HISTORIA YA TANZANIA NA MAADILI FOR ADVANCED LEVEL – FULL NOTES

Click the links below to view the notes:

FORM FIVE

FORM SIX

..

..

Tanzania is home to some of the world’s oldest hominid remains.

Olduvai Gorge: Located in northern Tanzania, this site yielded fossils of Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis dating back nearly 2 million years.

Laetoli Footprints: Found by Mary Leakey in 1978, these footprints of Australopithecus afarensis are approximately 3.6 million years old.

Early Migrations and Swahili Culture

Early Populations: The original inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, likely related to modern Khoisan-speaking groups.

Migrations: Around 1000 BCE, Cushitic-speaking pastoralists arrived from the north. Later, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from West Africa (c. 500 CE), bringing ironworking and agriculture.

Coastal Trade: By the 8th and 9th centuries, Arab and Persian traders established settlements on the coast, leading to the development of the Swahili language and culture and the spread of Islam.

Colonial Rule and Resistance

Portuguese & Omani Eras: Portuguese explorers reached the coast in 1498 but were eventually ousted by the Sultanate of Oman in the late 17th century. In 1840, Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his capital to Zanzibar, which became a major hub for the ivory and slave trades.

German East Africa: In the 1880s, Germany claimed the mainland. Resistance was fierce, most notably during the Maji Maji Uprising (1905–1907), where German forces used a scorched-earth policy that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

British Mandate: After Germany’s defeat in WWI, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over the mainland, renamed Tanganyika. Zanzibar remained a British protectorate.

Independence and Union

Independence: Led by Julius Nyerere and the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), Tanganyika gained independence on 9 December 1961. Zanzibar became independent in 1963, followed by a violent revolution in 1964 that overthrew the Sultan.

The Union (1964): On 26 April 1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania, with Nyerere as the first president.

Ujamaa: Nyerere introduced “Ujamaa” (African Socialism), a policy of collective farming and self-reliance intended to foster national unity.

Modern Tanzania

Political Shifts: Nyerere retired in 1985. His successors, beginning with Ali Hassan Mwinyi, moved toward economic liberalization and multiparty democracy, which was officially adopted in 1992.

Stability: Today, Tanzania is recognized as one of Africa’s most stable nations, characterized by peaceful transitions of power and a unified national identity.

Would you like to know more about the Ujamaa policies or perhaps a deeper look into the history of Zanzibar specifically?

..

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. 

A short history of Tanzania

The colonial era

The colonisation time of Tanzania divides quite naturally into two periods depending on the identity of the colonisers: Germany until World War I and Britain afterwards, although the latter was officially a ‘protector’ rather than a coloniser.

i) The German colonisation

German East Africa was created after the 1884–85 Berlin conference where European colonisers discussed how to share African territories. Overall, however, Germans had little time to leave their mark on their colony. They had to fight fierce rebellions by natives that lasted until the first years of the twentieth century – the Maji Maji uprising was finally defeated in 1907. And then WWI broke out, with intense local fighting against the British and Belgian forces in Africa. Although of short duration, the German colonisation period nevertheless had a lasting impact on the territory that would be soon called Tanganyika: the development of major cash crops for exports (sisal, coffee, cotton), the beginning of the construction of the railroad network, an administrative structure based on ‘communes’ as collectors of revenue (in effect labour taxation), the start of an educational system. It also left an original structure of production of export crops where African peasant farming coexisted with a limited number of large plantations managed by European settlers. Yet the German colonisation also disrupted traditional agriculture, leading to impoverishment, population decline in some areas, and the spread of the tsetse fly.

ii) The British mandate on Tanganyika

At the end of WWI, considering that Tanganyika’s inhabitants were ‘not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world’, the recently created League of Nations gave Britain the mandate to administer the territory on its behalf. Britain thus had to report annually on the state of its ‘protectorate’ to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League. This feature is important as it meant that Tanganyika was not managed in the same way as the neighbouring British colonies of Uganda and Kenya.

The British administrators found a country in a state of extreme underdevelopment, which moreover had been devastated by the most severe WW1 conflict on African land. Most of the population was barely surviving on subsistence agriculture. Yet their situation hardly improved during the British mandate. The primacy of big plantations was maintained, sisal exports being reinvigorated under the management of foreigners (Indians in particular), whereas a limited British settler population developed the exports of coffee and tea. Some African peasants also got involved in cash crops for export – i.e. the Chagga farmers producing highly praised Arabica coffee in the Kilimanjaro area – but they were a tiny minority.

Two major factors prevented an economic development in Tanganyika comparable to what could be observed in neighbouring countries. One was the relative infertility of a large area in the interior of the country invaded by the tsetse fly, particularly after the war campaigns. The other was the lack of attraction for European settlers of a territory whose political status was uncertain, neither a colony nor an independent state. These may also be the reasons why the British administration practised a rather unambitious management of the country. The only major development project they pushed forward was the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme (1947–50), which failed miserably due to an erroneous strategic analysis and disastrous implementation.

On the administrative side, the British administration applied the principle of ‘indirect rule’, by which most administrative tasks, including tax collection, were under the responsibility of Native Authorities. In many instances, this required restructuring power in some communities to make explicit and undisputable who were the interlocutors of the central administration. At the centre, a Legislative Council was created in 1926, but its members were essentially selected within the European and Asian minority. In practical terms, the Native Authorities became the agencies of the central government with no say whatsoever in its decisions.

Independence

Tanganyika got her Independence in a peaceful way on 9th December 1961 after TANU won practically all the seats of the Legislative Council. And Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere became the first Prime Minister of the country, and shortly afterwards its first president. Other parties that vied for power at independence included the African National Congress (ANC) formed in 1958 by Zuberi Mtemvu and United Tanganyika Party (UTP) formed in 1958.

Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Three years later, the new Republic of Tanganyika united with Zanzibar, two islands off its coast where a violent revolution against the Arab minority that was ruling the islands had just brought to power an African-dominated party. Together the two countries formed the United Republic of Tanzania on the April 26, 1964 with Julius Nyerere who became the president and Abeid Amani Karume from Zanzibar as vice-president. The new country was a federation, with both members having their own autonomous government. Yet the size imbalance between the two members of the federation must be stressed. The population of Zanzibar never represented more than 3% of the whole population of the United Republic.   d Karume inspecting the army

After independence other new political parties emerged in 1962;

• Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Christopher Kasanga Tumbo.
• The Peoples Conversion Party (PCP) led by Samson Mshala
• The Nationalist Enterprise Party (NEP) led by Hessein Yahya.
• All Muslim Nationalist Union of Tanganyika (AMNUT)
• The African Independence Movement (AIM) which was a merger between PCP and NEP

Zanzibar is a group of islands lying in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanganyika. It consists of the main southern island, Unguja, the smaller northern island of Pemba, and numerous surrounding islets. Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890 after the Heligoland treaty. She got independence on 10 December 1963 as a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan. This state of affairs was however, short-lived. On 12 January, a revolution occurred and led to the overthrow of the Sultan (Jamshid bin Abdullah) and his government by local African revolutionaries. The moderate Afro Shirazi Party leader Abeid Karume became the country’s new president and head of state of the newly created People’s Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba.

After independence however, Tanganyika and Zanzibar had to worry about further threats to their sovereignty, this time from outside. To consolidate their integrity the two countries merged and formed the United Republic of Tanzania on April 26, 1964. The union had the basis of the spirit of Pan-Africanism. Even after the merger with Tanganyika, Zanzibar maintains a Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives which has power over domestic matters. The domestic government is led by the President of Zanzibar. The parties that vied for power at independence of Zanzibar included;

• Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) formed in 1955. It was Arab dominated political party.
• Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), formed on 5 February 1957 under the leadership of Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume after the merger of two ethnic associations, the African Association formed in 1934 and Shirazi Association formed in 1938.
• Zanzibar and Pemba People’s Party, formed in 1959. The party was founded by a splinter group from the Afro-Shirazi Party and Sheikh Muhammad Shamte was appointed chairman.
• The Communist Party of Zanzibar founded in 1962
• The Umma Party formed in 1963 by those who quit the ZNP

After the creation of the union, the government declared a contest for the creation of the name of the new country through the then Minister of Information and Tourism Mr. Idrisa Abdul Wakil Nombe. Muhammad Iqbal Dar who created the name “TANZANIA” won the contest. Muhammad Iqbal Dar, Tanzanian of Asian origin claims that he took the first three letters, that is, “TAN” of the name TANGANYIKA, to represent Tanganyika and then took the three letters, that is, “ZAN” of the name ZANZIBAR to represent Zanzibar. To accomplish his creation he picked the first letter of his name Iqbal, that is “I” and the first letter of his Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, that is, “A” and subsequently the name “TANZANIA” was complete. He was convinced by his creation bearing the fact that a considerable number of African countries’ names such as Algeria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Zambia end with “IA.”

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere mixes the soils of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in a pot symbolises the union the two independent countries decided to form on April 26, 1964

Development generally refers to the quantitative and qualitative changes. It can involve a number of areas including; development of human capital, infrastructure, technology, health, safety, literacy and public awareness, and other initiatives that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Reforms in the political status of the country started immediately after independence, beginning with constitutional changes. The TANU government under the leadership of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere made several changes in the country’s constitution to Africanise the governance system, protect the rights of the majority and consolidate independence of the new born country.

Political situation at independence

1. The partial independence. The independence constitution was a drawn by the colonial office in London and based on the Westminster model. By this constitution, the country gained statehood as a part of the British monarchy headed by the Queen of England who was represented by the Governor General as the Formal head of the state followed by prime minister being Mwalimu Julius K Nyerere.
2. The appointment, promotions and dismissal of civil service were made on the basis of the norms of the British bureaucracy.
3. The military was colonially structured. Tanganyika inherited the military and the security system of a colonial outlook. However, after the army mutiny of 1964, the government took initiatives to restructure and define the role of the Military.
4. Shortage of skilled manpower to run administrative role of the government. Clerks, accountants, managers, judges and so on, were very to help run the country.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES SINCE INDEPENDENCE

A countries constitution is the supreme law on which all other laws are based. It is also referred to as the social contract between the rulers and the ruled. All the laws, by-laws, rules and regulations in the country drive their legitimacy from the country’s constitution. By that the constitution     is      the      most      important      legal      document      of      the      country. Since the independence, Tanzania has had several constitutional changes;

1. The independence constitution (1961)
   1. The Republic constitution (1962)
   1. The interim constitution of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (1964)
   1. The interim constitution of 1965
   1. Permanent constitution (1977), known as the Constitution of Tanzania or Fourth Constitution of Tanzania
   1. The constitution of Zanzibar (1979)
   1. The constitution of Zanzibar (1984)

1.  THE INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION (1961 – 1962)

At independence from the British, Tanganyika adopted a first constitution based on the Westminster model except that it had no Bill of Rights. This constitution defined a Governor General as the representative of the Queen of England, as the formal head of state, while the executive was under the Prime Minister chosen from the majority party. It also established a cabinet of ministers responsible to the parliament, an independent judiciary and provided a legal constitutional framework for the existence of Multiparty democratic system.

2.  THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION (1962 – 1964)

In 1962, the Tanzanian Parliament formed itself into a constituent assembly and considerably revived the 1961 constitution. The remarkable change was the establishment of a strongly Presidential system and the declaration of a republican system.

• The president was given the privileges of both the former roles of the Governor General and Prime Minister to serve as the head of state and government as well as commander in chief of the armed forces of the country. He was granted the right to designate the vice president and ministers and could under certain circumstances dissolve the parliament.
  • The president also inherited security-related, repressive powers that were formerly of the Governor General, with the addition of new ones; the Preventive Detention Act, for example, gave the president the right to detain any person without trial.

3.  THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION (1964 – 1977)

The interim constitution, 1964-77 was a response to the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar that gave birth to the United Republic of Tanzania in on April 26, 1964. The constitution of the new born nation was a modification of the Tanganyika’s 1962 Republican Constitution, adapted according to the agreements between TANU and Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) – the majority parties in Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The agreements between the two states were ratified under the name “Articles of Union” and became part of the new constitution as “Acts of Union”.

The most notable feature of the Acts of Union was the establishment of the double government structure that is also part of Tanzanian’s current constitution. The structure described one government for the union and one largely autonomous independent government for Zanzibar. Zanzibar’s government had its own parliament and president. The president of Zanzibar also served as vice-president of the union. This constitution was adopted at interim/temporary basis.

4.  CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES OF 1965

The interim constitution was modified several times after the first layout. A major change was made in 1965 to formalize the single party nature of Tanzania government. Consistent with the double government structure defined in 1964, the 1965 constitution identified two government parties; TANU for the Union and ASP for Zanzibar.

In the following years several amendments were added; there was an increase in the number of matters under the authority of the Union government, which led to further limitation of the autonomy of Zanzibar and; the consolidation of one party state and the undermining of the National Assembly in favour of the National Executive Committee of the Party. At time, TANU and ASP were about to merge into Chama Cha Mapinduzi CCM, that happened in 1977.

Reasons for changing from Multi-Party system to Mono-Party system

The followings were the reasons as to why Tanzania changed from multi-party system to mono- party system in 1965:-

1. To promote national unity. A single party system was thought crucial for strengthening national unity. A multiparty system was seen dangerous to national unity of a newly independent country since it would create political parties based on religious, ethnic and even regional lines and this would jeopardize the national unity.
2. To avoid civil war. Mono-party system was seen as a remedy to political chaos and probably civil wars that would result from the struggle for power between rival political parties within a multi-party system. After elections the defeated parties may not be contented with the result hence leading to war.
3. Development orientation. It was argued that a single party was a fast way to development for a country that was just coming from colonial exploitation. The ruling party would not have to spend most of its energies on winning election and staying in power, but would focus on developing policies for economic growth.
4. To avoid imperialist influence. It was thought that with a single party system chances for the imperialists to interfere with the country’s local politics are minimal as its politics is centrally managed by the ruling party. With a multi-party system, imperialist states would seek alliance with different political parties and through them interfere into the country’s affairs.
5. Low political awareness. Multi-party system was rejected because it was seen necessary for Western democracy and not fitting for young states like Tanzania were political sensitization was parochial. It was thought that it would be wise to develop enough political awareness among the people before introducing them to a multi-party system.
6. To avoid challenges from opposition parties. In a multi-party system, opposition parties would oppose some of the functions of the ruling party which sometimes would delay decision making and prevent the proper functioning of the government of the newly independent state.
7. Influence of socialist states. USSR and her communist allies like China, North Korea and Cuba believed in single party system as the way for development. Tanzania being

an ally of these countries, and receiving aid from them was attracted by their political ideology of a single party politics (vanguard party) and later socialism (Ujamaa) from 1967.

• African tradition. It is also believed that single party system was adopted to preserve the traditions of African. It was argued that traditional African states were governed by kings or chiefs and their advisors and did not allow any form of opposition for the king.

5.  PERMANENT CONSTITUTION (1977-Todate)

The Permanent Constitution was approved a month after the merger of TANU and ASP to form Chaina Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). This constitution basically affirmed the main principles of the Republican and Interim constitutions, that are a strong presidential system, double government structure and single party state.

Since its confirmation in 1977, this constitution has had many amendments to modify the original constitution. Many of these are related to the relationship between the Union and the Zanzibar governments and political systems.

i)   The 1983 Constitutional Debate.

There was a serious debate on the constitution change in 1983 initiated by the NEC of CCM. The ruling party, being supreme under the constitution, declared areas to be changed. These were:

• The power of the president
  • Consolidation of the authority of the parliament
  • Strengthening the representative character of the national assembly
  • Consolidation of the union
  • Consolidation of the peoples power

In this debate, people suggested the abolition of the one party supremacy and introduction of multi-party system. Also they suggested introduction of three governments; one for Tanganyika, one for Zanzibar and one for the union of the two — Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

1. In the early 1990s, President of the Union Ali Hassan Mwinyi launched a program of liberal reforms. In 1991, he nominated a commission named Nyalali Commission after its president Francis Nyalali. The commission was tasked to collect people’s views on whether Tanzania should continue with a Single Party system or should adopt a Multi-party system. As a result Tanzania adopted the multi-party political system in 1992. Based on the commission’s works, several amendments were promulgated on both the Union and Zanzibar constitutions, to make the whole of Tanzania a Multi-party state.

1. The Eighth Constitutional Amendment (May 1992) which paved way for Multi-party system come into effect. It established that a member of any registered political party could run for any political seat; parliamentary and presidential candidates could be nominated by any registered party. That meant that independent candidates could not stand for elections any more.
2. The Ninth Amendment (December 1992) reorganized presidential elections and introduced the possibility of removal of the president by way of impeachment by the Parliament; further, it separated the functions of President and Prime Minister.
3. The Eleventh Amendment (December 1994). The system of running mate was introduced that paired a presidential and vice-presidential candidate. It established the President of Zanzibar and the Union vice president as two different, independent roles but the President of Zanzibar became a member of the Union cabinet.
4. The Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment (April 2000) introduced some changes; a presidential candidate required only a simple majority to be declared president unlike before when a candidate needed 50% of votes; allowed the president to nominate up to ten members of parliament to give him/her opportunity to appoint some ‘experts’ to the parliament that can always be called to assist the parliament to clarify complicated issues; it also allowed the increase of the number of the special seats for women from 15% to 20% plus.