In Search of an Islamic Party
Part Five
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| Bilal Rehani Waikela at Resident Magistrate Court Kisutu where he Appeared as a Witness in Sheikh Issa Ponda's Case |
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Bilal Rehani Waikela TANU Founder Member Western Province 1955,
Secretary East Africam Muslim Welfare Society, Football Administrator and
Nyerere's Confidant during the Struggle for Independence, detained by Nyerere
Under Preventive Detention Act of 1962 at Uyui Prison, Tabora following the army
Mutiny of 1964
The government at
that particular time was in no condition to face Prof. Malima and Muslims who
were supporting him. The easy way out for president Mwinyi was to gag Prof.
Malima. Throughout his political carrier and since he stood up to challenge the
Christian Lobby in the government he was used to lies being hurled against him
and consequently to provide definite answers to them. President Mwinyi as well
as the Christian lobby being aware of Prof. Malima’s ability of elaboration of
details and with precision and with his gift of retention of facts and figures
and of his command of English language was scared he would ridicule them in
public. Some say Mwinyi was a gentle person others say he was a weak president
but all said and done Mwinyi was not a fool. He knew better than tussle with
Prof. Malima. Mwinyi looked at his
own future and retirement. He was better off now siding with the Chriatian
Lobby than to be counted with his old friend and advisor. Reflecting on this
some say Mwinyi was a dangerous person. By refusing the Press statement, Prof. Malima was
being denied the right of being heard. People were being denied the right to
know the other side of the story. The following day on Friday, President Mwinyi
accepted Prof. Malima’s resignation.
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After
his resignation many Muslims went to see Prof. Malima to congratulate him. The
political committee went to congratulate him for his resignation from the
government as Minister of Trade and Industries. Then two days later Prof.
Malima through Sheikh Khalifa Hamis suddenly summoned the committee to his
constituency in Kisarawe where a meeting was held. After salat isha Prof. Malima told the committee that he has accepted
their proposal and NRA should start preparations for meeting of the National
Conference to be held in Tabora from where in a public rally he would announce
his resignation from the CCM. At that time NRA had managed to establish
branches in Kigoma, Mpwapwa, Igunga and Tabora.
Sheikh
Khalifa Hamis went to Tabora to prepare the terrain for Prof. Malima’s trip to
the town. NRA had a branch in Tabora but it had scanty membership. The chairman
of NRA Tabora branch was a retired army captain Mustapha Kivuruga, son of
Abdallah Kivuruga founder member of the TAA in Tabora in 1945 and founder
member of TANU in 1955. Mustapha Kivuruga joined the army and was trained in
Israel. Abdallah Kivuruga and his brother Maulidi Kivuruga had been important
personalities in the local politics of Tabora. Sheikh Khalifa held a meeting
with the cream of the Muslim activists in Tabora at the Nujum Muslim Centre. Among those in attendance was Bilal Rehani
Waikela [1] a
veteran of the Muslim struggle against injustices and Christian hegemony.
The
activists were informed that Prof. Malima was coming to Tabora and would
announce his resignation from CCM at a public rally. It was now upon them to
lay down strategy for the success of Prof. Malima’s trip and revitalisation of
NRA. Following this meeting elections were called at the Adult Education Centre
and Waikela was elected NRA Tabora Regional Chairman replacing Kivuruga.
Kivuruga became district chairman. It was from this meeting that membership
drive for the NRA began. Tabora has always carried with it a grudge against the
government. The place was completely forgotten. Like many Muslim areas, no
meaningful development had taken place since independence. The people in Tabora
saw this as there opportunity to have their own back against the government and
the CCM.
Prof.
Malima and his entourage were booked to fly to Tabora on Friday morning aboard Air Tanzania. Their bookings were
confirmed but when they presented their tickets, they were told that the flight
was fully booked. Their protests to the fact that there bookings were confirmed
fell into deaf ears. Prof. Malima decided to travel to Tabora by road.[2]
Meanwhile the Christian Lobby had been busy. It had constantly working on plots
to discredit Prof. Malima in the eyes of the right thinking people. The press
both private and that owned by the government and party, including the
state-owned radio; and the office of the president, has been Muslim’s worst
enemy in its struggle against injustice. The media fabricates and publishes
negative stories about Muslims with impunity.
The
propaganda is given an angle of Muslim radicals harbouring the desiring to
overthrow a legally constituted government. Muslims have suffered in this
campaign with Prof. Malima. The Friday papers Majira, Nipashe, including CCM daily Uhuru and the Tanzania News Agency (SHIHATA) carried stories in banner headlines that
Prof. Malima was on that day Friday the 15 July, 1995 going to announce his
resignation from CCM at Tabora in the Friday Mosque after Friday Prayers. What
this negative publicity wanted to achieve was to portray Prof. Malima as
dangerous man who wanted to pit Muslims against Christians to acquire power for
his own selfish ends. The end result for such an eventuality was obvious civil
upheavals.
On
that Friday morning Muslim notables and leaders and members of the NRA in Tabora
went to the Air Port to meet Prof. Malima. The plane flew in without him. In
Tabora town rumor was spreading that Pro. Malima was to address Muslims and
announce his resignation from CCM from the pulpit of the Tabora Friday Mosque.
Even before the time for the Friday prayers was due, the Friday Mosque was
filled to capacity and some of the worshippers were sitting sprawled outside
the mosque grounds. But few knew that Prof. Malima was not in Tabora that day
anyway. The previous day Regional Police Commander called on the BAKWATA
leadership in Tabora and informed them that Prof. Malima was to address Muslims
at the Friday Mosque. The police commander insisted upon BAKWATA leadership
that that was mixing religion and politics; and that was not acceptable. The
government would not allow house of worship to be used as political arena. It was therefore up to BAKWATA to ensure that
Prof. Malima does is not allowed to announce his resignation from the CCM from
the pulpit. Security personnel were deployed to the mosque early morning on
Friday. There were uniformed and plainclothes policemen on beat around the
Friday Mosque since day break. In the
afternoon police cars arrived at took strategic positions around the mosque. State
Intelligence personnel were very much in evident mingling with Muslims outside
the mosque. This created tension inside and outside the mosque.
Few
minutes before prayers were to begin; Sheikh Mavumbi from BAKWATA arrived at
the mosque in a police car escorted by the Regional Police Commander. Sheikh
Mavumbi went infront of the mosque and through the public addressing system he
warned of the dangers of mixing religion and politics. People were dead silence
listening to Sheikh Mavumbi. He said he has been informed that Prof. Malima was
to address Muslims from the mosque that day and he has come to announce that he
is forbidden to do that in that mosque. As soon as he uttered Prof. Malima’s
name there was pandemonium in the mosque, Muslims shouting asking Sheikh
Mavumbi his source of that information. Sheikh Mavumbi seemed confused as there
were shouts from every angle of the mosque. Muslims looked threatening and the
mood inside the mosque was fiery. Tabora
Friday Mosque is under Imam Issa Mzee, a young man in his mid-thirties. He rose
up to calm Muslims but people were not listening to him.
As
things seemed to get out of control and other Muslims were rising standing up
from where they had been sitting and the crowd outside the mosque was fighting
to get inside the mosque, there was indication that the sanctity of that holy
place was going to be violated. It was then that Waikela moved to the front of
the mosque and took up the microphone and called for peace. Seeing Waikela at
the kibla calm prevailed and Waikela told Muslims not to blame Sheikh Mavumbi
for his announcement. It was probable he had been told to come to the mosque to
make the announcement. The best way for Muslims to do was not to condemn Sheikh
Mavumbi but to ask him who told him that Prof. Malima would come to the mosque
to deliver a political address. Appealing to Muslims Sheikh Waikela asked them
if anyone had seen Prof. Malima in the mosque. The crowd answered in the
negative.
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