Tanzanian MPs, who asked the Kenyan Government to assist in ending the political turmoil on the two islands.

The MP, who did not wish to be named, said that as long as the Tanzanian Government went ahead with arbitrary arrest of members and supporters of CUF, more refuges would continue streaming into Kenya.

The MPs said that supporters of the party who were taken to court were being given unrealistic bail terms. They reportedly have to provide cash bail of about KSh200,000, personal surety of two houses and two other supporting sureties also having two houses each.

Mr Orengo described their being barred from the camp as most unfortunate, saying they had gone to Shimoni to express solidarity with their suffering neighbours.

The Kenyan MPs urged the Government to establish a camp in the Coast region to host the refugees as relocating them to Kakuma or Daadab camps would be "condemning them to death".

But an under secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Nimrod Waweru, said that the Government decision was firm and the refugees would be relocated to North Eastern Province as soon as logistics were in place.

Seventy three refugees arrived at Shimoni yesterday at around 3.25am. They included one woman and 72 men. Mr Waweru expressed concern that the rains that started last night would pose added danger to the refugees since there was not enough shelter at the camp.

Political Violence Hampers Tourism Business

Tourism firms on Tanzania's federated Zanzibar islands are sending their workers on compulsory unpaid leave or terminating their services all together, because of the sharp decline in business following last month's political turmoil, industry sources said Thursday.

Investors in the hotel industry complain that the 27 January violence that resulted in several deaths in Pemba and Zanzibar has paralysed tourism.

Foreign tourists are said to be apprehensive of the security situation on the twin islands where 23 persons were reportedly killed in clashes between protesting opposition party supporters and the police.

Already some international airlines which were ferrying tourists to the Indian Ocean islands have since 29 January suspended their flights, the sources said.

Hotel investors on Wednesday told the Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, who was on a visit to tourism facilities, that they had been forced to trim their workforce because of lack of business transactions.

"The business environment in our hotels is absolutely bad. We appeal to government to guarantee peace and security to facilitate the return of tourists," said Gerald Scheraven, Manager of one of the hotels along the Zanzibar coastal belt.

He added: "We understand the economic hardships facing our workers but where can we get the money to pay them under the prevailing business climate?"

The tense security situation in Zanzibar, has forced a number of hotels to close down.

Nahodha has assured the investors that government remained committed to ensuring security on the islands because tourism has become the country's major foreign exchange earner following the fall in the prices of cloves on the world market.

But despite Tanzania government's assurances to the international community that Zanzibar was now calm, some Pemba residents are reportedly still fleeing to the Kenyan port of Mombasa for refuge.

The EU and western nations have meanwhile, directed their nationals to stay away from Zanzibar because of insecurity.

The January political disturbances followed protests by supporters of leading opposition party, the Civic United Front, demanding freedom of assembly and against results of the 2000 controversial polls in Zanzibar.

Some MPs not happy with Pemba visit

Thursday, February 15, 2001
By Joyce Bazira, Pemba

A team of Members of Parliament yesterday visited parts of Pemba Island to find the truth surrounding circumstances that led to the bloody clash between the police and Civic United Front members on January 27 this year.
At least 23 people died as the result of the clash.
The team, led by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mohamed Seif Khatib, comprised Parliamentarians from the United Democratic Party, Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi.
They visited the Wete police station, Amani `maskani' and the Wete Hotel allegedly damaged by CUF members.
The team was guided by the Head of Administration and Training in the Police Force, Commissioner Laurian Tibasana.
However, MPs from the opposition camp, said they were not satisfied with the Commissioner's explanation which seemed to contradict the government's statement given earlier in Parliament by the Prime Minister, Frederick Sumaye.
For example, the Bariadi East MP, Danhi Makanga (UDP), pointed out that the information presented by Commissioner Tibasana failed to justify why the police used excessive force against people who were carrying stones, sticks and other small arms.
There was not any statement given after the visit. However some MPs felt there was need to set up an independent committee to look into the events that led to the killings.
It is believed that the team was formed following conflicting reports about the number of people who were killed when police clashed with CUF demonstrators last month.
While the Government says 23 people were killed CUF puts the number at more than 75. There have also been varying reports about the security situation in Pemba.
The Government insists that all is well now but on the other hand many people have been running to Mombasa in Kenya where they have been received as refugees.

State agents held in refugee crisis

Kenyan police have detained three Tanzanians suspected to be security agents trying to enter the country as members of the Civic United Front (CUF).

Spokesmen for more than 1,000 Tanzanian refugees, who include 17 CUF Members of Parliament, told the Nation yesterday that the three men were members of the notorious Kikosi Maalum cha Kupambana na Magendo (KMKM), which patrols Tanzania's territorial waters.

Briefing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at Shimoni in Kwale District, MP for Wingwi Kombo Khamis Kombo said the three had been identified by people who knew them.

"They arrived here claiming to be members of CUF but people who know them identified them as government security agents," said Mr Kombo, "and we alerted Kenyan police about them."

The men were reportedly carried fake CUF membership cards and KMKM employment identification cards.

Kwale District Commissioner Stephen Kipkebut declined to comment and instead referred the Nation to Mr Nimrod Waweru, an under secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs said to be in charge of the refugees.

A police source confirmed, however, that six Tanzanians being held at the Msambweni Police Station had been kept apart from their countrymen.

But Mr Kombo appealed to the UNHCR to investigate claims that security agents were trying to infiltrate the refugee camp at Shimoni. Said the MP: "We want thorough investigations to be carried out concerning this matter. This incident is a threat to the security of those who are camping here, especially since they are fleeing persecution from government forces back home."

Trouble started on the twin spice islands of Pemba and Zanzibar on January 27, a day after the CUF called for demonstrations to demand a re-run of last year's disputed elections in Zanzibar.

He however noted that as long as the old constitution was still applied no free and fair election would take place in Zanzibar.

He once again denied claims that the Zanzibar people wanted to secede from mainland Tanzania and also termed the trouble between his party and that of CCM as purely political and not religious.

At the same time Council of imams in Mombasa yesterday urged the Organisation of African Unity OAU to intervene in the Zanzibar crisis and if necessary impose economic sanctions to compel Mkapa's Government to respect human rights.

Speaking in Mombasa yesterday an official of the council of Imams and Preachers Sheikh Mohammed Dor said the international community had an

Come back home, govt appeals
to refugees in Mombasa
lHamad visits Shimoni camp

Wednesday, February 14, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

The government is appealing to more than 900 Tanzanian refugees from Pemba island currently in Mombasa, Kenya, to return home, promising that they will not be arrested when they return.
An unsigned statement issued by the State House at Chamwino in Dodoma yesterday requested Kenya and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to facilitate their safe return home.
"The government of the United Republic of Tanzania, after consultations with the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government, appeals to our fellow Tanzanians who fled the country for whatever reasons to come back home," the statement reads.
The State House expressed hope that the Civic United Front would co-operate in efforts to bring back its supporters so as to live up to Tanzania's principles of peace, love, unity, brotherhood and solidarity.
"We know that many of ( the refugees) are being used by some CUF leaders for political gains and therefore do not qualify to become asylum seekers," the State House said.
It assured all the refugees that they were "totally free citizens and should come home and that they have no reason to abandon their houses, families and activities and unnecessarily lead a life of refugees."
This the third statement issued by the government. The first was issued by the Vice-President, Dr Omar Ali Juma, who said Pemba was peaceful. He urged the refugees to return home.
A few days later, a Zanzibar Minister was quoted as saying that the refugees would be arrested and prosecuted when they return home.
About 1,000 people, mainly from Pemba, have fled to Mombasa following January 27 riotous CUF demonstration which was declared illegal by the government.
The government says 23 were killed by police, including a policeman hacked by demonstrators.
Yesterday, the government said that Tanzania's reputation had suffered a great deal and that it was time to restore it by ensuring that such a problem (of killings and refugees) did not recur in the future.
The government said the coming home of the refugees was the first step in the painful process to restore the good name of Tanzania.
Those who were still hesitating to go back to Pemba could settle anywhere in Tanzania, the statement said.
"We are one country, one nation, one brotherhood. Political differences cannot change that reality," the State House said in the statement.
The government said it was aware of massive CUF propaganda world-wide about human violations in Tanzania.
But it assured "the international community and our fellow Tanzanians who have fled their country that at present, Pemba is calm. People are going on with their daily activities."
The government promised to make sure that the situation remained calm by ensuring that political activities took place in a peaceful manner, hence the planned dialogue among political parties.
In that light, the government said no riots or bloodshed would be expected to characterise political activities in Tanzania and that all state organs had been directed and trained that they should not oppress people.
However, the government expressed skepticism over the nature of the refugees, saying that apart from those who fled during the first few days after the January 27 incident, most of them did not leave Pemba in a hurry. They planned their travel.
The State House said that most of the time almost everywhere in the world refugees would include children and women because "men do not leave behind their wives."
But the large number of refugees, currently in Mombasa, were men who included CUF leaders, MPs and members of the House of Representatives.
"This is not common," the State House declared, concluding that most of Tanzanians, currently in Kenya, were not real refugees on political grounds.
Among other things, the government said the refugees wanted to hoodwink the international community that Tanzania, especially Pemba, was not peaceful and that no political rights existed.
It is not true, the State House said in the statement.
It was reported in Mombasa that the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad and the Chama Cha Mapinduzi Secretary General, Philip Mangula, are expected to meet on Friday to prepare the agenda for the meeting of the national leaders of the two parties.
The agenda will focus on the political crisis in Zanzibar and the Tanzanian refugees in Kenya.
Hamad told journalists about the meeting soon after visiting Tanzanian refugees at Shimoni yesterday. He had arrived in Mombasa from London.
He said that CCM had agreed to meet with CUF without any conditions.
He also said he had visited the United States of America, Canada,the Netherlands and other European countries to reveal how last year's elections were rigged in Zanzibar and the subsequent chaos.
In an unexpected turn of events, refugees who are admitted to Msambweni hospital in Kwale district broke into tears when they saw Hamad.
Rashid Juma Bakati , whose left leg has been amputated after sustaining bullet wounds during clashes with police on January 27 , cried loudly as he showed Hamad his .
Addressing more than 1,000 Tanzanian refugees at Shimoni camp, Hamad told them to be patient as negotiations would soon start to enable them return home.
Regarding their transfer to Dadaab and Kakuma camps near the Somali border, Hamad said he would request the Kenyan government and UNHCR to shelve the plan as according international regulations refugees should not be accommodated more than 50 kilometres from the border of their country of origin.
This was meant to ease their return to their country when the situation returned to normal.
Hamad said that he had been offered 78 hectares of land in Mombasa which could accommodate the refugees.
Today Hamad is expected to meet the Coast Regional Commissioner, the Kwale District Commissioner and officials of the UNHCR.

Kenya postpones exercise
to transfer Tanzanian refugees

Tuesday, February 13, 2001
By Guardian Reporter, Mombasa

The government of Kenya has postponed the exercise to transfer Tanzanian refugees from Shimoni camp to a bigger one as more refugees continue to stream in from Pemba and Zanzibar.
Until yesterday afternoon there were 996 refugees in the camp.
An official from the Vice-President's Office in Kenya, Nimrod Kamanja, said that the transfer of refugees was shelved as more refugees kept arriving.
He feared the number might rise to over 1,000 by yesterday.
Kamanja said that the exercise scheduled to be conducted in collaboration with the UNHCR in the country, would now be done once officials were assured that no more refugees would arrive.
The Shimoni camp is now accommodating twice the number of refugees it can hold. Even the alternative camp earmarked for refugees will not be able to hold all of them.
Kamanja said that the refugees might be shifted to Kukuna and Daadab camps in the North Eastern Kenya.
He insisted that only those who were prepared to remain refugees would be taken to the camps. But those willing to return to Tanzania would be allowed to do so.
The Coast Regional Commissioner Samwel Lyimo has said that the Kenya government would continue to receive refugees despite the congestion at the Shimoni camp.

CUF officials arrive in Mombasa

Meanwhile, CUF officials from Tanzania have arrived in Mombasa to assess the situation of the refugees all of whom are CUF members.
The officials are Soud Yusuph Mgeni and Jamal Abdallah Mselem. The former parliamentarian for Chake Chake, Fatma Maghimbi, has been here for some time. She has often visited the refugees.
Among the latest arrivals at the camp is Suleiman Seif Shariff, the son of CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad.
Suleiman said that he had to run away for fear of the police and he was worried about her mother and the rest of the family who are still in Pemba.
The CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad, is out of the country.
In a surprising turn of events, refugees admitted to Msambweni hospital yesterday refused to be interviewed by Tanzanian journalists and have their photographs taken.
The sick refugees claimed that the pressmen from the Mainland were responsible for the deaths of their relatives in Zanzibar and for the injuries they have sustained.
The reaction of the refugees surprised even the police officer who had escorted the journalists to the hospital and other patients, especially when one of the refugees claimed that mainlanders were not their friends in any way.
However the refugees were ready to speak to journalists and have their photographs taken by journalists from Kenya and other countries.

Refugees From The Islands Tell A Grim Tale

Something terribly wrong has happened in the exotic Spice Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.

For the last three weeks, boatload upon boatload of islanders have been landing on the Kenya shores, fleeing from a political crisis that many believe could have been resolved in a more civilised manner.

And the numbers are increasing, enveloping in shame a country which was, for years, seen as the epitome of political tolerance in Africa.

Having given refuge to African liberators like Nelson Mandela, Yoweri Museveni, Ruth First, Eduardo Mondlane and even recently to Laurent Kabila, the idea that the country could be slipping down the slope of tyranny and civil war leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

How can Tanzania, in the dawn of the 21st century, repeat the mistakes made by so many African countries?

Today, memories of the notorious Field Force Unit (FFU) unleashing their brutal fury on innocent Islanders demanding a return of their franchise are being beamed to the whole world, and one can imagine the glee of the continent's ill-boding watchers.

Is this the country that only a few years ago hosted the cream of African intelligentsia ranging from Guyana's Walter Rodney to Mahmood Mamdani?

Today, Tanzania once hailed as the most friendly country on the east coast, is wallowing in a state of stalinistic paranoia since the recent elections won by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi on the mainland, and in the islands too, although many believe the opposition Civic United Front actually won in the two islands.

Today, 15 elected MPs from the CUF which has rejected the outcome of the 2000 polls, have fled to Kenya and are presently holding court in a hastily constructed refugee camp on the sea-side.

By last week, the number of those who had fled to the Kenyan coast had risen to 500, and the human tide seemed unstoppable with reports of hundreds of others hiding in the island to avoid harsh reprisals by the dreaded Field Force Unit which the locals refer to as Fanya Funjo Uone.

Government sources have put the number of dead in the islands close to 50, but those fleeing to Kenya are talking of more than 200 with macabre details of corpses rotting in the streets.

Immediately after the first wave of exiles landed on the Kenya coast, there were reports of a massive crackdown on CUF supporters, which forced most political activists in the party's stronghold to flee into the forests while seeking a way out.

Despite international condemnation, the Tanzanian Government seems set on crushing the defiance of the CUF supporters, and the zeal with which the anti-riot squad unleashed its wrath on the demonstrators in Zanzibar, Pemba and parts of mainland Tanzania shows a serious hardening which can only lead to accelerated violence.

Mgogoni Member of Parliament Hamisi Ali Sale recently narrated how he fled into the forests where he hid for days after being told that State functionaries were after him.

Reports indicate that there has been widespread arrests in the isles, especially in the CUF stronghold of Pemba where curfews have been slapped on the remaining residents.

For the second time in almost a decade, Mombasa is witnessing the flight of large numbers of people from its neighbours. Thousands fled to Kenya when the Somali state collapsed.

Although the trickle from Tanzania is still negligible as compared to the Somali influx between 1990 and 1992, the high number of MPs among the refugees is quite embarrassing to the Tanzanian Government.

It is now clear that the whole elected government in the Islands and especially in Pemba is on the run, raising questions of legitimacy on whoever claims to be ruling the Islands.

What is also clear from the tales of horror told by refugees is that Pemba is under armed occupation by Government troops, and so are parts of Zanzibar which are opposed to the ruling party's manipulations.

According to the MPs who have been holding daily press conferences based on the reports from new exiles, nothing short of a constitutional amendment to the terms of the Union agreement between the two countries - Tanganyika and Zanzibar - plus a re-run of the elections on the Isles will ease the conflict.

That the CUF MPs enjoyed a resounding success in the election results in their areas is borne out by the disparity of results as exemplified by those of Mtambwe Constituency in Pemba Island. The contestant, Salim Abdalla Hamadi (CUF), who garnered a whopping 5,820 to the paltry 600 of former Minister Khamis Ahmada, is a pointer to how badly the ruling party fared.

According to the MPs, this was the pattern in most constituencies in Pemba and in some sections of Zanzibar which they believe should have given CUF the victory that eluded them in 1995.

The issue of the Union agreement, while not being addressed by most observers, seems to be the the main jarring note in the whole ensemble.

In an unpublished interview with CUF leader Seif Shariff Hamadi in Mombasa before the elections, he eloquently questioned the logic of a Union in which one partner had a bigger say than the other.

His argument, echoed by the MPs we interviewed last week, was based on the fact that while Zanzibar entered the Union as an equal partner, it is the President of the latter who heads the Union government.

"What we would like to see is a situation where the two governments have their own presidents and governments, and then the election of a Union President who would be above the two," he said.

Pandani MP for the Zanzibari House of representatives sums it this way: "When Tanzania joins the East African Cooperation or the Organisation of African Unity, it does not lose its powers as a nation. So why does Zanzibar become a junior partner in the marriage?"

Unfortunately, the CCM government has said that the Union is non-negotiable and so far has refused to consider fresh elections in the Isles despite them being rubbished by most of the observers.

With such a stalemate, the refugees might be here longer than they thought while the Spice Islands once again in less than three decades continues to simmer in political violence.

The question is, who will blink first?

In the meantime,Tanzanians unused to the hustles of political atavism which Kenyans have now learnt to handle even with a bit of indifference continues to tread towards to an uncertain future.

Is this a case of yet another African country going to waste?

CUF HOLD A PEACEFUL, MAMMOTH RALLY IN ZANZIBAR

Lipumba tells govt to be realist

Monday, February 12, 2001
By Lwaga Mwambande, Zanzibar

The Civic United Front National Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, has challenged Union and Zanzibar governments to stop from depending solely on state security organs for information and instead look at the reality on the ground. Addressing a mammoth rally at Mnazi Mmoja grounds yesterday, Prof Lipumba said to ensure there was no
tragedy in future like that which happened on January 27, the governments of Zanzibar and Union should address issues which were real. He accused President Mkapa and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi of depending too much on security organs for information for some of the information was not true.
Prof. Lipumba extended CUF readiness for dialogue with
Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Amani Karume, despite the fact that the party did not recognize them as lawful winners of the seats, pending fresh elections in Zanzibar.
He said the theme of the talks in Zanzibar should be on the implementation of the 1999 Commonwealth-brokered agreement between CUF and CCM which called for formation of an independent electoral institution which would oversee fresh elections on the isles.
On the toll of killings during January 27 demonstration which the government put at 23 and one CUF official said it was 75 until yesterday, Prof. Lipumba reiterated the need for a probe commission.
He said he had written both presidents on the need to form a national probe commission and even suggested names of some eminent persons from Zanzibar and mainland who could be on the commission.
He also said CUF was in touch with the United Nations
Human Rights Commissioner, Mary Robinson, to bring the attention of the international community to the killings and establish the cause.
Prof Lipumba said only a thorough investigation on the cause of the killings and meaningful dialogue could prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.
He said despite the force applied to stop CUF demonstrations on January 27, several areas in the country demonstrated and that the killings and arrests had made CUF stronger.
Warning that whoever wanted to deregister the party would fail, he said that the party would continue to do its political duties.
He also made a special appeal to the Zanzibar president, to put aside all differences and sit down with all Zanzibaris to chart out the future of the isles and bring back the lost glory. Prof. Lipumba said his party would conduct demonstrations in the future to either support dialogue if the process started or protest against oppression.
He also criticised the government for making contradictory statements on the 800 refugees from Pemba who are in Mombasa, Kenya.
Whereas the Vice President Dr Omar Ali Juma urged them
to return to Pemba because it was calm, a government minister in Zanzibar was quoted as saying the `refugees' would be arrested when they returned.
Prof. Lipumba also called on the VP to resign, accusing him of inciting killings on Friday, January 26 when he directed that Muslims should disperse after prayers. Two people were killed as they were coming
from afternoon prayers.
Earlier, a crew of the Zanzibar Television (TVZ) was roughed up by some CUF supporters who demanded that they should leave the place because their coverage was biased.
They were rescued by CUF leaders and continued to cover the rally.
Speaking at the same rally, the first to take place since the October 29 elections, a member of the CUF governing council, Musa Haji, alleged that the number of the dead was 75 and named 20 out of 25 who died in
Wete and 14 out of 17 who died in Chake Chake, Pemba.
He said 25 other people have died as a result of police action on January 27. Their names would be released in Pemba later.
However, he did not name eight people allegedly killed in Zanzibar.
There was a strong police presence, some of them at the ground and others aboard a truck which patrolled the Zanzibar streets.
The rally which started officially at 4 p.m. ended a few minutes to 6 p.m. and people dispersed peacefully....

Isolate Mkapa, Refugees Urge

Sixteen runaway Tanzanian Members of Parliament have urged the international community to impose sanctions on the Tanzanian Government for violating human rights.

Speaking on behalf of the refugees camped at Shimoni, Kwale District, the MP for Konde, Mr Miraj Ramadham Hariri said the sanctions would force the Tanzania government headed by Benjamin Mkapa to respect the voice of the people and review the country's constitution.

He said the Tanzanian government had oppressed the common man more than the colonialists ever could.

Mr Hariri also appealed to the United Nations to give the Tanzanian refugees the status of people escaping political persecution and accord them the necessary help.

A senior police officer in Kwale District said the number of refugees had gone up to 750 by yesterday from the previous figure of 646.

He said 104 more arrived from Pemba and Zanzibar yesterday morning.

The refugees included a nominated Member of Parliament, Ms Bidawa Bakari Hamadi, from the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

The Rev Mutikila of the Human Rights Ministry described the killings in Pemba and Zanzibar as genocide and appealed to the United Nations to appoint a commission to probe them.

He claimed that 1,000 people had been killed since violence erupted in the twin spice islands two weeks ago.

He claimed that bodies of victims were thrown into the Uchozini forest in Pemba.

Terming the government of President Mkapa and his ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi "oppressive", he appealed to the international community to appoint a commission to help relieve them from the mainland.

The Tanzania leaders camping at Shimoni thanked the Kenyan government for their assistance since they fled to the country.

The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya donated foodstuffs stuffs and bedding worthy Sh600,000.

Led by its chairman Sheikh Ali Shee, the council appealed to the UN to recognise the refugees like others in the rest of world.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) yesterday condemned the Tanzanian Government for atrocities against opposition supporters.

It urged the international community to urgently intervene in the Zanzibar-Pemba crisis lest it "assumes Rwanda-like proportions" referring to the 1994 genocide that claimed thousands of lives in the neighbouring country.

Violence in the twin islands has led to hundreds of deaths and the escape to Kenya of nearly 1,000 people.

Supkem expressed concern at the the religious dimension the issue was taking.

The council chairman, Prof Abdelghafur el Busaidy, said the crackdown was particularly bad on Pemba island "which unlike Zanzibar, is further away from international limelight".

"The international community must take firm and immediate action to stop the crisis from turning into a terrible tragedy," Supkem said.

Its officials told a press conference of the tyranny the Tanzania government visited on opponents. They said it warranted the intervention by a United Nations fact-finding mission.

The mission would "make independent investigations and assess the magnitude and extent of the political repression and human rights violations by the Tanzanian Government."

The suggestion is among six others - including intervention by the Organisation of African Unity and President Moi - proposed by the council to help contain the situation.

Pemban refugees in Mombasa
face arrest on return - Minister

Sunday, 2/11/01
By Mwinyi Sadallah, PST, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar government has said it will arrest and prosecute all people seeking political asylum in neighbouring Kenya following clashes between riot police and Civic United Front (CUF) demonstrators on January 27 on Pemba Island.
The Zanzibar Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office, (Information) Salum Juma Othman, told reporters yesterday that all self proclaimed refugees who fled to Mombasa, Kenya, would be arrested upon arrival in Pemba.
Until yesterday more than 700 people, including members of the House of Representatives had fled to Mombasa.
“These are not refugees. They are criminals and after arresting them we will charge them,” he said without clarifying the charges they will face.
He said usually the bonafide political asylum seekers fled their nations with their families saying those who fled to Kenya left behind all their dependants.
The minister, who was in Pemba recently, said those who fled to Kenya were criminals who ran away to escape the long arm of the government after committing crimes.
He said he believed some of those who fled were youths who thought that organisations dealing with refugees would accord them refugee status and secure a place for them abroad.
The minister said political hostility between supporters of the two rival parties, the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi and CUF, on Pemba Island had reached an alarming level where supporters of one party are denying services to their rivals.
He said CUF supporters were not buying goods from shops owned by CCM supporters, forcing the latter to close some of their shops for lack of customers.
Othman accused CUF of sowing the seeds of hatred among Zanzibaris and warned that if the trend was allowed to continue, Zanzibar would soon plunge itself into chaos.
On the killings following country-wide demonstrations called by CUF, the minister said CUF had prepared for what would happen. Twenty three people, including a policeman were killed.
He said CUF had prepared vehicles to carry those who would be injured. It had also prepared stretchers and masks. “They were ready for anything,” he said.
The minister accused the opposition on the island of inciting the public to sabotage the government, including the smuggling out of cloves instead of selling them to the government.
He said in the last season the government expected to buy 1,500 tons of cloves but actually obtained less than half of the estimate, as most of the crop was smuggled out through unofficial routes.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Jakaya Kikwete, in a message totally unlike that of the minister quoted above, this week, in a conciliatory tone, appealed to CUF supporters who had fled to Mombasa to return home.
Kikwete said the government would love to see all its citizens living in their own country.
The minister said normality had returned to Zanzibar’s two islands—Unguja and Pemba, and appealed to them to return home

CCM reiterates call to deregister CUF

Sunday, February 11, 2001
By Benjamin Thompson,PST

The Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Dar es Salaam region has called on the government to deregister the main opposition party Civic United Front,(CUF) alleging it has all the signs of a terrorist organisation.
The call was given yesterday at a CCM special regional meeting held at the PTA hall, Sabasaba grounds.
Among other things, the meeting discussed in detail the implementation of some key issues mentioned in President Mkapa’s recent address to the nation .
The CCM Dar es Salaam Regional Secretary, Capt. Mohamed Ligola, said CCM had proved beyond reasonable doubt that CUF was a party mainly bent on fanning terrorism and not democracy, as its leaders claimed.
The meeting which was also attended by the City’s Mayor, Kleist Sykes, and Dar es Salaam’s three other municipal mayors, was told that it was high time CUF was deregistered so as to maintain peace and harmony in Tanzania.
“We have now proved that CUF, which has now engaged in the bombing of hospitals and schools, and contaminating water wells with faeces, is a party of terrorists and should be deregistered as soon as possible,” said Ligola amid applause from a cheering crowd estimated at 3000.
Earlier, two municipal mayors, Mustafa Yakoub of Temeke, and Salum Londa of Kinondoni, pointed out that the registrar of political parties has no need to look for any further evidence before deregistering CUF.
“Their actions prove it all.....it is time we addressed problems threatening our peace and tranquillity without involving CUF,” said Salum Londa.
Ligola told the meeting that CCM had invited leaders from the opposition parties to the one day meeting but none of them had showed up.
“If they can not come to discuss with us here, why do they insist on seeing the President?,” he queried, adding that it would be better if the President refused to meet the opposition.
The Minister of State in the Prime Ministers’ Office, Omar Ramadhan Mapuri, said in Parliament recently that the government would not deregister CUF unless there were proven legal reasons for such action.

Tanzanian refugees from Pemba continue to enter Kenya: UNHCR

At least 890 Tanzanians fleeing political violence on the island of Pemba have entered Kenya over the past two weeks, the UNHCR said.

The figure would likely reach 1,000 because boats were continuing to leave both Pemba and nearby Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement.

The Tanzanian asylum seekers are currently located at Shimoni, some 120 kilometres (74 miles) south of Kenya's Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa, where they are receiving assistance both from the Kenyan government and the UNHCR.

The UNHCR dispatched an assessment mission to Shimoni on February 2 to evaluate the humanitarian needs of the refugees and distribution of food and non-food items by the UNHCR started there earlier this week, the statement released late Friday said.

The first group arrived in Kenya on day after after bloody demonstrations in Zanzibar and Pemba islands on January 27, which the opposition said killed up to 51 people, although figures compiled by AFP put the death toll at only 33.

Fishermen rescued most of the refugees -- including 15 opposition Civic United Front (CUF) members of the Zanzibar legislature -- when they were adrift in rough seas, and brought them to Shimoni.

The new arrivals told UNHCR officials their leaders had managed to organise the escape and carried their wounded followers from the chaos surrounding the brutal suppression of the January protests.

Thirteen of the injured, some of whom had bullet wounds, received treatment on arrival in Kenya and were all in stable condition.

The UNHCR statement said most of the new arrivals qualified for refugee status, although the Kenyan authorities said they only consider them as persons in need of humanitarian assistance.

Police allow CUF to hold rally in Zanzibar
l Hamad not to address meeting

Friday, February 09, 2001
By Correspondent Mwinyi Sadallah, PST Zanzibar

The Civic United Front will hold a public rally at Malindi grounds in Zanzibar this Sunday after getting permission from the police.
The police, in a letter dated 7 February and signed by OCD George Kiziguti, allowed CUF to hold the meeting on condition that party officials must meet with police officers to plan joint strategies to maintain peace and order.
CUF Zanzibar Urban District Co-ordinator, Salum Bimani, said the meeting would begin in the morning and the agenda would include Zanzibar's political situation and economic direction.
He said the party was happy with the decision to grant them a permit to hold the rally, saying it would enable them meet with their followers for the first time since the last October elections.
However, he said the meeting would not be addressed by the party Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad. Instead CUF National Chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, would be the chief speaker.
The police move to allow CUF to hold the meeting comes less than two weeks after political violence between the party's followers and police culminated into the death of 23 people. Hundreds others were injured, some seriously.
Hundreds of Zanzibaris belonging to CUF, particularly those residing in Pemba island, the opposition party's stronghold, fled their homes in fear of police beatings.
CUF held its first public meeting after the October elections in Dar es Salaam last Wednesday after President Benjamin Mkapa addressed the nation that the government had no objections to CUF meetings only that order and peace must be observed.
CUF has been engaged in war of words with the Union government and the Zanzibar government claiming that the general elections in Zanzibar were rigged and did not reflect the wishes of the electorate.
CUF demands a re-run of Zanzibar's general elections and reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, which it says failed to supervise free and fair elections and the amendment of the existing Union Constitution to iron out shortcomings.
Dozens of policemen, some armed, were deployed at several streets of the Zanzibar town following widespread reports that CUF planned to hold an illegal demonstration to force the government to give them a go ahead to
hold a meeting.

Hundreds flee Tanzanian persecution

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says 130 Zanzibaris arrived at the small Kenyan port of Shimoni on Wednesday, bringing to over 600 the number that have fled here over the past few weeks.

The Zanzibaris, most of them from the island of Pemba, say they are seeking refuge from a violent political crackdown against opposition members in the Zanzibar isles.

When police used force to break up demonstrations a couple of weeks ago, many opposition supporters were killed.

That action was widely condemned but according to the refugees the violence did not end there.

They say the police continued to harass, imprison and attack supporters of the opposition Civic United Front.

There are also allegations of more killings. Khamis Ali Saleh is one of several MPs who have left the island of Pemba, the scene of the worst violence.

He says: "Currently the situation is very terrible because most of the people have left their houses. Most of these people now live in forests.

"You see, they don't get food there easily and they are also beaten. Those who remain in the house are beaten".

The political temperature has been rising in Zanzibar since last year's elections.

The Civic United Front claims the poll, which was won by the ruling party, was rigged.

They are demanding fresh elections. The Tanzanian Government has refused to contemplate this option.

It has justified the harsh action, saying the opposition is intent on using violence to achieve its goals.

But with the flight of Civic United Front supporters out of Zanzibar and continuing allegations of police brutality, Tanzania's international image as a peaceful, democratic nation is being severely damaged.

Donors Threaten To Withhold Aid As V-P Blames CUF

Human-Rights groups and foreign missions in anzania have expressed shock at the police brutality during the January 27 violence in which scores of civilians were killed in Zanzibar.

Donors said that there was no point in supporting the Tanzania government as long as it continued to let police unleash terror against unarmed civilians.

Speaking for the European Union, a Swedish diplomat told The EastAfrican that it would continue withholding aid to the country. The official said that "the question of resuming aid to Zanzibar is now not on the EU agenda."

However, the diplomat added that "only aid for programmes on democracy and human rights would be released."

The EU statement said it viewed the developments in Zanzibar and in mainland Tanzania "with dismay, and deeply regretted the loss of life.

The US embassy said it high hopes for Zanzibar after the October 29 elections, but now it "deeply regretted the tragic loss of life that has resulted from the January demonstrations."

The embassy expressed grave concern over the the manner in which authorities dealt with the demonstrators, which resulted in many deaths.

However, Tanzania Vice President Dr Omar Ali Juma told The EastAfrican in an exclusive interview at State House that while the government regretted what had happened, it was surprised the international community was blaming it for the political violence.

"When CUF commits these crimes the world is silent, but when the government tries to stop CUF from committing worse crimes, everybody protests. I urge them to look at CUF actions as well," he said.

A brief statement by the Organisation of African Unity secretary general, Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, said he was concerned about the current developments in Tanzania and the violence that had rocked the country.

The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation also condemned the excessive use of force against civilians during the January 27 violence. It said it was an insult to a nation known for being peaceful and a home to many refugees.

* Additional reporting by James Mwakisyala in Dar es Salaam.

Zanzibar Cruise Ships Diverted To Mombasa

Cruise vessels scheduled to call at Zanzibar will now be diverted to Mombasa and Lamu.

Vessels destined for Zanzibar from March have requested to divert to Mombasa and Lamu as a result of the political unrest on the twin islands of Pemba and Zanzibar, a statement from the Kenya Ports Authority said.

The move by shipping lines and tour operators handling cruise vessels destined for Zanzibar is expected to boost Kenya's tourism industry and increase the number of scheduled passenger vessels to Kenyan ports.

According to this year's KPA shipping diary, at least 18 cruise vessels had confirmed that they would call on Mombasa Port this year, but the number was expected to increase.

The KPA said it had made major changes at Lamu and the putting up of new navigational aids was in progress. "We are also dredging the channel to attract and accommodate bigger commercial ships," the KPA statement said.

According to the KPA harbour master, Capt Twalip Khamis, Lamu last received a passenger ship in 1998, after which services were suspended due to inadequate navigational facilities and a shallow channel.

Among the vessels scheduled to call at Mombasa between now and May include the Olivia, the Pacific Princess, the Rotterdam, the Universe Explorer, the Silver Wind, Astor, the Legend of the Seas and the Seaborne Spirit.

Zanzibar Crisis Troubles East African Lawyers

The East African Law Society (EALS) has called on the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), regional leaders and the international community to try and end the political crisis on Tanzania's federated islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.

EALS President, Kenya's Nzamba Kitinga, told journalists in Nairobi that the OAU and African leaders have a duty to bring to the turmoil to a peaceful end.

Kitiga called for the inclusion of a clause in the East African Community treaty grouping Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, to allow member States to intervene in such a crisis.

EALS said the OAU should send a team to Zanzibar to reconcile the warring parties and assess the extent of human displacement.

Some 30 people were reported killed and scores of others injured in recent clashes between Tanzanian police and demonstrators in Zanzibar and Pemba.

The protests were called by the opposition Civil United Front (CUF), which is mounting pressure on the government for a re-run of the 2000 poll on the island, which the party has dismissed as badly flawed.

Press reports say more than 420 people, including 14 opposition MPs and 10 Councillors have fled the islands and crossed by boat into Kenya, claiming insecurity of their lives.

Some were said to have bullet wounds, and have been admitted to hospitals in Kenya's coast region, while others are camped at the Indian Ocean port of Shimoni, near Kenya's sea gateway of Mobasa.

The displaced people are being catered for by the International Red Cross in collaboration with the Kenya government.

"The organisation of East African Lawyers is alarmed and outraged by the upsurge of political turbulence and violence in Zanzibar," Kitinga said.

The lawyers attributed the current political problems in Tanzania to what it called "outdated constitution and a national electoral commission controlled by the government."

"The time is ripe for the OAU to reclaim its leadership of the continent or forever remain a toothless bull-dog," Kitinga said.

He said the OAU Secretary-General, Salim Ahmed Salim, "being an East African, a Tanzanian and a Zanzibari, should marshal OAU instruments, including the African Commission, to speedily resolve the Zanzibar crisis.

"We expect the Secretary-General to act. This body (OAU) was established to listen to and to determine the citizens' human rights grievances against the African governments," he added.

Police Failed In Zanzibar

It was Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who, time and again, warned Tanzanians that if they did not guard their peace jealously, they could slide into the kind of chaos and violence that has bedevilled so many African countries.

Going by the police-civilian confrontations that left scores of people dead in Zanzibar last week, it is conceivable that that day has arrived and Tanzania can no longer pride itself as being an "island of peace" in an ocean of socio-political turbulence.

What is not conceivable is that Tanzanians are tired of peace and are curious for a taste of the death, injury, displacement suffered by people in countries like Somalia and Sierra Leone.

Most Tanzanians love peace and its gradual erosion is certainly a source of anxiety and anger.

While the Civic United Front (CUF) and the broader opposition camp are accused of being the spoilers, the police force has a case to answer.

Through over-reaction and lack of tact on the public-relations front, the police finds itself in the role of peace breacher rather than peace enforcer.

In the recent episode, the senseless deaths could have been avoided had the police not bungled its mission of professionally taming presumed troublemakers.

Most of the victims, all civilians but for the one policeman, were felled by live bullets. Live bullets are supposed to constitute the last resort - which the police, in self defence, are claiming was the case.

The explanation that those killed in Pemba were part of group that sought to capture police stations is shallow.

CUF had feverishly orchestrated the nation-wide demonstrations, which certainly produced intelligence reports that should have placed the police in a state of high alert. In the event, they seemed to be taken by surprise and reinforcements from the mainland were dispatched after the worst had happened.

The police claim that CUF was not sincere in its declared intention of holding peaceful demonstrations to press for a re-run of elections in Zanzibar, which it claims were flawed, as well as constitutional amendments to provide for fairer political competition.

But if the police had information that CUF was out to make trouble under cover of the rallies, how come they proved so ill-prepared to deal with the threat?

It is indeed curious that a statement issued by a police spokesman mentioned names of prominent CUF members who allegedly attended a meeting to map out strategies to disrupt peace. The logical move would have been to arrest and charge them.

On the public-relations front too, it doesn't help to state that fewer people died than the figures cited by some media outlets. In such circumstances, the death of even one individual is bad enough.

Denial of medical treatment in remand prison to individuals arrested on the mainland over the demonstrations led by CUF chairman Prof Ibrahim Lipumba is indefensible. A magistrate handling the case said as much.

In political competition, physical confrontations and even chaos generated by trouble makers can't be ruled out. The challenge that the state's security organs face is to triumph over such situations with minimum loss of life, injury or damage to property.

CUF public rally okayed

Wednesday, February 07, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

In Dar es Salaam, the police announced yesterday that CUF could go ahead with a public rally scheduled to take place at Jangwani grounds today.
The Dar es Salaam Regional Police Commander Alfred Gewe said that the members should not march in groups to the grounds. "That would amount to a demonstration. We have only allowed them to hold a meeting," the RPC stressed.
The CUF Chairman Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba said that the meeting would also be attended by chairmen of the Tanzania Labour Party, the United Democratic Party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo and NCCR-Mageuzi.

Investors Assured of Full Protection After Clashes in Zanzibar

DAR ES SALAAM, February 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Zanzibar government has assured foreign and local investors of full protection of their lives and properties following the recent political violence in the semiautonomous region, the independent Sunday Observer reported.
   Zanzibar's Minister for Tourism, Industries and Marketing Mohammed Aboud was quoted as saying on Saturday that investors should not worry about the situation as the government was taking care on their multimillion dollars projects and lives.
   The minister said the political situation in the isles region was not bad as such and accused the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) of clandestine campaigns to exaggerate the recent clashes between the opposition party supporters and the police, apparently to scare investors and sabotage the island's economic revival programs.
   His assurance came following the decisions by several airlines to halt their services in Zanzibar and cancellation of about 1,300 tourists who were about to arrive, causing a revenue loss of some 70 million shillings (about 87,500 U.S. dollars).
   The tourism and trade sectors, one of the Spice Isles' economic diversification programs following the collapse of cloves in the world market, have been recording dismal performance since the last general elections held in October 2000, which the CUF refused to accept the results, accusing the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM) of vote rigging.
   The Tanzanian government banned nationwide demonstrations that the opposition party had planned on last Saturday to demand a rerun of elections in Zanzibar. However, some of its supporters defied the ban, resulting in tense clashes with the police.
   According to official report, a total of 22 people, including one policeman, were killed in street fighting in the isles region.
   The CUF is Tanzania's main opposition party, but with the ruling party strong on the mainland, it has its power base in predominantly Muslim Zanzibar, which joined with then mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.

Police probing mysterious marks
on houses on Isles

Tuesday, February 06, 2001
By PST correspondent, Zanzibar

Police have launched an investigation on people who marked many houses in Kilimani Bondeni and Jang'ombe Urusi areas Zanzibar, threatening the lives of their occupants.
The head of the Criminal Investigation Department in Zanzibar, Ali Omar, said yesterday that the investigation was intended to establish the motive behind the red `X' marks painted on houses so that they could prevent any crime against innocent people.
Omar commended residents of the area for their decision to launch self-defence groups which patrol the streets at night, saying the move was crucial to deter any sabotage against them.
He urged members of the defence groups to co-operate with the police so that they could uncover people who were behind the mysterious exercise to mark the houses..
The members of the defence groups have told PST they patrol their streets in turns at night. Until yesterday they had not arrested anybody in connection with the marks.
Two CCM leaders in Jang'ombe area, Adiya Shehe and Mwanaisha Juma, said their houses were marked `X' last Thursday night by unidentified people.
Adiya said that they threatened to kill her because of what she described as political grounds. She said that a day after the January 27 Civic United Front demonstrations, a group of unknown people stoned threw stones at her house intending to hurt her.
She said she was saved by neighbours and reported the matter at the Jang'ombe Police Station.
Mwanaisha said she was worried by the `X' mark on her house especially because it was painted a few days after the CUF demonstrations.
The residents have commended the police for beefing up security in the area.
Commenting on the allegations, the CUF Coordinator for Zanzibar districts, Salum Dimani, said his party had nothing to do with the marks.
He said he was sure this was part of a smear campaign against CUF.
He said he had information that among marked houses were some which belonged to CUF supporters, particularly in Jang'ombe Urusi area.

Fourteen Tanzanian MPs flee to Kenya

Fourteen MPs and 10 councillors are among more than 420 Tanzanians who have fled to Kenya since violence erupted on the twin islands of Pemba and Zanzibar.

All from the main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF), they blamed the current problems facing Tanzania on an outdated constitution and an electoral commission controlled by the government.

One of the MPs, Mr Kombo Khamis Kombo, of Wingwi Constituency, on Pemba, called for an overhaul of the Tanzanian constitutions and an independent electoral commission.

The 14 MPs said they did not recognise the results of the recent General Election and demanded fresh polls.

The MPs are from both the House of Representatives – the parliament of Zanzibar – and the Tanzanian national parliament, but all are from the two islands.

"Although I contested the Wingwi parliamentary seat and was declared the winner by the electoral commission, I am not ready to take up that seat because I do not recognise those elections," Mr Kombo said.

Trouble on Pemba and Zanzibar started on Friday after the opposition CUF called for demonstrations to demand a rerun of last year's disputed elections.

The protests have reportedly claimed more than 30 lives. The worst-hit area was said to be Pemba, where witnesses said at least 20 people had been killed including four policemen.

The Tanzanians, who have camped at the seaside village of Shimoni, in Kwale District, said they were grateful to the Kenyan Government for giving them food and medication.

"We have also received tents and we are very grateful for these but we need mattresses, bed sheets and mosquito nets," one of them said.

The refugees said they would not return home and would instead seek political asylum in Kenya if the persecution of opposition supporters continued.

New arrivals described the situation in Pemba as terrible, saying opposition supporters had been forced to seek refuge in forests to escape from the police.

"State security personnel are rounding up CUF supporters from their homes and subjecting them to torture before locking them in police cells and prison," one claimed.

New arrivals also said the government had made it difficult for more people to flee by throwing a security cordon around the Pemba channel and using the navy to pursue those trying to leave.

The problems had arisen, claimed Mr Kombo, because the constitutions of both Zanzibar and the mainland were tailored to suit single-party government , he said, calling for their overhaul.

"Only sections of the constitutions were changed after the introduction of multi-partyism and now we want their total overhaul," he added.

The new constitution should give Zanzibar powers to have its own security system, a central government and a military force.

The 13 MPs in addition to Mr Kombo are: Omar Juma Omar (representing Pandani), Saidi Ali Mbaruk (Gando), Khalifa Suleiman Khalifa (Gando-Wete), Hamisi Ali Saleh (Mgogoni), Salim Yusuf Mohammed (Pandani), Khalifa Mohammed Issa (Mtambwe), Salim Abdalla (Mtambwe), Mwadini Abbas Jecha (Utaani-Wete), Salim Omar (Tumbe), Khatibu Hamadi Shehe (Tumbe-Micheweni), Miraji Ramdhan Hariri (Konde), Mchande Salim Mchande (Konde) and Mohammed Ali Said (Wingwi).

Economy in the firing line of Tanzanian turmoil

AS THE world's business and political leaders listened to Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa making a case against the inequities of globalisation in Davos a week ago, back home the opposition was preparing the latest protest in its campaign of challenging the legitimacy of his leadership.

At the weekend, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) organised protests to demand a re-run of last year's elections in Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous island state of Tanzania. The protest turned ugly and violence ensued. The CUF says as many as 280 people, mostly its supporters, may have been killed by law enforcement agencies since Saturday. It says some were killed while trying to flee to Kenya when their boats were fired upon. The police, who also suffered some casualties, dispute the figures.

Zanzibar is a tiny place that would ordinarily not make headline news outside Tanzania's borders. Yet the hardline approach of the police force has catapulted this island state into the news. Coming just a month after the death in prison of nearly 100 mainly opposition prisoners in a Mozambican jail, such headlines serve only to further tarnish the region's image in the eyes of investors.

For the island's economy, the consequences of the violence are likely to be deadly. In the best of times, Zanzibar receives nearly 1bn in tourist receipts.

The troubles in Zanzibar have also placed question marks over Mkapa, widely seen as one of the fashionable "new breed" of African leaders. The clashes also represent a sad indictment of the region's political leadership.

The origins of this week's violence can be traced to last October's elections in the union. While polling continued relatively smoothly on the mainland safely returning Mkapa and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to office the same could not be said of voting in Zanzibar.

Many observers of the elections, including the Southern African Development Community's (SADC's) parliamentary forum and the Commonwealth, criticised the chaos and called for fresh voting.

Apart from the sheer incompetence of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), allegations of rigging and other irregularities were made. In some cases, voting opened late after the disappearance of election officials. In some stations underaged children voted.

Under such circumstances, new elections were demanded by all monitors and the opposition in the island state. Observers, including the SADC, recommended the restructuring of the ZEC.

However, the authorities only agreed to a partial rerun of elections: that is, new polling in only 16 of the 50 constituencies.

Angered by the rejection of its demands, the opposition boycotted the fresh polling, which resulted in a victory for the CCM.

Since then, the CUF has embarked on a campaign of protests to press for new elections. So why not just call new elections and, hopefully, end the violence? Clearly, new elections will be costly. Yet donors, who provide almost $1bn, should be willing to finance them.

There are other reasons for this reluctance, one of which is the precedent this would set in the region. The other, and the most serious, appears rather peculiar to Tanzanian politics.

During the campaign the CUF, whose supporters are mainly Muslim, made it clear it wanted to "restructure the union" forged by Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's respected leader who died in 1999.

The union's president also presides over Zanzibar. The centre decides on key issues of the economy and politics.

Some analysts caution against making too much of the secessionist theory. The same care should be exercised in talking about the clashes as being religious in nature. This is dangerous.

The fact that the Islamic faith tends to be deeply misunderstood could scare away badly needed investors and donors from the union.

The CUF will not stop its protests until elections it hopes to win are called. More protests will see Mkapa's legitimacy in Zanzibar growing more tenuous.

A spokesman for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who chairs the SADC's organ for defence, politics and security, says the organ is intended to address interstate conflicts such as the one in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also, the national sovereignty principle stops other states from intervening in the affairs of others.

A similar hand-wringing seems to have been adopted by other multilateral bodies like the Organisation for African Unity. The European Union has, however, condemned the excessive force used by the security agencies.

Clearly, the problem in Zanzibar is political. No amount of force will silence the voices of dissent.

If he is to salvage his reputation Mkapa must, at the least, probe the killings and catch the perpetrators.

It is time for those who care about human rights and good governance, like SA and Nigeria, to tell Mkapa to engage in serious political dialogue with all parties in the island state. If he delays further, his legitimacy and status as a model African leader will disappear. And so will invitations to such esteemed get-togethers as Davos.

Isn't it time Tanzania rethought its union?

Commentary
Sunday, February 4, 2001

The idea was once considered taboo. Perhaps not any longer. As waves of unprecedented political upheavals engulf the once tranquil isles of Zanzibar and Pemba, more and more people are beginning to ask: Is Tanzania's hallowed Unity constitution absolutely inviolate? Isn't it time, maybe, for a rethink?

On January 26, policemen mercilessly broke up rallies in Zanzibar and Pemba organised by the Civic United Front, the political movement challenging Chama Cha Mapinduzi's stranglehold on power on the isles. Sixteen people were shot dead when police opened fire on the demonstrators. CUF chairman Ibrahim Lipumba suffered a broken left arm by being whacked by the police. He was then promptly locked up.

Kenyans woke up to scenes of terrified Zanzibaris fleeing the isles for the relative safety of Msambweni, on the South Coast. They came in canoes and makeshift boats, most with nothing other than the clothes they were in. Some had gunshot wounds. All narrated shocking tales of an island homeland going to the dogs.

This is not the image Kenya and the world got about Tanzania. For good reason, Tanzania has long enjoyed the reputation of being among Africa's most stable states politically. The mess in Zanzibar is quite needlessly soiling this reputation.

The CUF is an umbrella for activists of all manner and persuasions. There are the straightforward sort. They have no major quarrel with the Tanzanian constitution per se. They believe there is room in this arrangement for political plurality and for the CCM's power to be opposed in a peaceful and constitutional way, as the CUF says it is doing in Zanzibar and Pemba.

But the ascendant strain in the CUF is for a basic overhaul of the Union constitution to create three autonomous governments as opposed to the present two: one for Zanzibar, a second for Tanganyika (the mainland) and an Union umbrella. The current arrangement has the Union government under President Ben Mkapa, and a semi-autonomous administration for Zanzibar and Pemba, headed by President Amani Karume of the CCM.

Though many Zanzibaris will not listen to it, an enviable share of power is reserved for the isles under the Union arrangement. Where the Union President is from the mainland, like Mr Mkapa is, his first vice-president must come from the isles. This arrangement is tailored to guarantee that a Zanzibari succeeds a mainlander in high office, as Mr Ali Hassan Mwinyi did when founding father Julius Nyerere stepped down.

It is also true that the isles enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the circumstances. Where security, intelligence and immigration come under the ambit of the Union government, Zanzibar takes care of its other affairs, such as the courts and the ports administration.

But, as the cloud hanging over the isles has darkened, a loony fringe has emerged which wants no less than reversion to the old days of the Sultanate, abolished in the revolution of 1964. This fringe is especially manifest in Pemba, with her large population of Arab descent. Disturbingly, it is also associated with calls for Sharia law over the islands, a development the Union's judicial system would not countenance.

Pemba, in fact, is the epicentre of the raging dispute for other reasons. The island, though it produces the bulk of the cloves on which Zanzibar's prosperity rests, is poorer and less developed than Unguja (the Swahili name for Zanzibar proper). Inevitably, deep discontent in Pemba has emerged over what the islanders consider to be wilful neglect and marginalisation by the CCM overlords in the islands.

To its discredit, the CCM has badly bungled the situation on the isles. A problem that could have been managed more peacefully and with a surer political touch has been allowed to fester into an outright political crisis. For starters, the October elections on the isles, pitting the CCM against the CUF, were a total sham. Just about every observer agrees the Tanzanian authorities should not have given a seal of approval to those elections.

The Mkapa government needs to calmly face up to the fact that the CCM's popularity in Zanzibar has been greatly eroded. It is pointless for the authorities to keep trying to ram into Zanzibari throats something they clearly do not like. Rather than react creatively to the demand for separatism that has been simmering since the 80s, Dar es Salaam and its CCM pointment in Zanzibar have resorted to crude repression. That's the mistake.

There is the legitimate question, of course, which Dar es Salaam is raising about national security and the imperative of ensuring that the Union endures, come what come may.

It would be helpful, all the same, for the CCM government to reflect back on how this Union came about in the first place. The circumstances of that time have since then greatly altered to the extent that a demand to disengage should no longer be looked at as high treason.

There was nothing preordained about this Union. It simply happened because Nyerere decided, in the aftermath of the 1964 Zanzibari revolution, to move in to lock Zanzibar into Tanganyika's embrace as a way of ensuring the isles did not fall into the hands of revolutionary extremists, as was feared.

That revolution, which overthrew the Sultanate, was the work of the Afro-Shirazi movement, in alliance with one John Okello, a colourful Ugandan "revolutionary" of murky pedigree who was later locked up in a mainland jail before eventually disappearing into Idi Amin's domain and into history. In 1972 the Afro-Shirazi Party, under Sheikh Abedi Karume, father of the present president, was coaxed into a merger with Nyerere's Tanu to form the CCM.

At the time of the Zanzibari uprising, the Cold War was at its height and the West was in a fit that Zanzibar should not turn out to be the Cuba of Eastern Africa. Much as Nyerere was to become idolised by leftist ideologues in Africa, his act of engineering this Union was a major favour for which the West remained eternally grateful.

Times, of course, have changed. The notion of Zanzibar being the staging ground for instability across the mainland sounds somewhat ridiculous today. Zanzibar is too puny compared with the mainland's combined might. Besides, it is so closely tied culturally and linguistically to the mainland, especially the coastal part, that it cannot afford to stray too far way independently, Union or no Union.

Neither will the world cave in on Dar es Salaam if Zanzibar and Pemba were allowed to come under an administration other than the CCM. If you isolate the pro-Sultanate potheads and the Islamic and racist extremists in the CUF, you are left with an outfit like any of the other parties Tanzania has allowed to be registered – one that's responsible, moderate and, as is the CUF case, committed to the welfare of the isles.

Understandably, the idea of a complete break is considered unthinkable by the Dar es Salaam government. So be it. But a federation or, even looser, a confederation, if managed well, might not be such a dreadful prospect. After all, if somebody like Mikhail Gorbachev could contemplate a break-up of the monolith we knew as the Soviet Union, what makes the Tanzanians in their little corner think their Union will never require some tinkering?

Tanzanian Diplomats to Be Protected Against Attack

The Tanzanian government has assured all Tanzanians posted at its 27 diplomatic missions abroad that they will be protected against attacking threats issued by an alleged terrorist group calling itself Zanzibar Liberation Front.
   The group was reported to have issued threats to attack Tanzania embassies abroad in the near future after the demonstrators supporting the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) failed to take charge of several police stations in the semiautonomous Zanzibar region last weekend.
   Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hassan Kibelloh said in a statement issued on Thursday that the government and the receiving countries abroad have already taken necessary measures to protect Tanzanian diplomats there.
   The statement said that several days after the demonstrators failed to capture police stations in an act which resulted in clashes with police and deaths of 22 people, the government has been informed of threats by the terrorist group intending to attack Tanzanian diplomats and embassies in Europe, the United States and the Far East region in the near future.
   "It should be remembered that the arm of the law is long particularly now when the entire world is jointly fighting international terrorism," it added.
   According to a report by the government, a total of 22 people were killed, including one policeman, and 82 others injured during the Zanzibar violence between protesters and policemen after the CUF mobilized its supporters to take part in protest demonstrations to demand a rerun of disputed elections in Zanzibar last year

Tanzania's president offers talks but no poll rerun

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (Reuters) -- Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Saturday offered talks to end a political crisis on the Zanzibar islands but he rejected opposition demands for a rerun of disputed elections there.

Dozens of people were killed on Zanzibar last weekend in violent clashes between Tanzanian security forces and members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

The CUF wants greater powers for the semi-autonomous Zanzibar isles and wants a repeat of last October's elections, which they claim were stolen from them by Mkapa's ruling party.

In his national address on state radio and television on Saturday evening, Mkapa called for talks with the CUF.

"We are willing as a government and as a party to talk to the CUF. We have extended an arm of goodwill which they have rejected but we will not give up," Mkapa said, although he insisted he would not back down to its demands.

"Their demands for fresh elections are baseless...There is no legal reason why the Zanzibar elections should be repeated."

Zanzibar has been in turmoil since 1995, when Tanzania's first multi-party elections were marred by widespread irregularities on the "spice islands." CUF said the elections were stolen then and again in October.

Last weekend's violence has been described as the worst since Zanzibar joined with mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.

Mkapa's government and security forces drew widespread criticism from Western donors for their handling of the CUF protests. Some donors threatened to cut aid to Tanzania, one of the world's poorest countries.

"I despise this aid stick that is dangled to us like small children. I have been one of the few leaders in Africa who have endeavored to promote democracy and human rights," he said.

"Now, after defending the peace and security of my country we are threatened with aid cuts...Better to be poor and free than rich and a slave."

5 MPs flee violence in Zanzibar

Six Zanzibari opposition parliamentarians have fled to neighbouring Kenya claiming their lives were in danger after last week’s clashes with police, they said Friday.

The politicians, members of the Civic United Front (CUF), told AFP here that state security agents had hounded them off their island.

Police on Zanzibar and its sister island Pemba last Saturday fired live rounds at CUF demonstrators calling for a rerun of elections held last year and widely deemed to have been undemocratic.

At least 33 people, including six policemen, were killed at the weekend. The CUF puts the total death toll at more than 200.

"We are calling upon the United Nations to pressurise Tanzania and call for a rerun of the flawed polls," said Miraji Ramadhan Hariri, member for Konde on Pemba island.

"Now is the time for the international community to intervene and save us from this anarchy."

Hariri, together with Khalifa Suleiman Khalifa, Shoka Khamis Juma, Salim Omar Ali and Khamis Ali, arrived at Shimoni on Thursday.

Mr Mchande Salim, the Civic United Front (CUF) MP for Gonde Constituency, Pemba Island, was among more than 50 refugees who arrived at the Shimoni port yesterday morning.

They are among more than 200 Zanzibaris to have fled to Kenya. Many of the refugees have been admitted to hospital with bullet wounds.

Also Friday, local imams delivered a protest note to the Tanzanian consular official here.

"The eruption of violence in Pemba and Zanzibar is a well-calculated scheme by the Tanzanian authorities to silence those agitating for self-rule," they said in the note handed over to the envoy, Joseph Moshi.

"The most illustrative aspect of these sad events is the use of non-Muslim militia from the mainland to maim and kill Muslims on the islands," the note said.

More Tanzanians fleeing violence in the twin islands of Pemba and Zanzibar arrived in the country on Thursday and yesterday, bringing the number of refugees to 200.

The Tanzanians, who arrived in six boats, have camped at the seaside village of Shimoni, Kwale District.

They yesterday sent out an impassioned plea for humanitarian assistance, especially bedding and mosquito nets.

"Although we are very grateful to the Kenya Government, which is currently providing us with food, medicines and accommodation, we are sleeping on the floor without mattresses or bed sheets," Mr Osman Hamisi said.

The Tanzanians indicated that they would seek political asylum in Kenya if persecution against opposition supporters back home continued. The Government is providing them with medical services at a Shimoni dispensary.

On Wednesday, the head of the Logistics Centre at the ICRC in Nairobi, Mr Thomas Riess, visited the area and donated medical supplies worth more than Sh35,000 to Msambweni District Hospital, where some of the refugees are admitted with bullet wounds.

Mr Riess said the International Committee of the Red Cross will liaise with the Government to assist the Tanzanians with food, shelter, clothing and medicines.

Kwale police boss Dominic Mutevu confirmed that 90 more Tanzanians arrived in Kenya on Thursday.

Mr Mutevu said 173 of the Tanzanians were camping at Shimoni town, 13 others are admitted to the Msambweni District Hospital while others are staying with relatives in Mombasa town.

"All boats operating at the Pemba port have been seized and captains of vessels that transported those who have fled into Kenya were rounded up and tortured," one of the Tanzanians said.

And some of the Tanzanians yesterday said they would contemplate seeking political asylum if they are going to be subjected to harassment by their Government.

The fleeing Tanzanians said their Government had made it difficult for them to seek medical attention through arbitrary arrests and confinement.

"Although we are willing to return the Government has vowed to ensure that all people who took part in the CUF demonstrations that resulted in violence are going to be prosecuted," one of them said.

Trouble in the Islands of Pemba and Zanzibar started on Friday after the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) called for demonstrations to demand a re-run of disputed elections in Zanzibar last year.

The protests have reportedly claimed more than 30 lives and the worst hit area was said to be Pemba where witnesses said at least 20 people had been killed including four policemen.

Zanzibar Free Port picks up tempo

By Fakih Yussuf, Zanzibar
February 03, 2001

The tempo of operations at the Zanzibar Free port is picking up, as the first foreign company registers to start operations, Financial Times has learnt.
The Director General of the Zanzibar Free Port Authority (ZFPA), Mr Ahmed Shehe Ahmed, told this paper that a United Arab Emirate company, Al-Zawawi Enterprises Ltd, has been registered, and will start operations soon, joining four local companies already utilising the free port facility.
Al-Zawawi will be selling imported cars from Japan. The proprietors have already acquired a carpark at Mfuchani, an area formerly used for poultry farming by SUKITA, as well as a show-room at Malindi in a building formerly owned by the Zanzibar State Automobile Corporation.
Al-Zawawi is based in Dubai, and owned by Omanese entrepreneurs.
The other four local players, three of which are from Tanzania mainland, started operations late last year, he said.

Killings in Zanzibar hit hard at tourism
* Tour agents intend to move to Dar

Saturday, February 03, 2001
By Ali Mkoreha and Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar

Tourism in Zanzibar has been hit hard by last week's clashes between the police and opposition protesters in the Isles where more than 20 people were killed.
More than two airlines, which were ferrying tourists from Europe to Zanzibar have halted services citing security reasons.
The airlines include EUROFLY and Air Europa which were flying into Zanzibar some 260 tourists. They were making five flights a week.
The station head of EUROFLY and Air Europa, Zanzibar zone, Hassan Garib, confirmed the airlines had halted the services since last Tuesday.
He said this was denying the Zanzibar government a lot of foreign exchange. Each flight was bringing in some 13,000 dollars being taxes and payment of other airport services.
"To date, 1,300 tourists who had planned to visit Zanzibar last week cancelled their flights. Instead the planes came to Zanzibar to fly out those who were already on the isles," he said.
The companies were inquiring about the security at the Zanzibar airport.
"I have been telling them the situation is calm and that they can resume services. We request the government to officially declare the current state of affairs so that we can conclude the tourist season well," he stressed.
The current tourist season expects to end next month.
He said that there were unconfirmed reports that some European Union members have advised their citizens to "stay away from Zanzibar until the situation returns normal."
Information from tours companies indicates that the political situation on the isles is seriously threatening the development of the tourist sector.
Officials from companies at Malindi in Zanzibar, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in just one week the tourist trade had declined to the extent the companies had no business.
"Incoming tourists are very few for fear of their safety," one official said.
He claimed that some companies intended close shop in Zanzibar and move to Dar es Salaam.
"We have to take note that Zanzibar's economy now depends heavily on tourism," he noted.
Adjourning the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha told foreign investors that the political situation in Zanzibar was calm.

Mkapa image tarnished

The savage repression of supporters of the Civic United Front (CUF, opposition) by the Zanzibar police during banned demonstrations last weekend (22 to 32 people killed) confirms the uncompromising attitude of Zanzibar’s president, Amani Abeid Karume, towards the opposition. But it also tarnishes the image of the president of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, who didn’t bother to interrupt his trip to Switzerland. The repression incited the CUF to campaign (both internally and abroad) for the suspension of international aid to Zanzibar and presented the lawyers of associations with a good excuse for challenging the legality of the police action. The government justifies its action by pointing to the Political Parties Act (PPA). So argued prime minister Frederick Sumaye, when he declared that CUF demonstrations were illegal, and the state minister for information, Omari Maputi, when he justified the police action against the demonstrators.

Indeed, the PPA, which was introduced by the government along with the multiparty system in 1992 to limit the range of action of the new political parties, stipulates that any public gathering requires the prior authorization of the District Commissioner. In addition, the colonial edict of 1953 requiring a police permit for any gathering has never been revoked and is still in force. But these arguments are challenged by a number of lawyers and by Dar es-Salaam University’s Legal Aid Committee, whose president, professor Chris Peter, holds that the right to free assembly is guaranteed in the Constitution. Especially in view of the fact there exists a precedent, namely a case opposing Christopher Mltikila and the Attorney General in 1993, which went before the high court. The laws of 1992 and 1953 were judged incompatible with the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution in 1984 and Judge Lugakingira brought in a verdict that left no room for doubt. He affirmed that "the requirement for a permit is unconstitutional and void" and that to organize a gathering or a demonstration, it is sufficient to inform the police by letter and send a copy thereof to the District Commissioner. It is a case which the government never appealed.

Violence scares tourists away from Zanzibar

February 02 2001 at 09:53AM

Zanzibar, Tanzania - Zanzibar's spectacular beaches, world-class scuba diving and the narrow, winding streets of its ancient Stone Town have driven a huge expansion of its tourism industry in the past decade.

But just three days of violence last weekend have already dented revenues and raised fears that the years of hard work will be wasted unless a political crisis on the Indian Ocean "spice islands" is resolved.

Dozens of people were feared dead after Tanzanian police clashed with opposition activists who want greater independence from the mainland for the semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands.

The impact on the tourism industry was immediate.

Tour operators here say they have been swamped with cancellations this week, charter flights carrying European tourists to the islands are being scrapped and cruise ships are suspending plans to call at the islands.

Some hotels are said to be considering closing down for a couple of months as bookings plummet.

With the US and some European governments warning their citizens not to travel to Zanzibar, operators say they have no choice but to recommend that customers make alternative plans.

"It ties our hands as operators because we can not, and should not, bring people to the islands if the travel advisories say not to," said Graham Wood, operations manager at Ocean Tours in the historic Zanzibar town.

Ironically, the main Zanzibar island of Unguja has already returned to normal and tourists here believe it to be one of the safest holiday destinations in Africa.

"There are more police than last time but, apart from that, it seems as calm as ever," said Ruth James, on her third Tanzanian safari and beach holiday from New York.

But the worst of last weekend's violence came on the smaller island of Pemba, the stronghold of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), and tension is still high there.

Pemba boasts idyllic beaches, lush forests and pristine coral reefs and its tourism industry has huge potential.

Philip Mason operates two yachts on the northern end of the island, bringing in tourists for diving holidays. He believes Pemba is one of the world's last unspoiled islands but says the recent violence has already killed his business for this year.

"I might as well pull up anchor and leave. There is something about African politics that just scares European tourists," he said, adding it would take months before his customers would again consider travelling to Pemba even if there are no further clashes.

"It is like a reputation: it takes a lifetime to earn it but you can lose it in a second."

The number of tourists visiting Zanzibar has jumped from 42 000 in 1990 to over 97 000 last year. - Reuters

Demo in Isles not treasonable crime

Friday, February 02, 2001
By Mwinyi Sadallah, PST, Zanzibar.

The demonstration staged last week by Civic United Front, during which 22 persons were killed, had nothing to do with any move to overthrow the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government, the Zanzibar Attorney General, Iddi Pandu Hassan, stated yesterday.
He said the circumstances surrounding last Saturday's CUF demonstration, declared as illegal by the government, should be treated as an ordinary crime and those involved cannot be charged with treason.
The Zanzibar AG was reacting to remarks made by some members of the House of Representatives who claimed that the procession was just a smoke screen of a more serious attempt to overthrow President Amani Abeid Karume from power.
Pandu said according to the Constitution it was impossible to commit treason against the Zanzibar government because it was part of the United Republic of Tanzania.
So, any claims of a plot to overthrow the Zanzibar government had no any legal weight.

The Donge Representative and former minister for planning and investment, Ali Juma Shamhuna (CCM), had alleged in the House on Wednesday that CUF supporters had wanted to overthrow the Zanzibar government.
Shamhuna had claimed in the House, attended only by CCM legislators because of the CUF boycott, that the attack on police stations by CUF members aimed at grabbing guns to topple the government.
Contributing to a private motion tabled by Ambassador Ahmed Hassan Diria who called on the Registrar of Political Parties to check whether CUF could be de-registered, Shamhuna claimed success in grabbing firearms could have led to the butchering of people.
However, Pandu emphasised yesterday that the demonstration fell under the category of ordinary crimes and not treason.
He said even the ruling in the treason case against 18 CUF members said treason could not be committed in Zanzibar.
Although every person was free to express his feelings, the government would continue to treat the incident just like other crimes taking place on the isles, Pandu said.
The government put the number of people killed in the demonstration at 22, including a policeman, 80 were injured and 203 people were arrested and taken to court in Pemba and Unguja islands.

Meanwhile, life is coming back to normal in Zanzibar island after the commotion which was sparked by the demonstrations. Some people are busy looking for their missing relatives.
They are calling on the government to release the names of people who were killed or are missing.
A survey conducted by PST in Zanzibar discovered people sipping coffee in several places which were deserted for about a week. There is an increasing number of pedestrians.
Although attendance in mosques is on the increase, only a small number of people attend morning and evening prayers. The people seem to be still afraid.
Reports reaching here from Pemba indicate that more children now go to school and more adults are doing routine work.

Zanzibar minister seeks to reassure investors, tourists

Tourists and investors should have no fears about coming to Zanzibar, the island state's minister for tourism said Friday, speaking in the wake of deadly clashes between police and opposition supporters.

"Investors should not be worried about the situation in the isles after last Saturday's clashes, it is under control," Mohamed Aboud Mohamed said in reference to violence that claimed some 33 lives in the semi-automous Tanzanian state.

Addressing a meeting of foreign investors, the minister said some tourists had cancelled plans to visit Zanzibar and its sister island Pemba, although he gave no figures.

"The Government will do its best to send true information about Zanzibar. We are very peaceful and we need tourists to come without any fear, and you investors should not get worried," Mohamed said.

While calm has largely returned to both islands, armed police still patrol the streets and Zanzibaris who fled by boat to nearby Kenya have spoken of continuing harassment by security forces, especially on Pemba.

Zanzibar Killings Ending Of Tanzanians' Peace Heritage, Says Nyerere Foundation

The Mwalim Nyerere Foundation, an organization founded by the former Tanzania's President, late Julius Kambarage Nyerere, for among others, working on human rights and socio-economic development in Southern Africa, has condemned the security forces for its brutality against civilians in last Saturday's riots in which several people were killed by the security forces.

The foundation said yesterday that the killings could be a signal of the beginning of the end of Tanzanians' greatest heritage, peace.

In his statement issued here yesterday, Joseph Butiku the foundation's executive director said security forces were supposed to protect Tanzanians and their property stressing further that the law enforcers knew that they were not permitted to beat up civilians who are their parents, brothers and sisters. The clash between policemen and civilian erupted when members of the opposition party, Civic United Front (CUF) was on their official demonstrations to among others, demand a rerun of elections for Zanzibar and amendments of the Union constitutions. Police reports indicate that 22 people died during the rally as CUF say death tolls has increased to 300.

"The confrontation is a big shame to the government, nation, all political parties and all Tanzanians at large," Butiku said in a statement. He said the security forces are supposed to respect human dignity knowing that the dignity of the Tanzanians depends on their respect they are given by fellow human beings including the police. Condemning the entire Friday and Saturday bloodshed, the foundation said that this could be a sign of the beginning of the end of Tanzania's great heritage, peace.

The Legal Aid Committee of the Faculty of Law of the University of Dar Es Salaam has strongly and unreservedly condemned on what it calls "the senseless" killings of members and supporters of the CUF in the Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba by the members of the Tanzania Police. The killings, the Committee says in a statement issued here yesterday, took place in the process of their exercise of their democratic and constitutional right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed in the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977.

"The Committee equally condemns the arrest, harassment, torture, injury and incarceration of the leaders, members and supporters of the Civic United Front (CUF) in Dar Es Salaam on 26th January, 2001 for exercising their constitutional and democratic right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed in the Constitution of the land. Freedom and Right of Peaceful Assembly, " they says noting, " The freedom and right of peaceful assembly is a right which is recognized and guaranteed by all democratic and civilized nations and the international community as a whole. It is thus found in all important international conventions."

Explaining further, the Committee says further that the rights violated include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (Article 20), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 (Article 21), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 (Article 11) all of which Tanzania is a signatory.

It says that the current behavior of the police indicates that all that has been done has been a waste of time and resources, which would have been utilized more usefully elsewhere. " We Should Agree to Disagree without Resort to Violence. The Committee reiterates its position that use of force is uncivilized and out of date. It is a big shame that while the police force is armed to the teeth with the most modern instruments of murder, our hospitals have no medicine and our schools have no desks and teachers go for months without salaries," it says, noting "While FFU drive brand new armored Land Rovers, the majority of our hospitals are without ambulances!"

The Committee says that the current priorities cannot be right, adding that political problems can never be resolved by use of force and military might in a democratic society which respects rule of law. " We need to go into the roots of the problems facing us and seek a solution from there in a civilized manner. We must develop and internalize a culture of agreeing to disagree without resort to violence, " they says. The Committee says that killing, harassment, torture; intimidation has never been a solution to political problems. At most, they only harden the resolve to struggle for justice, they add.

The condemnation by the Legal Aid Committee comes when President Benjamin Mkapa has, according to a statement issued here yesterday, promoted 14 police officers including those who stumped Saturday's CUF demonstrations. They include police officers in Zanzibar and the statement could not explain further on a decision to announce the promotions at a time when various human rights bodies criticize the police forces for its recent brutality.

TLS wants probe on
weekend demo, killings

Thursday, February 01, 2001
By Simon Kivamwo, PST

The Tanzania Law Society (TLS) yesterday said it was appalled by last weekend's lawlessness and violence which resulted in mass arrests, injuries and killings and has called for an immediate formation of a commission of inquiry
"In order to regain the confidence of the people and to restore the democratic governance which is now wanted, TLS calls for urgent formation of a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the police brutality and massive violation of human rights which took place last weekend," TLS president Bahame Nyanduga said yesterday in a statement.
According to the president, the excessive use of force by police to quell what appeared to be peaceful demonstrations, was contrary to the provisions of the constitutions, which guarantee free speech and freedom of assembly.
He said, the constitution of Tanzania guarantee the exercise of civil liberties and enjoyment of fundamental freedoms such as the right to speech, freedom of association and the right of holding of different political views.
According to Nyanduga, the police are under a legal obligation to protect life and property, "and not to take part in partisan political propaganda...."
"Last weekend's events show that the government had failed in the ultimate test of good governance and was slowly marching into the darkness of dictatorship and the militarisation of politics," he said.
TLS said last weekend's events ware the aftermath of the irresponsible advocacy of use of force either through the so called "jino kwa jino" or "ngunguri" against "ngangari".
TLS also called upon CUF leadership to stop forthwith the use of intimidation incitement and disobedience of authority which was likely to cause breach of peace and pursue all their grievances through legal channels.

Mkapa blames press for distorting
facts on killings

Thursday, February 01, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

President Benjamin William Mkapa has defended his government over killings in Zanzibar saying there was no alternative considering the circumstances prevailing at the time.
Speaking in an interview with Hard Talk programme of the BBC which was aired by Channel 10 of DTV yesterday, Mkapa said the killings were prompted by the opposition who defied a lawful government order not to hold the rallies.
He said that the number of people who had died was 17 and among them was a policeman. "The number of persons who died is 17, not `dozens' and among them are policemen... Do you want to say the police shot themselves?"
Mkapa blamed press reports which claimed that dozens of people had been killed on the isles.
He said that the reports which were broadcast by different radio and television stations were false because they were not confirmed by the government.
"There is a government on the isles. Go to them to get the correct reports... You got the information about dozens of people because you did not ask," he said.
He also blasted some ambassadors accredited to Tanzania who, he said, departed from their normal duties to defend anything claimed by the opposition.
"They are here to defend the opposition not the government... To them anything said by the opposition is correct.... This is contrary to the Geneva Convention," he said.
On the indication that donors might withdraw their assistance, Mkapa said aid helped to boost development but without it a country would still develop albeit at a slower pace.
He said that if donors decided to withdraw assistance to Tanzania they could do so because it was their decision to help or not to help.
"The decision to help or not is theirs, not ours," Mkapa said.
Mkapa reiterated that the last general elections were free and fair. The reports of election monitors were incorrect because they were in the country for only three weeks while preparations for the elections took much longer.
Considering the duration they stayed in the country, they were not competent enough to conclude that the elections were not free and fair, he said.

Terrorist attacks to Tanzania's embassies abroad?

Last night the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation said a terrorist group, calling itself Zanzibar Liberation Front, is threatening to attack Tanzania's embassies and high commissions in Europe, the United States of America and far East soon.
The Ministry statement said that the Government was warning those who intended to attack the embassies for the whole world was against terrorism and the arm of the Tanzanian government was also long.

Police say they were defending
themselves in Pemba

Thursday, February 01, 2001
By Ramadhani Kabale

The police force has once again defended its alleged excessive use of force in the last week political clashes in Zanzibar where 22 people died, saying it had no alternative but firing at the opposition protesters.
The head of operations and training in the force, Commissioner of Police Laurian Tibasana, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday the police had to shoot after demonstrators carrying stones, machetes and clubs headed towards three police stations intending to capture them.
"So we had no alternative but to protect our positions at any cost," he told the press at the Maelezo auditorium in the city.
His remarks came in the wake of a controversy on the number of people who were killed in the clashes. The government says only 22 people died but international media agencies put the number to about 40.
CP Tibasana said the police fired in the air and at the legs of the demonstrators only to find later that some people were lying in pools of blood dead.
On the deaths in Mjini Magharib District, he denied police intended to kill CUF members and said the killing happened accidentally after CUF members surrounded policemen on patrol and attempted to snatch their guns.
"In Mkunguni and Mwembetanga suburbs in Mjini Magharib District, CUF members at different times surrounded our men on patrol, creating physical confrontation whereby individual CUF members were pitted against individual policeman attempting to snatch guns the police were carrying," CP Tibasana said.
Tibasana who echoed the government statement that only 22 CUF members were killed, insisted that the force should not be blamed for what happened in Zanzibar. He pointed an accusing finger at CUF leaders.
"CUF leadership is to blame for what happened in Wete, Micheweni, Chakechake and Urban-West District where demonstrators were shot. The leaders incited members to attack policemen," he said.

CUF demo intended to overthrow
Zanzibar govt, say House reps

, February 01, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Many members of the House of Representatives in Zanzibar said yesterday that demonstration staged by the opposition Civic United Front last week was intended to overthrow the revolutionary government.
Contributing to a private motion, tabled in the House by Ambassador Ahmed Hassan Diria, some representatives charged that move by CUF members to invade police stations was intended to grab weapons.
Once the CUF members obtained the guns they would have easily toppled the government, they said.
A Donge Representative, Juma Ali Shamhuna, said that statements made by CUF leaders that the demonstration would be peaceful were false because the demonstrators were armed with guns, pangas and stones.
The CUF demonstrators had already been trained militarily to carry out their plan to overthrow the Zanzibar government. Luckily the plan aborted.
"If the demonstrators succeeded to grab firearms from police stations, we could be butchered like chicken, similar to that policeman on Pemba island who was hacked to death," Shamhuna charged.
The Mlandege Representative, Kamal Basha Pandu, called on the government to investigate leaders who charged that the Police Force used excessive force against demonstrators.
And the Raha Leo Representative, Hafidh Ally said that CUF intended to make the shaky economy of Zanzibar worse.
He charged that all youths who took part in the demonstration last Saturday were each paid 3,000/- by CUF.
He produced a letter which he said was being circulated by CUF in Zanzibar, asking Moslems to unite to ensure that the CUF national chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, would not be killed.
Ally quoted the letter as saying: "It is high time Moslems united like Palestinians to ensure that justice and human rights are observed in Zanzibar."
He claimed that CUF's "new friend is now the international terrorist, Osama bin Laden, who bombed US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi."
Ambassador Diria called on the Registrar of Political
Parties, George Liundi, to check whether CUF could be de-registered.

Government, Opposition Differ On Zanzibar's Riots Death Tolls

The opposition party, Civic United Front (CUF) whose supporters were the most hit in the last week's riots is claiming that police had killed 300 residents as the government maintain that the death toll is so far 22 only.

CUF said in a statement released yesterday that the latest information received shows 245 people were killed in Pemba, 53 in Unguja, two in Dar Es Salaam and 13 police officers a report which the government says is not realistic. CUF had informed the government its intention to organize countrywide demonstrations aimed at protesting the October 29, 2000 elections for Zanzibar where the controversial poll proceedings placed the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) candidate, Abed Karume, in power.

On the Union government, President Benjamin Mkapa (CCM) was also elected president. The demonstrations were scheduled for last Saturday and on Friday, just one day before; the policemen arrested the CUF Chairman, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba and 52 others at the meeting in Dar Es Salaam. Despite the arrest of their Chairman, CUF supporters proceeded with their rallies in both Zanzibar and Dar Es Salaam leading into clash with police forces.

About 19 people were reported killed on last Saturday, a number, which CUF says, has increased to 300. CUF said in a statement here that the number of people who were killed could rise because many people were seriously wounded, and other died bodies were yet to be collected from bushes where some of the victims ran to. Reports reaching the media said that about three people died in Mombasa Kenya where they were ferried for treatment after hospitals in Zanzibar refused to provide a service. Reports said also that police helicopters had attached boats ferrying victims to Kenya, but a Police force spokesman, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Aden Mwamnyange has refuted the report saying it was not true.

A team of the Tanzania Red Cross Society (TRCS) Volunteers was planned to fly to Zanzibar from Dar Es Salaam to verify that all victims have been given access to medical treatment. The TRCS said in Dar Es Salaam that a team also accompanied by an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) field officer was expected to visit villages most hit by the violence.

Last Saturday a TRCS team comprising nine volunteers went to Pemba-Zanzibar to evaluate the conditions of the victims of the violence there. The team said there were 94 casualties at Wete Chake Chake hospitals, 27 of whom had minor injures. The team's statement said that sea vessels moved some casualties to Kenya. To that effect, a joint team of ICRC and Kenya Red Cross Society went there for an evaluation. The team was until yesterday still in Kenya. The BBC reports however that 33 Zanzibaris had fled Pemba for Kenya seeking asylum there. Thirteen of them have been admitted to the Msambweni government hospital in Mombasa for gun wounds treatment.

Why Independent Customs Department For Zanzibar Uncalled

Establishment of its own customs authority by Zanzibar will damage Tanzania's economy and victimize local industries, an official with the Ministry of Finance has told this agency.

An official was reacting to a recent proposal by the Association of Zanzibar Businessmen who had asked the Isles' government to amend laws to enable Zanzibar to have an autonomous customs department.

An officer in the working with the department of fiscal policy in the Ministry of Finance who spoke on conditions of anonymity has said, " contradicting the Union policy, the independent Customs Department proposal for Zanzibar, is impossible because the Isles is not capable to handle customs-related activities."

A major problem for Zanzibar is the smuggling of commodities into the country, the official said, noting that large-scale smuggling damaged the domestic market, while at the same time reduced government revenue. He did not disclose the degree of the effect, but the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) once estimated that Tanzania was losing up to Tshs 6billion a year in customs revenue because of smuggling. Sugar, tea, tyres, and petroleum products are the main items of contraband.

"Despite that the prevention of smuggling in Tanzania is extremely difficult, owing to among others, poor government structure for controlling trade and collecting tax, smuggling imposes distortions" he said, adding, " smuggling is a response to tax regime distortions, such as the tax on sugar, where he said lower duties are paid on imports into Zanzibar than are levied on the Mainland." The government has recently restricted the sugar import and export business in the country to factories producing the product, in an attempt to curb rampant smuggling.

According to a just released notice by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Kilombero and Mtibwa plants in Morogoro region, Kagera factory in Kagera and the Tanganyika Planting company in Moshi will from now become the sole importers and exporters of sugar. Only eight institutions, including Tanzania Breweries, Kibo Breweries, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, can import sugar for their consumption. The measure is aimed at curbing the existing illegal trade of sugar, particularly through the Zanzibar route.

Businesspersons in Zanzibar had recently advised the Zanzibar government to amend the Union customs duty laws so that it can establish its own customs authority for this would put an end to what they see as disadvantageous taxes. They also alleged that Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) was a one-sided organization serving only the mainland, for its leadership does not include representatives from the Isles.

The advice was given to President Aman Abed Karume early this month at a special dinner at the Serena Hotel Zanzibar hosted by the Association of Zanzibar Businessmen to congratulate him on being elected President. The President of the Association, Nassor Mazrui, said that the current TRA dealings sidelined Zanzibaris by treating them as aliens when they visited the Mainland. " The only way to end this confusion and to strengthen the Union is to amend the laws governing customs duties," Mazrui said.

In response, President Karume advised them that they should abide by the current arrangements promising further that his government would look into ways of improving the structure of the organization. He did not explain further, but under the current administration of the Union government, taxes in Zanzibar are under the jurisdiction of the TRA. These taxes are customs duty, excise duty on imports, and income tax.

TRA, as per its guideline on 'Tax Administration and Structure in Tanzania', collects the taxes and remits them to the Zanzibar government. The other internal (local) taxes and levies are administered by the Zanzibar Revenue Board (ZRB) which is a semi autonomous tax collection agency of the government of Zanzibar.

Value Added Tax (VAT), which is the main local tax, is collected by the ZRB. The other taxes, which are under the administration of ZRB, are Stamp Duty, which is paid by businesses, which are not registered for VAT, Hotel Levy and Entertainment Tax. Others are the Excise Duty on locally manufactured goods and fees from various business licenses.

Zanzibar violence could hurt tourism in Kenya

Hotel bookings at the Coast are threatened by political violence in Zanzibar, a tourism official warned yesterday.

South Coast hotels, which have been recording a bed occupancy of between 60 and 65 per cent in the last few years, could be threatened, the local chairman of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, Mr Joshua Mwendwa, said.

The Zanzibari crisis, which could result in massive booking cancellations, and the reintroduction of tourist visas could change things for the worse.

"Once planes begin flying empty," Mr Mwendwa said, "they will either be withdrawn or downgraded, and Mombasa will be directly affected."

"Our fear is that massive cancellations will force charter companies to withdraw their planes. Mombasa would be adversely affected because many fly via Zanzibar," Mr Mwendwa said.

Mr Mwendwa said the recently-introduced tourist visas will discourage tourists from visiting Kenya.

Mr Mwendwa, who is also the general manager of Leopard Beach Hotel, said visa processing was cumbersome and would discourage visitors.

"We agree that money from visas is of benefit to the government, but it is an extra cost to holiday-goers," Mr Mwendwa said and appealed to the authorities to reconsider their decision.

University of Dar es Salaam dons and an Opposition leader termed the killings and arrests as "senseless and backward".

A Tanzanian Democratic Party leader, the Rev Christopher Mutikila, said the killings will not stop "Zanzibaris from demanding their liberation".

He said the violence was prompted by the "Tanzanian Government's desire to impose a leader in Zanzibar".

He appealed to Kenyan leaders and clergymen to prevail upon the Dar government to call fresh elections.

Dar University's Legal Aid Committee Chairman Prof C. M. Peter said in a statement that lecturers blamed the Tanzanian police for the "arrests, torture and injury of Opposition sympathisers".

Ten Tanzanians shot during the violence are undergoing treatment at Msambweni Hospital, Kwale, Kenya, after fleeing the violence.

The 10, said to have been shot by government forces, are among an estimated 50 Tanzanians who have fled since violence rocked parts of Tanzania at the weekend. They are reportedly seeking temporary asylum in Kenya.

An unknown number of fleeing islanders are suspected to have perished in the Pemba Channel when their boat capsized in mysterious circumstances.

Prof Peter termed the police actions illegal as the law does not block the public from holding a procession or rallies. "Which law gives the police the right to issue permits?" He asked.

The DP leader, Rev Christopher Mutikila told journalists at Nairobi's Chester House that

"The problem unfolding there is a forced union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar which from now will never work," Rev Mutikila observed.

The clergyman said the problems being experienced presently was a creation of the late Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

"So long as (President Benjamin) Mkapa continues to tow Mwalimu Nyerere's footsteps, thing swill never be the same in the country," Rev Mutikila said.

A DIFFERENT VIEW FROM STONE TOWN

1/30/01

”I’m living and working out here and here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth:

It’s still safe to come to Zanzibar. Media reports of tourists trapped in
their hotels and running battles on the streets are not true. Most of the
violence has been by police against demonstrators, and no Westerner has been
involved at all.

The port is open, and outside my office all the souvenir shops are open and
plenty of tourists are strolling happily up and down. If there is any
further trouble in town it’s easy to go to the beach if you feel nervous.
I’ve traveled over quite a lot of the island in the last few days and seen
nothing bad. Media hysteria about things like this can destroy the economy
of a small place like Zanzibar, so please don’t believe everything you read
in the papers!”

Please don’t think that I’m trying to brush anything off, it’s awful, but I really don’t think as the situation stands that tourists who come here are in danger.

The areas of Stone Town frequented by tourists are a different world from the poorer N’gambo area - literally ‘the other side’ across Creek Road. This is where the demonstrations were planned and where the people got shot.

It’s a sad fact that like many places, life is totally different here for the underclass of unemployed, poor people and the comparatively rich tourists who come to take a look at the town. The police know the difference only too well.

I’m still sure walking around Stone Town is a lot safer than say, Nairobi, New York or Johannesburg right now. It’s just my opinion...but if you’re in Tanzania right now wondering whether to get on the ferry, do!

Fears mount for 200 Tanzanian 'boat people'

Fears mounted Tuesday over the fate of some 200 Tanzanians, many of them wounded, who fled deadly political violence on Pemba island by boat at the weekend.

A police source in Zanzibar town told AFP that a police helicopter had pursued the boat to persuade it to return to Pemba island, where on Saturday some 24 people were killed when police opened fire on a demonstration by the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

The source said investigations had begun into reports that the two boats had capsized in rough seas later the same night.

A CUF official on Pemba told AFP that the police helicopter had indeed fired on the boats and dropped grenades. At least 100 people drowned as a result, said Moussa Haji Kombo.

Police authorities in the Tanzanian capital on Tuesday denied that a police helicopter had shot at the boats.

More than 30 people from Pemba had arrived on the Kenyan coast by Tuesday morning, and some of them were being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds.

CUF CLAIMS MASS GRAVE FOUND:
Death toll in Zanzibar clashes
now 22, says police boss

Wednesday, January 31, 2001
By Henry Lyimo and Agencies

Three Pemba residents who were sent to Mombasa, Kenya, for treatment following police clashes with protesters in Zanzibar last Saturday have died, bringing the death toll to 22.
The Police Force spokesman, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Aden Mwamunyange, said in Dar es salaam yesterday the three people died while receiving treatment in Mombasa.
He did not say how they went to Mombasa and who sent them there but said no more deaths were recorded in Unguja and Pemba islands since Sunday.
He said more than 30 people, including the CUF Member of Parliament for Gando, Khalifa Suleiman Khalifa, fled to Mombasa because of the weekend clashes.
Media reports from Kenya said yesterday more than 50 people from Pemba fled to Mombasa.
SACP Mwamunyange said 13 people were admitted to Msambweni Hospital while 19 others had been given shelter at Shimoni area.
Mwamunyange denied reports that police helicopters had attacked boats ferrying victims to Kenya, saying the plane had been sent to Pemba to ferry injured policemen to Mnazi Mmoja hospital in Unguja.
However, he said police were following up reports that islanders were feared drowned after their dhows were allegedly shot at.
The reports suggesting that police helicopters attacked the boats were unfounded and were intended to tarnish the image of the force, he said.
Unconfirmed reports said fishermen claimed they saw a plane dropping something on top of the dhows which disappeared into the sea.

Police promoted

Meanwhile, President Benjamin Mkapa has promoted 14 senior police officers including the head of Field Force Unit in Dar es Salaam, Venance Tossi, and the Zanzibar Director of Criminal Investigation, Omary Ali Omary.
A statement issued by the Police Headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday said the two had been promoted from Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP) to Senior Assistant Commissioners of Police (SACP).
The statement also said 14 police officers were promoted with effect from January 6.

Mass grave discovered?

Reporting from Zanzibar, Reuters says a senior opposition official said yesterday at least 280 people were killed in the weekend clashes in Zanzibar.
Hiza Tambwe, a high ranking official from the opposition
Civic United Front, said the death toll had climbed after the discovery of a mass grave and reports that police had opened fire on people fleeing by boat to Kenya.
The police said both reports were untrue.
Tambwe said 150 bodies had been discovered in a forest in
northern Pemba. "We have been informed from Pemba that 150 people were found dead all dumped together in a place called Utaani."
CUF's Tambwe also said 80 people trying to flee Pemba by sea were killed when police opened fire on their boats from a helicopter at the weekend.
But police spokesman Mohammed Mhina said the stories of a
mass grave were false. "It is not true," he told Reuters. "The police have no information at all and we would have been the first to know."
Tambwe told Reuters CUF planned to hold fresh demonstrations in coming weeks, in association with the Tanzanian Labour Party and CHADEMA party.

Police defend shooting of Zanzibar demonstrators

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) -- Police on Monday defended the killing of at least 18 opposition demonstrators who were demanding new elections in Zanzibar, saying the civilians attacked them with machetes, bows and gasoline bombs.

"Police stations were about to be overrun and taken over, and the lives of police officials, their families and civilians in general were in danger," said Laurean Tibasana, a national police commissioner.

One police officer was beheaded with machetes, scores of people were injured and 187 were arrested during the violence on Friday and Saturday. Eleven protesters died in Pemba, Zanzibar's northern island, and seven died on the main island of Unguja.

The violence began when police used tear gas and live ammunition to try to disperse hundreds of demonstrators from the Civic United Front opposition party. The protesters were demanding reform of Zanzibar's electoral commission, fresh elections and a new constitution for the United Republic of Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Zanzibar, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is a semiautonomous region of Tanzania.

Before the demonstrations, police had said they would consider the protests illegal. The arrested protesters faced charges ranging from murder to destruction of property, Tibasana said.

On Sunday, senior Civic United Front official Nassor Seif said 24 people had died, including the policeman.

Tibasana said police were only aware of 18 dead but said it was possible some of the injured had died at home and were buried immediately. Under Muslim tradition, the dead are usually buried within 24 hours.

Police believe the armed crowds wanted to seize guns and ammunition in the police stations, Tibasana said.

On Monday, both islands were mostly calm and shops opened for the first time in days. However, Civic United Front official Masoud Omar said a special police anti-smuggling unit was randomly attacking civilians in Pemba.

Violence has dogged Zanzibar, a popular tourist destination 22 miles (35 kilometers) off the Tanzanian coast, since Oct. 29 general elections that international observers said were deeply flawed.

The vote was marred by violence, as well as allegations of ballot-rigging and police intimidation.

The Civic United Front refused to recognize the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party's victory and protested when the electoral commission ruled that revotes would only take place in 16 of the 50 legislative districts.

The opposition boycotted the Nov. 5 partial revote and issued a 90-day ultimatum to Zanzibar President Amani Karume to organize new elections or face "extraordinary political activities" from opposition supporters beginning February 8.

Opposition blamed, police praised after Zanzibar 'bloodbath'

Authorities here and in mainland Tanzania on Monday blamed the opposition for a weekend political "bloodbath" and praised police for their actions after clashes left at least 32 dead.

Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume accused the Civic United Front (CUF) "of organising an illegal demonstration, causing several deaths, including that of a policeman" who was reportedly decapitated Saturday in Zanzibar's twin island of Pemba.

"The killing of a policeman employed to protect the people is not democracy. It is an act of terrorism and banditry," said Karume, who came to power in October polls deemed undemocratic by the CUF and international observer groups.

Despite a government ban, the CUF held nationwide demonstrations Saturday to call for the elections to be repeated.

In a broadcast address, Karume "praised the police for the good work they did last Saturday to stop the demonstrations in Zanzibar and Pemba".

In Dar es Salaam, the government said it was "deeply saddened and disturbed by the horrible incidents in Pemba and Zanzibar, where there was a bloodbath that could have been avoided"

Addressing a news conference, Minister of State for Media and Political Affairs Omar Ramadhani Mapuri also blamed the violence on the CUF.

Police in Zanzibar, meanwhile, said only 19 people had died in the clashes and justified the use of live ammunition by claiming some demonstrators had tried to break into police stations to obtain guns stored there.

"That is why police reacted by shooting live bullets in the legs (of demonstrators) but unfortunately some bullets proved fatal," read a statement issued by police.

The statement also claimed that protestors were carrying "knives, machetes, spears, rocks, iron bars and pistols."

CUF spokesman Hamad Rashid said it was "illegal for police to use live bullets. The CUF will continue to fight for real democracy in Tanzania. The killing of people proves that the government of Karume and Mkapa are violating human rights and moving to dictatorship."

Rashid added that at least two top CUF officials, Mohammed Ali Yussuf, the party's director for human rights and foreign relations, and Said Miragi, director for organisation and youth, had been hospitalised after police beatings.

Also Monday, reports emerged from Pemba suggesting that the death toll of the clashes could be higher than the figure of 32 compiled by AFP from witness accounts and hospital sources.

According to a doctor in the northern Pemba town of Wete, soldiers killed "seven or eight" people who were gathered around a radio set on Sunday evening.

The CUF believes that as many as 42 people may have been killed and warned that some of those wounded might also die, since they had been denied access to medical care.

Meanwhile, the situation in Zanzibar town was largely calm Monday morning, although the police presence was higher than usual.

The picture was similar in Chake Chake, the main town on Pemba, where 23 people who appeared in court Monday morning were charged with taking part in an illegal demonstration. According to police, some 187 people have appeared in court in connection with the weekend unrest.

EU Threatens to Stop Aid After Bloody Riot

The European Union has threatened to put a damper on aid to Tanzania unless the government stops denying its citizens freedom of assembly and stifling political competition.

The EU threat comes in the wake of Saturday's killing of 19 persons in political riots in the offshore islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.

The slaughter was sparked off by clashes between policemen and supporters of Tanzania's leading opposition party, Civic United Front or CUF.

Policemen had reportedly swung into action to block a nation-wide but officially unauthorised demonstration that was organised by CUF to press for, among other things, a re-run of last year's general elections in Zanzibar.

A senior police official confirmed Monday in Dar Es Salaam that the 19 victims, including four policemen, were murdered during confrontations between the police and machete-wielding and stone-throwing demonstrators.

Inspector General of Police Omari Mahita said more than 60 persons were seriously injured in the clashes as law enforcers arrested 352 others for questioning in Zanzibar and Pemba.

The situation on both islands was reported Monday as still tense.

Unconfirmed reports from the islands, however, dispute the death toll announced by the police. Some islanders claimed the figure could be twice as much if not above 40 persons killed.

In the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam, 140 demonstrators were rounded up and severely thrashed by cops for defying a government order that required the public to desist taking part in a CUF demonstration.

Condemning the killings at a hastily convened press conference late Sunday, visiting Swedish State minister for development co-operation Gun-Britt Anderson said her country and the EU were saddened by Tanzania's violation of human rights.

The killings of civilians in Zanzibar is a tremendous blow to the confidence built by donors in the Tanzania government.

"I am shocked by what happened and would like to know how Tanzania will handle the volatile political situation," said Anderson who has been in the country since 24 January for consultative talks with the government on development co- operation.

Currently, Sweden holds the EU presidency. Anderson said EU nations would continue monitoring the political situation in Zanzibar and Tanzania in general before deciding on measures to be taken.

Your government must meet opposition leaders to stop more bloodshed and other acts of violating human rights, the Swedish minister emphasised.

On the eve of the fateful demonstrations, the EU had warned Tanzanian authorities that the right of assembly was a fundamental human right and hence, the government had to exercise restraint to avoid confrontations with its own citizens.

Also Tanzania human rights activists warned that the government's brutal attitude towards silencing supporters of opposition political parties would make the road to democracy bumpy and could plunge the country into unprecedented chaos.

"In this era of transition from single-party rule to multiparty politics, the government must not only be seen to be tolerant to diverse political interests, but it should be tolerant to the rights of individual opinions," said Dr. Azaveli Lwaitama, a senior lecturer at the University of Dar Es Salaam.

But some observers of the Zanzibar political situation blame CUF for its uncompromising stance not to recognise the government in power.

CUF boycotted a re-run of presidential, legislative and civic elections held 5 November 2000 in 16 constituencies of Zanzibar, claiming the island's electoral commission was acting in favour of CCM.

The CUF leadership has since continued to press for a rerun of the entire elections throughout Zanzibar, vowing not to recognise the island's new administration under Karume.

The new president, son of Zanzibar's founder president Abeid Amani Karume who was assassinated in 1972, has urged his compatriots to remain calm and avoid igniting the fragile political situation.

"Be calm and don't join organisers of the demonstration. They are hiding themselves and some of them have fled abroad," Karume told Zanzibaris in a televised address.

Zanzibar Government to
hunt organisers of CUF demos

Monday, January 29, 2001
By Mwinyi Sadallah, PST Zanzibar and Agencies

The Government of Zanzibar will hunt Civic United Front leaders who organised illegal demonstrations which led to deaths of civilians and members of the police, President Amani Abeid Karume declared last night.
He also commended the police for controlling the disturbances in Unguja and Pemba, promising that the government would not rest until those who planned the demonstrations were caught and sent to court.
He said he had information that some CUF leaders had gone into hiding. Some were outside the country but the long arm of the government would make sure they were caught.
Karume said that CUF had proved itself to be a terrorist party. This was against democracy and the multiparty system.
He also said he had information that one policeman had died after being beaten by CUF supporters and that another had been hurt.

Death toll has rose to 37

However, as we went to press Reuters had a different story to tell. It reported that the death toll since Friday rose to at least 37 by yesterday.
The violence was worst on Pemba, the smaller of Zanzibar's main islands, where witnesses said at least 24 people had been killed, including four members of the security forces who were hacked and stoned to death by protesters.
A policeman was also beheaded in Pemba on Saturday.
"There are 24 now dead in Pemba," one reliable eyewitness said. "It seems like the police are taking revenge."
Islanders said the police were smashing their way into people's homes in Pemba, beating up and sometimes killing the occupants.
"The police are going inside the houses," one lawyer told Reuters. "One person was shot when he was preparing a body for burial."
Witnesses said bodies littered Pemba's roads and a wave of looting and rape had engulfed the island, forcing many residents to flee into the forest.
A doctor said an accurate death toll was hard to establish because those who had not fled were trapped inside their houses.
Scores of protesters have been injured, but doctors said police were refusing to allow local hospitals to take them in.
The clashes began after the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) called demonstrations to demand a rerun of disputed elections on Zanzibar last year. The government declared the protests illegal and arrested CUF Chairman Ibrahim Lipumba.
Police said 13 people, including three members of the
security forces, had been killed on Zanzibar island, known locally as Unguja, a popular tourist destination which includes the capital, Zanzibar town.
Police on Zanzibar island, where violence has been less widespread than on Pemba, blocked the main street in Zanzibar town and other roads. The port was reopened, although under heavy police guard.
The British Foreign Office has warned its nationals on Zanzibar to keep a low profile.

Security still tight in Dar

Security was tight in Dar es Salaam on the mainland after protests organised by the CUF turned violent on Saturday. Paramilitary units patrolled the streets in armoured cars but there were no reports of violence.
State television reported that 99 people had been arrested overnight in Dar es Salaam and there were reports of clashes in Mwanza, the second city in Tanzania.
Police shot dead two opposition protesters in the ancient Stone Town on Friday in isolated skirmishes
that preceded Saturday's demonstrations. Over the weekend 35 more have died.
Pemba, whose clove plantations make the island the mainstay of Zanzibar's economy, is one of the CUF's main strongholds.
Its population is largely of Arab origin, many of whom accuse the ruling party of Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa of neglecting the island since 1964, when Zanzibar merged with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

OAU appeals for calm in Zanzibar

The Organisation of African Unity has made an urgent appeal for an end to violence in the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar. The OAU chairman, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who's the Togolese president, said the African continent already had enough problems and did not need any more. Latest reports say more than thirty people have been killed in two days of clashes between Tanzanian police and anti-government demonstrators in Zanzibar. Extra security forces have been flown in from the mainland. There has also been trouble in the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam, where a-hundred people were arrested.

The opposition has been demanding a re-run of last October's general election. The opposition also wants a new constitution defining the union between the islands and mainland Tanganyika.

UDSM legal aid committee
condemns killings on isles

Monday, January 29, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Legal Aid Committee has condemned the killings of over 15 innocent Civic United Front (CUF) supporters in Zanzibar and the arrest and incarceration of their leaders explaining the situation as senseless.
In a strong-worded statement, the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Chris Peter, said the police have no legal authority to require persons intending to hold processions and public rallies to seek permission from the police.
"In the view of the Committee, the police have no such authority. It is sheer use of force and military might without any legal backing. It is a clear prelude to fascism," Prof. Peter stated.
He said the committee also condemned the arrest, harassment, torture, injury and incarceration of the leaders, members and supporters of the CUF in Dar es Salaam last Friday when they were exercising their constitutional and democratic right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed in the constitution of the land.
Prof Peter added that the freedom and right of peaceful assembly was a right recognised and guaranteed by all democratic and civilised nations and the international community as a whole.
As a result he said it was found in all important international conventions, namely Article 20 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 to which Tanzania is a signatory.
He said even Article 20 (1) of the Tanzanian constitution provided for the freedom of every persons:
"To freely and peaceably assemble, associate and co-operate with other persons, express their views publicly and more specially to form or join associations formed for the purposes of preserving or furthering of his beliefs or interests or any other interests."
In the case of political parties' right to organise and hold processions and rallies, the Legal Aid Committee said the judgement of the then High Court Judge Kahwa Lugakingira in the Rev. Christopher Mtikila v. Attorney General of 1993 at the High Court of Tanzania, Dodoma was still in force.
The judgement was with regard to provisions in the Political Parties Act No. 5 of 1992 and the Police Force Ordinance of 1953 which required that a political party that wanted to hold a public rally and anyone wishing to organise an assembly or procession in public place to have permits' respectively.
Prof. Peter quoted Justice Lugakingira, currently the judge of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania, to have judged that "the requirement for a permit is unconstitutional and void."
He added that Justice Lugakingira had directed that from the date of the ruling: "It shall be lawful for any person or body to convene, collect, form or organise and address an assembly or procession in any public place without first having to obtain a permit."
The UDSM Legal Aid Committee said the state did not appeal against the judgement, nor had the Parliament addressed the matter after the judgement was made.
"Therefore, this judgement is the current position of the law as far as the right to assemble freely in Tanzania is concerned. It is binding on both the citizens, the government and its police as well," Prof. underlined.
The committee reiterated its position that use of force was uncivilised and out of date.
"It is a big shame that while the police force is armed to the teeth with the most modern instruments of murder, our hospitals have no medicine and our schools have no desks and teachers go for months without salaries," it partly stated.
It added that while riot police drive brand new armoured Land Rovers, the majority of hospitals were without ambulances.
"It is a firm belief of the committee that political problems can never be resolved by use of force and military might in a democratic society which respects rule of law...We must develop and internalise a culture of agreeing to disagree without resorting to violence," he said.

Tanzanian police use violence against opposition in Zanzibar

Tanzanian police battled opposition supporters on Sunday on the semi-autonomous island of Pemba in Zanzibar for a second day, arresting hundreds of people in bloody clashes that have left 32 people dead.

At least six of the dead were police officers, according to a toll compiled by AFP based on witness accounts and hospital sources.

On Sunday, police and army troops stormed into homes in Pemba in neighborhoods that traditionally favour the opposition, witnesses said.

By late Sunday, violence had intensified on the small Indian Ocean isle, where gunfire was heard.

Tanzania sent in some 200 reinforcements, arresting 389 people suspected of taking part in banned opposition protests on Saturday in the troubled archipelago, normally a haven for tourists, and on mainland Tanzania.

The islands have been a hotbed of tension since October and November polls which the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) says were rigged in favor of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM or Revolutionary Party).

The opposition is demanding a rerun of the vote, which was marred by violence and massive irregularities, according to international observers.

On Saturday, police fought running battles against opposition supporters, who were armed with machetes and petrol bombs on the islands of Pemba and Unguja, known also as Zanzibar Island.

The bloodshed began the day before when police shot dead two unarmed civilians in Zanzibar Town, relatives and hospital sources said.

Doctors at Wete hospital on Pemba said 24 people had died during or after Saturday's protests. Some of those wounded died from lack of medical care.

Security forces had prevented hospital staff from tending to the injured, they said.

Among the dead in Pemba were four police, one of whom had been decapitated with a machete by irate opposition supporters.

On Zanzibar Island, six civilians and two police officers were killed on Saturday, according to witnesses, hospital sources and journalists.

Security forces there were preventing relatives of the wounded and journalists from getting access to the hospital, an AFP journalist reported.

Police in Zanzibar Town on Saturday fired live rounds and sprayed tear gas at dozens of opposition supporters.

In a statement issued in Dar es Salaam late Saturday, Home Affairs Minister Muhammed Seif Khatib said the death toll was much lower than reported by the press, saying only 11 people had died, among them one police officer.

He also said 278 people had been arrested in the islands, while 111 had been arrested on the mainland.

Dar es Salaam's regional police commander Alfred Gewe told reporters Sunday that police were interrogating the accused.

Presidential and legislative elections late last year handed victory to the long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in Tanzania and its offshore islands.

While polling was relatively trouble-free on the mainland, voting on Zanzibar and Pemba was described by the CUF and international election monitors as undemocratic.

TO PREVENT CUF DEMOS TODAY:
Police kill two in Zanzibar

Saturday, January 27, 2001
By Guardian and PST Zanzibar Reporters

Police yesterday shot to death two people in Zanzibar as they were coming from Friday prayers, shredding a leg of another with bullets in what seemed to be an attempt to pre-empt today's countrywide demonstrations called by the Civic United Front.
Those killed are Juma Mohamed Khamis, a resident of Mwembetanga who was shot in on his head. He was buried yesterday evening.
The body of the other man, identified only as Ali, was still lying at the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital mortuary last night.
The leg of Seif Juma Saidi was amputated at Alhama private hospital.
Police injured many others as they mounted a very tight security in Zanzibar streets.
Eye witnesses said when policemen arrived in the area they ordered people who were coming from the prayers to disperse. They immediately started firing in the air and towards them, killing two dead and injuring several others.
In other areas in Zanzibar, gun shots were heard, making many people run in panic searching for cover.
Earlier, stores at Darajani area were searched by police who arrested two people for being in illegal possession of cassettes of speeches made by the CUF Secretary General, Seif Shariff Hamad.
The two, Waziri Sudi and Maulid Juma, are being held at the Mwembe Madema Police Station.
Yesterday all stores remained closed in the municipality amid heavy police presence in Mji Mkongwe in Zanzibar.
The police have also arrested the Director of the CUF Women Wing in Urban District, Arafa Shauri, and the party chairman in the district, Masoud Khamis.
Riot police also fired tear gas canisters in the melee that follow. Many people were affected by the gas. Some were beaten up and arrested.
One riot police had to take to his heels to escape the wrath of one machete wielding person who chased him for some metres until he was rescued by his colleagues in Darajani area.
While the Civic United Front leaders insist they will holding their demonstrations today throughout the country today, the government and its state organs have stuck to their guns, saying no rally, peaceful or otherwise, will be held.
The acting CUF Deputy Secretary General, Shaibu Akwilombe, said yesterday that the demonstration in Dar es Salaam will take place although their chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, has been remanded in custody.
In a show of power, police were deployed in many areas in the City of Dar es Salaam. Some were exercising in open areas.
Muscle flexing started on Thursday when the police apprehended the CUF national chairman and 14 others in Mbagala, Temeke district. Yesterday, they appeared in Kisutu Magistrate's court.
Late yesterday, the European Union Head of Mission said in a statement they were deeply concerned by the recent actions of the authorities in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar against the leaders of CUF and the assault of the CUF Chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, and other widespread arrests and beating by the police.
The statement said that the right of assembly is a fundamental human right.
"The EU Head of Mission strongly urges the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar to discuss with the leadership of CUF and other opposition parties a framework for holding peaceful gatherings," he said.
The head urged all parties to exercise restraint and avoid provocative actions.
CUF is demanding fresh general elections in Zanzibar, the formation of both electoral commissions in Tanzania-Mainland and Zanzibar and a review of the existing Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.

WEBMASTER NOTE: Reliable Zanzibari sources have provided this additional information:

"The ban (on anti-government demonstrations) was challenged by the CUF supporters today all over Tanzania, and the police have struck hard. 17 people have been killed already, 10 of them in Pemba, 7 in Zanzibar, but none on the mainland. It seems the police had a completely free hand in the islands. A lot of people have been arrested. I am told CUF is planning other demonstrations to protest against police brutality, and continue defiance."

Tanzanian opposition leader arrested

Police in Tanzania have arrested the leader of the main opposition party, Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front (or CUF), as he left a rally in the capital, Dar es Salaam.

CUF official Hiza Tambwe told Reuters news agency that police beat him up with clubs and broke his spectacles.

Mr Tamwe said at least 30 CUF supporters had also been arrested on the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar on Thursday.

Mr Lipumba, an economist, had earlier said that his party intended to go ahead with a series of nationwide demonstrations on Saturday to press for a rerun of the elections in Zanzibar, which were marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging.

The CUF said the protest would also be used to demand a new constitution defining the terms of the union between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania.

Zanzibar’s ghost civil servants

A recent audit of the Zanzibar health ministry payroll ordered by the archipelago’s ministry of finance has brought to light an impressive number of ghost civil service workers.

President Karume to tee off handicap 24

The 36-hole Mapinduzi Cup golf tournament teed off to mark Zanzibar’s revolution day as it was one of the historical golf events ever played at Dar es Salaam Gymkhana club course made Amani Abeid Karume, the first Tanzanian President to earn a golf handicap.
The Zanzibar President was the guest of honour called to officiate the presentation of trophies and prizes to the event winners, in which he won an opportunity to display his golfing skills with professional ease.
Three things that convinced the club’s golf captain, Rafik Meghji he deserved a chop off from 36 handicap to 24 were his perfect positioning behind the ball, accurate swinging and putting abilities.
President Karume becomes the second top leader to earn a golf handicap after the premier Frederick Sumaye, but he is far superior to the later who only managed 36. (In golf, best players own lower handicaps).
President Karume promised the golfers that he would extend and renovate the dying Zanzibar golf course in his bid to revive the sport in the Isles.
“There is a part of old golf course left in Zanzibar on which few golf addicts still play. I now promise you to reshape the course for the public and in future to make it a permanent venue for Mapinduzi Cup golf tournament instead of here” he said amidst cheers and claps from the golfers.
Mapinduzi Cup golf tournament kept up with revolutionary pace on the scores itself as the event’s overall winner, Fadhil Nkya ended the 12-month dominion of Hassan Mwanyenza, Safraz Daya, Raza Virjee and Ki-Chang Kwon, the quartet excelled the ongoing season at the club by winning most of the big events of the 2000-2001 golfing season.
Playing off handicap 2, Fadhil Nkya began the first 18 holes on Friday with terrific score of 68 gross strokes.
.

CUF demo on Saturday illegal, says police boss

Tuesday, January 23, 2001
By Lwaga Mwambande

The Police Force says that the Civic United Front countrywide demonstration scheduled for next Saturday is illegal.
Moreover, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Commission of Police Laurean Tibasana, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday, CUF had not sent any official notification that they intended to hold such a demonstration.
CP Tibasana said at the police headquarters in Dar es Salaam that the purposes of the demonstration contravened the laws of the land.
"Although CUF have not informed us officially, they have announced in public about the demonstration. The police, as guardians of peace and security, are obliged to warn people against illegal gatherings," he said.
He defended the police reaction to CUF announcements by saying that the police did not want to provoke, harass or incite chaos but issued the warning because CUF was allegedly being connect to bomb blasts on the isles.
He challenged CUF to take their case to a court of law if they had different interpretation of what the laws said.
He vowed the police would defend their position effectively in any court of law.
CP Tibasana said the ban on CUF gatherings resulted from the fact that reasons put forward by the party for holding the rallies contravened both the Union and Zanzibar constitutions.
He said the CUF executive committee which met on January 15 and 16 in Zanzibar resolved to hold countrywide peaceful demonstrations and rallies on January 27 that aimed at thanking the public for their support for CUF in last year's elections although its victory was denied by force exerted by state organs.
According to the committee, the demonstration would also condemn the Union government for disrupting elections in Zanzibar.
CP Tibasana said CUF was accusing the union government of installing Amani Karume as president in Zanzibar by military force, contrary to democratic principles and that they demanded fresh polls.
They also wanted a new Union constitution which would take into account people's interests, denounced the alleged theft of votes in last year's elections, done in collaboration with electoral commissions and demanded that the commissions be reformed.
Citing provisions in the Union and Zanzibar constitutions, CP Tibasana claimed that all reasons advanced by CUF for the demonstration had no any legal backing.
He said the constitutions provided that the declarations of the National Electoral Commission and Zanzibar Electoral Commission as regards Union and Zanzibar presidents were final and should not be questioned.
Citing Article 47 (7) of the Union Constitution and Article 34 (7) of the Zanzibar Constitution, he said that once winners were announced, any demonstration against them were illegal, hence the ban.
He said even election laws had provisions that allowed the police to restrict political gatherings intended to violate the laws of the land.
"We, therefore, appeal to members of the public not to join the illegal demonstration and rallies. :legal action would taken against anyone who ignores this call," said CP Tibasana, flanked by SACP Aden Mwamunyange.
On Sunday, the CUF Chairman, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, urged CUF members and supporters to turn out in large numbers next Saturday to demonstrate and that nobody should fear to fight for a just cause.
The Tanzania Labour Party has urged the police to provide the necessary security to the demonstration rather than restricting it, the deputy TLP publicity secretary, Octavian Matikila, has said.

Anti-American threats in Zanzibar

Under the name of Wahata (Fighters for Justice), a clandestine group distributed a letter dated January 5 to Moslems on Zanzibar calling for the 'elimination' of US ambassador to Tanzania Charles Stith and terrorist acts against the Western embassies.

Give multiparty democracy a chance - Stith

Tuesday, January 16, 2001
By Alloyce Komba

The outgoing US Ambassador, Reverend Charles Stith, has urged the leadership in Tanzania to make multiparty democracy work in Zanzibar.
Rev. Stith gave the call on Sunday in his farewell address at the University of Dar es Salaam Chapel.
He said if democracy worked in Zanzibar, it would fuel hope for the nation and be a beacon of light for the region.
He said Tanzania should not give up on democratic governance and multiparty democracy because that is the way towards realizing the highest ideals of nationhood.
``There are going to be fits and starts. Despite the problems with the 2000 election, it was better than the 1995 and they'll get better still in the future,'' he said.
He said that democracy has value as it is the ultimate affirmation of the gifts and graces that Tanzanians bring to the building up of the nation.
He noted that in terms of leadership, democracy holds the promise for identifying the leadership to make and keep Tanzania strong.
``A key to making this happen is reshaping the political dynamism on Zanzibar so that the election five years from now is seen as a referendum on the revolution or a referendum on the Union,'' he said.
The US Ambassador then praised Tanzanians for religious tolerance for the degree to which Muslims and Christians have gone along at personal level and shared power at a political level.
``There are some who tell you to turn your back on this tradition of tolerance and community. You have had both Christians and a Muslim as Presidents. A significant number of the President's present cabinet...There are those who will tell you to ignore this reality. They would tell you that embracing a radical extreme brand of Islam is the answer to Tanzania's problems,'' he warned.
He said religion ought to be the glue that holds the country together and not an acid that erodes its foundations.
``Be careful, because a house divided against itself cannot stand,'' he concluded.

Zanzibar's Bid To Curb Clove Smuggling

Dozens Of fishing vessels, boats and canoes on Zanzibar's twin island of Pemba are lying idle at Wete and Mkoani ports for the fourth week following strict government measures to curb clove smuggling from the island.

An official in the Chief Minister's Office told The EastAfrican that the government had instituted measures for vessels leaving Pemba following suspicion that cloves were being smuggled in large quantities to neighbouring Mombasa port in Kenya and Tanga on the Tanzania mainland.

Officials have impounded a number of boats found carrying contraband cloves. Official purchases of the spice buds amounted to less than 200 tonnes instead of the anticipated 2,000 tonnes from this year's harvests by the end of January 2001, sounding the alarm on a possible smuggling racket.

Reacting to claims that the government had slapped a ban on Pemba fishing boats, an official said: "People in Pemba are still buying fish and marine products from the Indian Ocean. So you cannot say that there is a ban on boats and canoes leaving the Island ."

More than 500 boat operators are now said to be jobless at the two ports of Wete and Mkoani.

The official told The EastAfrican that the Isles government instructed Pemba to inspect all goods leaving the island. "The authorities are very strict in Pemba north because of the short distance to Mombasa, the selling point for most of the smuggled cloves."

Sources said the inspection was also necessary because of the recent bombings on the island. It was suspected that the explosives could have reached the Isles via boats.

However, the official said Zanzibari government officials would contact Kenyan authorities to discuss how to stop the smuggling of cloves to Mombasa.

Pemba Island produces 85 per cent of Zanzibar's clove harvest, bought in its entirety by the Zanzibar State Trading Corporation - the sole exporter of the spice. The corporation recently raised the clove producer price from Tsh1,000 ($1.25) to Tsh1,500 ($1.90) per kg as an incentive for growers to sell to the state institution rather than to smugglers.

Unconfirmed reports say smugglers offer as much as Tsh2,500 ($3) per kg and move from home to home purchasing the cloves, while ZSTC buys the spice at designated centres.

Prices offered by traders in Tanga and Mombasa range from Tsh3,500 ($4.40) to Tsh4,200 ($5.25) per kg. While ZSTC buys dried cloves, smugglers also buy green cloves.

Cloves used to contribute as much as 90 per cent of Zanzibar's foreign exchange earnings a few decades ago, but this figure has now dropped to about 30 per cent.

*Reported by Salim Said Salim in Zanzibar and Joseph Mwamunyange in Dar es Salaam

Zantel puts TTCL divestiture
prospects in doubt

Thursday, January 18, 2001
By Guardian Reporter

The divestiture of the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) which is on the drawing board is being threatened by Zanzibar Telecommunications Limited (Zantel) introduction of international calls services.
An investigation carried out by this newspaper has found out that the TTCL strategic investor, a consortium of Detecon of Germany and MSI of the Netherlands, might no longer be interested in the deal following the move taken by Zantel.
Zantel recently introduced what it termed as Kadi Tabasamu, enabling its customers to make international phone calls from Tanzania at a drastically reduced charge rate of 1.50 US dollars per minute. TTCL charges 3 US dollars a minute for international phone calls.
Our investigations have further revealed that Zantel was using their own gateway for international calls through Earth Station.
Well placed sources in the telecommunications industry say that the TTCL's gateway for international calls was one of the attractions for the new investor.
"By using Zantel's international phone services, it effectively means that everyone will be using that channel for making international calls," said the sources adding: "It is unlikely that privatization of TTCL will now go on as planned because the playing ground is no more level".
They added that the introduction of international calls services by Zantel has disturbed all the projection of the divestiture of TTCL, thereby putting the whole privatization process in a limbo.
The Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) and Detecon/MSI last December initialled the TTCL closing documents for the sale of 35 percent shares at 120 million US dollars.
The deal would be closed any time this month after the endorsement of the draft agreement by the Government of Tanzania in order to enable the investor to start operations.

Police Deny Torture Claim

Zanzibar Police have denied torturing supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) who were arrested in connection with a spate of bombings in the Isles over Christmas and the New Year.

"We have better ways of interrogating suspects than torture. In the first place, we don't have any police officers in Zanzibar trained for the job (torture)," the Isles Commissioner of Police, Mr. Khalid Iddi, said.

One of the 60 suspects arrested, Mr. Abdula Madina Idi, told journalists last week that beatings and application of electric shocks to "sensitive areas" were the most popular methods of torture used by the police.

At a press conference, Mr. Idi, 42, appealed to human rights groups and the international community to intervene.

He alleged that he was tortured many times at different police stations in Zanzibar and Pemba for a week before being taken to court on cooked-up charges of being involved with the recent bombings.

The CUF director of human rights and international relations, Mr. Mohamed Ali Yusuf, told The EastAfrican at the weekend that his party would lodge an official protest with the donor community this Monday.

He said CUF had already briefed the British High Commission, the Swedish Embassy and the European Union about the alleged torture.

Mr. Idi said he was arrested at his house at Jang'ombe in Zanzibar on January 3 and was first taken to the Isles police headquarters. Later, he was moved to Ng'ambo police station, then Madema police station and finally to Pemba Island.

At all these places, he claims, he was beaten and subjected to electric shocks. He claimed that he could identify his tormentors.

Mr. Khalid said the 60 suspects arrested were not necessarily CUF supporters, adding that most of them had been released on bail after being taken to court.

Mr. Idi, who faces four charges related to the recent bombings, was released on bail last Wednesday. He claimed that police officers tried to force him to implicate some prominent CUF leaders in the bombings.

The CUF has claimed that the bombings in Zanzibar and Pemba were part of a strategy by the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the government of President Amani Karume to malign the opposition.

On December 27, Zanzibari businessmen bore the brunt of a huge fire that destroyed 25 shops at Darajani shopping centre. Police said the fire was suspected to have been started by CUF supporters.

The CUF spokesman denied any links with the arsonists.

Both parties say the two incidents - the bomb explosions in Pemba and the fire in Zanzibar - were politically motivated, but each blames the other for being behind them.

The arrests also followed orders issued by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Omar Mahita, who went to Zanzibar within a day of the explosion and gave the Isles police force a fortnight to track the perpetrators down.

Currently, the European Union is pushing CCM and CUF to hold talks and resolve the five-year political stalemate in the Isles before resuming disbursement of frozen development aid.

The EU froze development aid to the Isles - about $10 million every year - three years ago, to protest against alleged human-rights violations following the controversial 1995 poll results in which Dr Salmin Amour of CCM won the Isles presidency.

Now the EU says it is ready to assist in getting the reconciliation process moving, and aid resumption to the Isles was "conditional" on the talks.

The Christmas bombing was the fourth since the October 29 general election, which was largely boycotted by CUF, claiming it was a "military takeover" by President Benjamin Mkapa in order to install Amani Abeid Karume as the President of Zanzibar. All explosions, except one at a government lodge, took place on Pemba Island - a CUF political stronghold.

Last Friday, Zanzibar celebrated 37 years of its union with the then mainland Tanganyika in 1964.

Bomb explodes outside
CCM office in Pemba

Thursday, January 18, 2001
By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

Another bomb exploded at Chake Chake in South Pemba region triggering fears among the people in the region.
The explosion occurred at around 8pm at Chachani area outside ruling party CCM office destroying a motor vehicle which was parked outside the building.
The incident comes a few days after police announced that they had impounded equipment used in making bombs in the island.
The explosion left a big hole and heavy smoke at the area. Nobody was injured in the incident. The South Pemba Regional Police Commander, Abuu Kificho confirmed the blast but could not immediately estimate loss.
He said the motor vehicle which was destroyed, a minibus with registration number ZNZ 25239 was the property of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
This is the ninth bomb incident in Pemba since the new President Amani Karume assumed power after general elections last year. However, the main opposition party in Zanzibar, CUF, has maintained that the elections were unfairly conducted and demand a rerun.
Reports from Pemba said the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Rajab Adadi arrived in the island yesterday to make a follow up on the explosions.
Police are holding about 50 people in connection with bombing incidents which have caused loss of public and private property

CUF sticks to its guns

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday reiterated its stand of not recognizing Zanzibar President Abeid Amani Karume and his government until fresh elections are called.
CUF deputy Secretary General Juma Duni Haji said his party still maintained that the elections should be repeated because they were neither free nor fair.
He said the decision by the party members would be known on the expiry of a 90-day deadline which expires on February 8.
Duni issued his party's stand only a day after President Karume declared that no fresh elections will take place on the isles before the year 2005 as stipulated in the Constitution.
President Karume said this on Friday in his address to mark the 37th anniversary of the Zanzibar Revolution at the Amani Stadium in Zanzibar.
The Deputy Secretary General said to endorse the current government in power was tantamount to giving a free rein to a few people to continue abusing the process of democracy in the islands by embracing people who had imposed themselves on the people.
"We want fresh elections, bearing in mind the fact that the past elections were not free and fair as they were marred by a lot irregularities,"he said
Duni said irregularities included the keeping of ballot boxes by security forces without the presence of members of the opposition.
He said his party had no quarrel with President Karume but with the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) which he said had consented to being misused to disregard the peoples wishes.
Duni said his party had not attended the celebrations on Friday because they were not invited.
He said since CCM leaders had been asked to repeat the elections in writing, it would be decent also to reply in writing instead of using any other forum.
"What are they up to if they are using political gatherings to respond to our request?" Duni asked.
He said since the President of Zanzibar had already made his stand known, then on the expiry of the 90 days, the people of the Isles will decide what to do.
He said his party was vehemently against the CCM leaders' prouncements that for the last 37 years, Zanzibar had witnessed political and economic developments.
The people of Zanzibar, Duni said were being frustrated in all aspects by the outdated policies of the ruling party.
He cited the stagnating social services in the islands, water shortages, the deteriorating standards of education and poor health services.
He said even the few industries which were built after the revolution had collapsed.

Isles Businesspersons call for
separate customs authority

Friday, January 12, 2001
By PST correspondent, Zanzibar

Business persons in Zanzibar have advised the Zanzibar government to amend the union customs duty laws so that it can establish its own customs authority for this will end disagreements on tax matters.

They also allege that Tanzania Revenue Authority is a one-sided organisation serving only the mainland for leadership does not include representatives from the isles.
The advice was given to President Amani Abeid Karume on Tuesday night at a special dinner hosted by Association of Zanzibar Businessmen held at Serena Hotel, Zanzibar.
The dinner was held to congratulate Karume for being elected president last October.
The president of the Association, Nassor Mazrui, said that the current TRA dealings sidelined Zanzibaris by treating them as aliens when they visited the mainland.
The only way to end this confusion and to strengthen the union was to amend laws governing custom duties.
The businessmen requested the government to involve them more in economic planning so that they could contribute in the development of the isles.
They also requested the president to make them take part in boards of public organisations dealing with economic matters.
Commenting on their requests, President Karume challenged other businessmen to join the association so that they could demand their rights as a group.
He called upon those failing to pay taxes to do so because they were weakening social services in Zanzibar.
On the TRA, President Karume advised the businessmen to abide by the current arrangements but promised that his government would look for ways to improve the structure of the organisation.

Mkapa Calls For International Intervention In Zanzibar

Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa called on the international community for the first time on Wednesday to help restore peace in the troubled Zanzibar islands.

The collection of semi-autonomous islands off Tanzania's coast have been rocked by seven bomb explosions since contested elections in October 2000 after almost six years of sporadic violence since disputed multi-party elections in 1995.

Mkapa told foreign diplomats in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday that the country was finally prepared to accept external help in solving the Zanzibari political crisis.

"Help us to heal our wounds and not open fresh ones," said Mkapa.

He stressed that the mainland administration, Zanzibar President Amani Karume and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) had all indicated their enthusiasm for a lasting peace settlement and were prepared to negotiate with the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

"[We] all want to be part of the healing process," said Mkapa.

Karume's election to the presidency in October heightened tensions in Zanzibar, sparking public riots and allegations of ballot rigging.

The CUF warned this week that government only had until February 8 to stage new elections or, the party said, it would launch an international campaign against the Tanzanian regime and would embark on a public defiance campaign within the country.

The CUF stressed that February 8 was the deadline given the Zanzibar Electoral Commission in October.

The threat follows the discovery of 112 detonators and a large quantity of commercial explosives on the island of Pemba, near Zanzibar.

Police spokesman Aden Mwamunyange confirmed at the time that the explosives appeared linked to seven reported bomb attacks on government or ZEC buildings on the Pemba, Unguja and Zanzibar islands.

Police have since arrested 56 people for the bombings and linked public unrest but have declined to release their names or charges.

No one was killed in the bomb explosions, but various people were injured when a government hotel in Wete and the ZEC's Zanzibar offices were bombed.

Mkapa appealed for peace on Wednesday, calling on opposition members to take up their seats in the Zanzibar legislature and the national House of Representatives.

The Zanzibar government will not subsidise.

Monday, January 08, 2001
By Maulid H. Maulid, PST Zanzibar

The Zanzibar government will not subsidise any parastatal company that will fail to run profitably and it will privatise any such institution, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Mohamed Aboud, has said.
The parastatals must brace for competition which has been going on for 15 years after the economy was liberalised, he said when addressing employees of the Zanzibar Tourist Corporation.
Aboud said that the Zanzibar economic policy does not allow the government to subsidise parastatals.
During the meeting he advised the management of the corporation to review the rates at the Bwawani hotel which he said were too high.
He also told the management that the number of employees at the hotel which stands at 160, was too high for the hotel to run profitably.
Aboud noted that if the rates were reduced the hotel would attract more customers and so be able to compete with other hotels on the Isle.
He also said that the Government will soon issue a statement on an Indian company which used to run the hotel before but was kicked out after breaching its contract with the government.
Earlier the employees of the Zanzibar Tourist Corporation told the Minister that they were working under very difficult conditions. They cited lack of transport at night.
They also complained to the Minister that they have been working as casual labourers for over four years without being employed. This was contrary to Zanzibar labour laws, they said.

CUF demands opinion poll on `troubled Union'

By Correspondent Emmanuel Matechi

Tanzanians should be given a chance to propose the fate of the union in an opinion poll, the Civic United Front has demanded in Dar es Salaam.
"We think the issue of the union should be settled by the people of Zanzibar and Tanganyika in an opinion poll. This is the best way known throughout the whole world," the Acting CUF Secretary General, Juma Duni Haji, said yesterday.
Duni, one of the treason suspects released recently, led a special delegation from the Zanzibar at a press conference held at the Tanzania Information Services Auditorium (MAELEZO).
He said: "The discussion on union problems should involve people who created the union and not others. These are the peoples of Zanzibar and Tanganyika," he stressed.
He said they had seen the formation of a special committee consisting of union and the Zanzibar revolutionary government leaders following the promise President Mkapa made when he was officially inaugurating the current Parliament.
In the speech, Mkapa said the Union problems would be settled in two months, Duni said, pointing out that if the settlement was done without considering the opinion of the people of Zanzibar, then CUF would ask Zanzibaris to present the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Duni insisted that the right people to discuss the fate of the union were the democratically elected Zanzibar President and whom he described as the Tanganyika president on behalf of their respective nations as it was the case at the formation of the union in 1964.
In that year, he claimed, there was a plan to absorb the Zanzibar state and make it one of Tanganyika regions.
"There was a strategy to omit the Tanganyika government which was against the union agreement," he said. "The act was premeditated so that the Union government could cover for the Tanganyika government and eventually the Zanzibar government would be wiped out."
He said the union agreement did not mention the omission of the Tanganyika government. To prove this he quoted the fifth section of the agreement which states "the existing laws of Tanganyika and Zanzibar shall remain in force in their respective territories."
Duni also pointed out that the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal on the 18 treason suspects also mentioned that "Zanzibar, just like Tanganyika, is not a sovereign state."
He claimed that the current situation clearly indicated that by using the name Tanzania, Tanganyika had acquired sovereignty.
He declared that the problem of the union would not be solved by the formation of different commissions. He cited Judge Nyalali and Judge Kisanga commissions which had declared that there was need to form three governments.

Zanzibar Parties Ready For Reconciliation

Political Adversaries in Zanzibar last week said they were ready to hold peace talks amid bomb explosions and acts of arson that marred both Christmas and Idd Ul Fitr celebrations.

The Vice President, Dr Juma Ali Omar, said in his Idd Baraza in Tanga that the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), was ready to talk with the Isles' opposition Civic United Front (CUF) to bring peace to the troubled Isles.

In an interview with The EastAfrican, CUF spokesman Ismael Jussa said: "We are ready for dialogue any time." However, when asked on their previous tough stand, Mr. Jussa said: "We will see at the negotiating table, but we need to see some movement."

CUF had earlier set tough conditions saying it would settle for nothing less than the national chairmen of the contending parties - CCM and CUF - to set the process of political dialogue in motion.

"We do not want people who cannot decide without recourse to consultation with higher authorities to come to these sessions," Mr. Jussa said, implying that President Benjamin Mkapa (CCM national chairman), and Dr Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF national chairman) should face each other across the negotiating table.

However, CCM has hinted that it will have none of the conditions expressed by the Vice President. However, he warned that the current bombings and acts of arson were tantamount to conditional dialogue which he said will not be tolerated by the government.

Recently, there has been renewed bomb explosions and acts of arson in Zanzibar islands of Pemba and main island, respectively.

Zanzibaris on Pemba island were shocked with a Christmas Day bomb explosion that destroyed the offices of Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), but no casualties were reported. However, youths in the CUF's stronghold have been reported fleeing the island for Tanzania mainland towns of Tanga and Dar es Salaam, in fear of police arrests.

On the eve of Idd Ul-Fitr, December 27, Zanzibar businessmen bore the brunt of a huge fire that destroyed 25 shops at Darajani shopping area, suspected to have been started by CUF supporters. However, the CUF spokesman denied any links with the arsonists.

He also denied CUF's involvement in the past or latest bombing incidents. But unlike in the past when the CUF said the explosions were the work of the government intelligence agents out to bad-mouth the opposition, the CUF official said his party will not be drawn into a public verbal sparring match this time around.

Police said the fire razed 25 wooden structures and container shops, destroying goods worth Tsh500 million ($425,000). Most of the shops were reportedly not insured against fire.

As festivities ran uninterrupted for nine days elsewhere in Tanzania, from the Christmas weekend to New Year's eve, the mood remained tense in the twin islands across the Zanzibar channel.

As a result, politics replaced religious talk in mosques as believers held separate Idd prayers (barazas) along political party affiliation.

CUF followers congregated at Jamaat Khan in their main stronghold of Mkunazini suburb while CCM supporters held their baraza at the Palace Museum Hall.

Both parties say the two bombing incidents in Pemba and the fire in Zanzibar main island were politically motivated, but each blamed the other for the attacks.

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Omar Mahita, toured Zanzibar within a day of the explosion and gave the Isles police force a fortnight to arrest the perpetrators.

Some reports say 10 people were arrested in connection with the two incidents, but Police Spokesman Mr. Aden Mwamunyange declined to give details.

As the Isles count losses in monetary terms, observers say the bombing incidents are serious economic and political setbacks especially when the European Union is pushing CCM and CUF to "talk peace" and resolve the five- year political stalemate in the Isles before resuming disbursement of the frozen development foreign aid.

The EU froze development aid, about $10 million every year to the Isles three years ago, to protest against alleged gross human rights violations following the controversial 1995 election results in which Dr Salmin Amour (CCM) won the Isles presidency by a thin margin.

Now the EU says it is ready to assist "in any way possible" in getting the reconciliation process going and that any talk of resumed aid to the Isles was "highly conditional" on that dialogue.

Zanzibar loses 200m/- vehicle fees yearly

By PST Correspondent, Zanzibar

The Zanzibar Revolutionary Government (SMZ) has been losing revenue, amounting to more than 200m/- a year from the transport sector because of the irresponsibility of the authority concerned.
The government has also discovers it is paying some 4m/- to ghost workers a months.
A survey conducted by PST here found out that more than 1,000 commuter buses and 500 taxis are likely to be off the road because their owners have not paid fees.
Most of the vehicles belong to government leaders who retired last year. Some of them owe the government between 55,000/- and 180,000/- in unpaid fees.
The survey found out that the problem is with the Zanzibar Municipal Council which issued licences for the motor vehicles but did not collect the fees stipulated by law.
When PST contacted the Acting VAT Evaluator in Zanzibar, Ahmedi Maulid Simai, he admitted the council was weak in collecting the fees.
He said strong measures were now being taken by his office to ensure that nobody was given a new licence before paying all necessary fees.
Simai said that his office had introduced special stickers which indicated whether owners of vehicles had paid fees.
He denied that the fees were too high. For example, he said, a fee for a motor vehicle, carrying between four and seven passengers, was only 120,000/- a year.
The annual fee for a vehicle, carrying between seven passengers and above, was only 180,000/- while the fee for a commuter bus was only 40,000/- and the fee for a taxi was only 45,000/- a year.
Simai also said about 90 per cent of businessmen in Zanzibar had not been registered with VAT as required by law. They were in effect invading paying the required taxes.
The government of Zanzibar has also discovered that some Ministry of Health and Social Welfare officials are swindling money.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Amour Sheha Mussa, has said that the conspiracy went on for six years before coming to light in an investigation mounted last November.
Declined to say how much was swindled and the names of officials involved, he said when the new government conducted the probe it discovered that some 4m/- was being paid to ghost servants each month.
Because of tight financial control, some November salaries were not claimed. The control involved using National Social Security Fund (NSSF) identity cards only.
Because of this some persons did not turn up to collect their salaries.
"On the list were names of people who have retired and some dead workers," Mussa said.
He said the government expected to get more such cases after receiving the December report.

Police arrest 28 `bomb' suspects in Pemba

Monday, Jan. 1, 2001
By PST, Zanzibar

About 28 people, eight of them from the same family, have been arraigned by the police for their alleged involvement in the current wave of bombing in Pemba.
The operation comes only a few days after the Inspector General of Police, Omar Mahita threatened to sack police officers for failing to nab the suspects.
"You are probably involved in this because you have not nabbed anyone in connection with the bombing," Mahita was quoted to have told the Pemba Police.
He said he suspected that the police had close relations with those who were bombing places in the island that is why he had sent police from Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland to take care of the trouble.
Many people from the island (Pemba) have allegedly ran away to Zanzibar, Tanga, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to escape from the searches.
There have been about eight bombing incidents in Pemba since the October general elections.

The wife of suspect Hemed Suleiman collapsed after seeing her husband entering courtroom under heavy police guard as eight people were brought to Chake Chake District Court on Tuesday to answer charges of bombing an office and destroying various properties belonging to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC).
All suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges read before them by the prosecution led by Assistant Police Inspector Abdallah Habibu, and were remanded after the court refused to grant them bail.
The eight suspects brought before the Chake Chake District Court were Heri Nassor, Hemed Suleiman, Salum Awedh, Makame Vuai, Mohamed Maabadi and Hussein Juma Ali.
Also on the list of suspects were Mahfudh Hamis Shehe and Haji Kassim Suleiman.
Habibu told the court presided over by Magistrate Abraham Mwampashi that the suspects jointly committed the offences on December 25, last year at around 9pm.
Prosecution side prayed for the court not to grant bail to the suspects, pending completion of investigations. The case was adjourned up to January 15, this year, when it comes up for next mention.
In another development, seven out of 15 suspects were released by the court after the prosecution failed to produce evidence against them. The released suspects were kept under police custody for five consecutive days.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Omar Mahita, has suspended the Pemba South Regional Police Commander, Daniel Yussuf, starting last week.
Yussuf has now been replaced by police officer Abu Kificho, according to reports from Pemba Island.

Older Media Reports about Zanzibar

For the Year 2001

Ethiopian Airways plane fails to land in Zanzibar