In Search of an Islamic Party
Part
Three
The
room did not have chairs, it was fitted with carpets. It was full of books on
shelves and on one side of the room was a desk on top of which there was a
computer and printer on a work station. Qur’an was recited before discussions
began. After the dua was recited the
spokesman of the committee told Prof. Malima that before they can begin to say
what they had come to say they want him first to forget what he was and to
bring his mind to the simple truth that that those who are before him are
Muslims and they want to talk to him as one Muslim to another. The spokesman,
Sheikh Mabruk ended his introduction by saying that, that would make their work
easy. Prof. Malima agreed. It was after
this brief introduction that they told Prof. Malima that they had come to
invite him to lead the NRA and stand as its presidential candidate to deliver
Muslims from bondage. Olotu then presented the constitution and registration of
the NRA to Prof. Malima. As a conclusion to the talks the oldest member of the
committee, much advanced in age than all of them in that room, spoke to Prof.
Malima directly.
He
told him that the time has come for Muslims to benefit from him as other people
were gaining from their own sons. Prof. Malima did not say anything, he was
quite. By then it was time for maghrib
prayers. After the prayers Prof. Malima spoke giving his own experience and
personal history in the effort to form a political party. While the committee
was under the impression that it was recruiting Prof. Malima, unknown to them
was the fact that Prof. Malima had in actual fact in a way recruited them.
Prof. Malima had begun his plan for a political movement much earlier than any
of them could possibly know. But Prof.
Malima’s efforts were hindered by betrayals. He told the committee that before
he went for pilgrimage to Mecca the previous year, he left the task of opening
negotiations with UMD, CUF and NRA to certain people he once thought he could
trust. The aim of opening negotiations with those parties, Prof. Malima told his
audience was to convince them to unite after which he would resign from the CCM
and join the united force. But negotiations did not go as Prof. Malima had
expected. This option of uniting the parties was a result of NEMA being refused
registration. After giving his experience which was full of disappointments,
Prof. Malima requested the committee to give him time to think over their
proposal.
The
committee was stunned as they had gone there with very high hopes. They thought
Prof. Malima had politely declined their proposition. Prof. Malima was the hope
of every Muslim. He was the only Muslim in the history of Muslim cabinet
ministers to have put the problem of Muslim-Christian disparity in distribution
of power and education opportunities on the government agenda at the cost of his
own future. In his narration to them it was not difficult to see that Prof..
Malima had impressed upon them of the fact that he had been let down and to
some extent betrayed by the very people he had trusted. Why should he trust
this group of people who he hardly knew who had come to invite him to a party
which he did not know of its direction and objectives? Once again it seemed
Muslims were witnessing another door to their future slammed shut on their
faces. Heads bowed the members of the committee quietly forced back tears which
however rolled down their cheeks. As the committee left it was under the
impression that Prof. Malima had ruled them as munafik-hypocrites, double faced Muslims who are untrustworthy. Prof. Malima knew he had the support of Muslims. President Mwinyi was not oblivious to these
realities. He knew Prof. Malima had the support of Muslims and should he resign
from the CCM to lead Muslims the country would face a Muslim awakening never
experienced in its thirty-one years of independence. But unknown
to these people were that Prof. Malima had by then made his decision to
lead the nation towards justice and equality to all. That was the decision
which was to cost his life. It is believed that this decision was made on 26
February, 1995. Prof. Malima decided
once and for all to tackle the Christian Lobby head on. He decided to hold the
bull by the horn. Prof. Malima had already decided to resign from CCM and
government. No Muslim had gone that far.
At this juncture we
need to explore what was going on in the political fabric in the country and
government and also give a summary of Prof. Malima’s life in government
service. During the celebrations of Muharam 1416 A.H (1995). the New Year in the Muslim calendar at
Mnazi Mmoja Grounds organised by Muzdaliffa Muslim Academy under the chairmanship
of Tewa Said Tewa, [1]
Sheikhs, Khalifa Hamis his eloquence in full force in his khutba to Muslims, drew their attention to the hostility unleashed
on Prof. Malima by The Christian Lobby. Sheikh Khalifa challenged Prof. Malima
who was present at the ceremony as a guest of honour, to resign from the CCM
and government to lead Muslims in the coming elections. In similar Muslim
occasions Muslims had come out to ask Prof. Malima to resign from the CCM and
lead Muslim movement. Chief Abdallah Said Fundikira was the first Muslim leader
to come out openly to invite Prof. Malima to lead his party the UMD. It is said
it was one of the leaders of Muzdaliffa
who first approached Prof. Malima with a serious offer asking him to resign
from the CCM and lead a political party of his own. There were calls
from Muslim to Prof. Malima to resign from CCM and lead Muslims from bondage.
The Christian lobby approached President Mwinyi and advised him to send him out
of the country because he was becoming influential and popular among Muslims.
President Mwinyi agreed to the proposal. On 17 February, 1995 during the Holy
Month of Ramadhan President Mwinyi summoned Prof. Malima and informed him of
his decision to appoint him ambassador to Brussels or Geneva depending on his
preferences. He was told to decide which of the two places he wanted to go. It
is not difficult to understand why the Christian Lobby wanted Prof. Malima out
of the country.
[1] Tewa Said Tewa was a member of the TAA
and founder member of TANU. He was in the first independence cabinet and was
president of the EAMWS Tanzania Council until when it was banned by Julius
Nyerere in 1968. Tewa was Tanzania ’s
first ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China
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