The unhappy series of events had begun with the Zanzibar elections in October/November 2000.

The government’s view that the elections had been free and fair was defended in the Dar es Salaam Guardian (January 25-26) by Prof. Ernest Njau of the University of Dar es Salaam. He argued that CUF’s refusal to recognise the previous Zanzibar President had created tensions which called for the setting up of a strictly secure atmosphere before the elections; there was not enough time to implement an agreement signed between the parties and brokered by the Commonwealth; if there were some accidental excesses during the enforcement of security measures they should not be used as a basis for baptising the whole exercise as a reign of terror and should be dealt with separately; no party had objected to the electoral roll or withdrawn from the elections; none had taken any legal action; the increase in the electoral roll from 349,000 in the 1995 elections to 455,000 in 2000 could only be faulted if the 1995 roll had itself been 100% correct but this was not certain; it was unfair to consider local headmen, who had been given responsibility to draw up the registers, unreliable, because they were appointed by CCM; crude statements allegedly made by CUF that (the new) President of Zanzibar was President Mkapa’s ‘Governor’ of Zanzibar and that the islands were under military occupation showed the true character of the party; after the elections there had been a bombing campaign and threats by CUF to use violence; the truth of the matter was that the election had been a continuation of a historical conflict dating back to before the 1964 revolution between those who believed in democracy and those who didn’t. The rest of the article summarised what it described as the long struggle of the people of Zanzibar against oppression since the arrival of the first Arab settlers in the year 950.

The opposition had strongly contested the conduct of and results of the elections as explained in Tanzanian Affairs No. 68.

THE SUBSEQUENT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

OCTOBER 30. The day after the elections. Eighteen CUF leaders held in jail for three years on charges of treason were released. Three Tanzanian Appeal Court judges ruled that treason could not be committed against Zanzibar as it was not a sovereign state.

DECEMBER. The CUF opposition party called for peaceful rallies in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar for 27th January to protest against the Zanzibar election results. The government banned the protests but the CUF leadership decided to continue with them.

EARLY JANUARY. Former CCM Prime Minister Judge Joseph Warioba, acting for the Nyerere Foundation, began a one-man initiative to forestall the development of a crisis in Zanzibar. But CCM Vice-Chairman John Malecela was quoted in the Guardian as wondering what the Judge was trying to mediate as ‘there was no contention worth his attention’. He indicated that CCM would distance itself from the initiative.

Opening a new police station in Zanzibar on JANUARY 11 President Mkapa said that citizens should not fear more police stations because the stations were not meant to harass or victimise people; they were meant to protect them and their property so that they could take an active part in development. He castigated those who blamed the police for doing their duty. “This is not fair. We are discouraging our police. We should not blame the whole force because of one errant policeman. Actually we should congratulate and thank them” he said.

JANUARY 25. Ahead of the main rally, CUF organised a small meeting at Mbagala in Dar es Salaam. CUF stated its demands clearly – new elections in Zanzibar, the reform of both the mainland and Zanzibar Electoral Commissions and some changes to the constitutions. Police broke up the meeting with force declaring it to be illegal. CUF National Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, a CUF MP and several CUF supporters were arrested and several were roughed up.

JANUARY 26. The day before the serious disturbances. Prof Lipumba, whose right arm was bandaged, and 16 others were in court on a charge of taking part in an unlawful assembly. Police shot dead two people and injured many others as they left a mosque amidst very tight security in Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar. Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye said that terrorist elements in the CUF ranks were bent on causing destruction of property and harming innocent Tanzanians for political expediency.

JANUARY 27. In Dar es Salaam riot police battled with demonstrators, gun shots were fired into the air and tear gas canisters were fired. Some 100 people were arrested. Serious disturbances took place in the CUF stronghold of Pemba. That the police were responsible for killing many civilians on that day and that hundreds of refugees subsequently fled to Kenya was accepted by all, but precisely what happened in Pemba, the centre of the disturbances, is a matter of dispute. The government’s statement on the events was as follows: 23 people had been killed including one policeman. CUF was responsible because it had disobeyed lawful government orders. Ten deaths had occurred when armed young people had invaded police stations in Micheweni and Wete intending to steal firearms. Police were forced to fire live ammunition in self defence when they were cornered. The police only fired after tear gas and rubber bullets had failed to disperse people. CUF claimed that some 60 people had been killed and that the police had used excessive violence against a peaceful series of protests.

The Tanzanian media quoted many angry reactions to the police violence: Examples: “Why do police carry on bludgeoning suspects/victims when they are lying passive and inert on the ground”; “The sickening terror and violence unleashed on unarmed demonstrators by the supposed guardians of the law reminded me of the dark days of apartheid”.

JANUARY 29. Forty CUF members (out of 140 arrested) appeared in court in Dar es Salaam charged with forming an illegal procession.

JANUARY 30. President Mkapa promoted 14 senior police officers including the head of the Field Force in Dar es Salaam and the Zanzibar CID Director.

LATE JANUARY. The previously disparate main opposition parties started working closely together with CUF for the first time to ‘draw up a strategy to create true democracy in the country’.

FEBRUARY 9. Tanzanians were surprised to learn that four prominent figures, all born in Tanzania, had been suddenly declared to be foreigners. They included former Tanzanian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Timothy Bandora and Sports Council head and former member of the CCM National Executive Committee, Jenerali Ulimwengu (he had presided over the TV programme on the earlier violence – see TA No 68 – which had shocked the people of Dar es Salaam by showing the extent of the police’s brutality in Zanzibar Town on October 30th). Both were said to be Rwandans.

FEBRUARY 16. The Guardian reported that unknown people had hacked to death the Chake Chake (Pemba) District Chairman of CCM.

MARCH 7. Zanzibar refugees at Shimoni on Kenya’s coast started a hunger strike to protest against proposals to transfer them to a permanent refugee camp at Daadab in north eastern Kenya’. President Mkapa called upon the refugees to return to Pemba but, according to ‘Africa Analysis’ (MARCH 23) a UNHCR visiting team had left the country unable to agree with the government that it was yet safe for them to return.

APRIL 7. Tanzania’s opposition party leaders led what ‘The East African’ estimated to be 50,000 people in a protest march in Dar es Salaam – it said it was one of the largest demonstrations in the history of Tanzania.

APRIL 11. The government said it would not yield to international and domestic pressure to investigate January’s violent clashes in Zanzibar. The opposition had demanded an independent enquiry. “I do not see the need to hold an independent enquiry” 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” he said.

According to Majira, MAY 6 was scheduled for the trial of Seif Sharif Hamad and 19 other CUF leaders who had been charged with assaulting a police officer and stealing a gun in April 2000.

PRESIDENT MKAPA INTERVIEWED
In early February President Mkapa admitted that the killings in Zanzibar had soiled Tanzania’s good image. However, responding angrily to questions in a BBC interview, he attacked the media for exaggerating reports of the troubles, some foreign embassies for being biased in favour of the opposition CUF and foreign election observers for not having been in the country long enough to appreciate that the elections in Zanzibar had been free and fair. He added that if foreign donors wished to withhold aid they could do so – it was their choice.

IN FURTHER DEFENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT
‘Opposition parties in Tanzania need to realise the magnitude of their task in bringing about full democracy as their poor performance (in the elections) has been due to lack of vision, strategic programmes and poor mobilisation’. So said Professor Samwel Mushi of the University of Dar Salaam’s Department of Political Science in an interview with the Guardian. He gave credit to Tanzania’s previous single-party system arguing that CCM MP’s who could then challenge the government were now forced to remain silent as they could not speak against their own party. One of the problems with Tanzanian political parties was that they relied on personalities.

A stout defence of CCM and condemnation of CUF was published by the Dar es Salaam Sunday Observer on January 21. Extracts: ‘Those of us who know this country’s politics have been extremely disenchanted by the readiness of the international community to be hoodwinked by the foul cries of parties in the opposition particularly CUF. Since the 1995 elections CUF refused to recognise the President of Zanzibar. Why was the international community hoodwinked by CUF. Intellectuals, particularly university academia everywhere, are opinion leaders. Historically, intellectuals and particularly dons at the University of Dar es Salaam have always been opposed to the ruling party. In Zanzibar our intellectuals had no choice but CUF. Aware of CUF Secretary General Seif Sharif Hamad’s brief political history, having been raised from the dead by the late Mwalimu Nyerere, he has been a victim of self destruction through immeasurable greed and political ambition. It is no wonder that our most subjective social researcher supported Seif Sharif s claim that he had won Zanzibar’s elections although he did not participate in vote-counting. The 1995 and 2000 elections had demonstrated the lowest level of objectivity amongst journalists. Subjectivity has pervaded some intellectuals and journalists in support of very weak parties and politicians in most cases unknown to the people and had persuaded the international community not to recognise the previous President Dr Amour ….. Seif Sharif was a very clever fellow. . . .. His drive for the acquisition and maintenance of power was unrivalled. Criticisms against CCM by intellectuals and misguided news media were often wild and subjective …. CCM stands to be blamed for ignoring the empty attacks by the opposition. CCM could have helped the international community by exposing the shortcomings of leaders of the opposition ….. No time had been spent on appreciating CCM’s strength, historical credibility, and organisational network of members, leaders and cadres which began at the 1 a-cell level, had leaders trained in party colleges, a credible record in governance and human rights. It was the only party capable of maintaining peace, security, national harmony and cohesion in a region torn apart by tribal/religious inspired wars ….

DIVISIONS WITHIN THE PARTIES
Both main parties, CCM and CUF, have shown signs of division since the events of January.

CCM. President Mkapa said on March 13 that a number of different factions had emerged in the CCM party during the elections. He said that they should be disbanded. ‘Africa Analysis’ in an examination of the circumstances under which President Mkapa had hardened his position in his dealings with Zanzibar, wrote that the President had only a weak power base within the CCM and was heavily reliant on his principal adviser and veteran politician Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru and army and police chiefs. It also considered that there was a split within the CCM between the old guard led by the controversial former prime ministers John Malecela and Cleopa Msuya and younger self-styled ‘reformers’ including Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete and MP Edward Lowassa. Others were said to be coalescing around former Prime Minister Joseph Warioba who were disappointed by the President’s actions in Zanzibar, his alleged lack of direction in fighting corruption and his zeal in paying off the country’s debts. There was also a rift said to be arising from the way in which mainland CCM leaders had prevented former President Amour from standing for a third term in Zanzibar and replacing him as presidential candidate by Amani Karume. This had affected the latter’s authority now that he had become President of Zanzibar. In an earlier article AFRICA ANALYSIS said that President Mkapa was now ‘wobbly’ within his CCM power base because of his ‘inept handling’ of the Zanzibar crisis. It spoke of his ‘dictatorial tendencies’.

CUF. With tension still high in Zanzibar, the Secretaries General of CCM and CUF suddenly announced in March that they had signed an agreement designed to reduce the tension – see below. This caused considerable consternation amongst Seif Hamad’s CUF supporters but Hamad explained that he was not calling off the boycott of parliament. A number of dissidents broke away to form a new party which they called the ‘National Alliance Party’. On April 19 it was reported in Mtanzania that the dissident CUF members had started a party to be called ‘Forum for the Restoration of Democracy’. Hamad accused the dissidents of being set up by CCM.

‘Africa Analysis’ explained the situation as follows: ‘Like any other party CUF is an alliance of different persuasions. The majority moderate centre group has been advocating peaceful change for five years but now warns that this has had no effect. CUF promised to share power with CCM if it won the 2000 elections but there is pressure from more extreme elements in the party, concentrated in Pemba, who would like to break up the union and restore the Sultanate which was overthrown in the 1964 revolution. There is even talk of the possible introduction of Sharia law… This faction will increase in influence unless there is some progress towards reform’.

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
The list of people and organisations expressing concern or shock at what happened around January 27th (as explained in the Guardian), included the EU, the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Japanese representatives in Dar es Salaam, the Secretary General of the OAU, Human Rights Watch, the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, Amnesty International, the Human Rights Group Article 19, Professor Haroub Othman, Chairman of the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre who said that force was not the answer to the problems of Zanzibar, the Tanzania Law Society, which said that there should be a judicial commission of enquiry, the University of Dar es Salaam’s Academic Staff Assembly and Students Organisation and the Legal Aid Committee who called for an end to the ‘culture of violence’. The Commission for Human Rights and Justice, after visiting the refugees in Kenya spoke of the ‘eternal shame for Tanzania’ and the need to bring the violence to an end.

On March 2 the Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office was quoted in ‘The East African’ as having accused ‘Amnesty International’ of sneaking into the country and issuing an exaggerated report on the political stalemate in Zanzibar. Amnesty had called for an independent enquiry into the troubles.

OTHER COMMENTS
Tanzania had a bad press internationally following the events in Zanzibar. Both parties in the dispute were criticised for their actions but the general conclusion was that the government had used excessive force following Zanzibar elections which most commentators had believed were rigged.

Reflecting on what it described as the ‘Nyerere legacy’, Africa Today’ (March) wrote that the 37 year old union between the mainland and Zanzibar seemed to have run its course. Now that Zanzibar President Karume (who was assassinated in 1972) and Mwalimu Nyerere (who died last year), the authors of the Union, were no more, there was no glue to hold it together. The article (by Jackson Malulu) went on to say that therein lay one of the harshest commentaries on Mwalimu’s legacy. After imposing a union on a reluctant nation, he failed to institutionalise it and failed to notice when the country had grown tired of it. Now the chickens were coming home to roost.. … In the early 1980s when Tanzanians had been given the chance to debate the Tanzania they wanted, the Zanzibaris overwhelmingly went for a three-government (Tanganyika, Zanzibar and the Union) structure while mainlanders identified human rights abuses as the most fundamental issue. The same issues still divided the country down the middle. President Mkapa was caught between a rock and a hard place. He was a political orphan of Mwalimu and could not afford to be seen to be in a hurry to do away with his mentor’s pet project. Yet objective conditions demanded that he did exactly that. Public opinion in the wake of the Zanzibar chaos was firmly for a national dialogue on Tanzania’s future. This is what respected law scholar Issa Shivji had called the ‘silver lining in the cloud’ that had settled on Tanzania after 27th January.

The absence of parliamentarians from the opposition camp in the National Assembly and House of Representatives was a blow to democracy as the ruling CCM MPs could not freely criticise their governments in the two houses of parliament. The former Minister for Home Affairs, Ali Ameir Mohamed, was quoted in the Guardian on April 9 as saying that opposition MPs were in a better position than CCM MPs to question and criticise the governments. He was commenting on the sacking of the 15 CUF MPs from the National Assembly and 19 CUF representatives from the House of Representatives for failing to attend three consecutive House sessions without giving acceptable reasons. Mohamed, former CCM Deputy Secretary General (Zanzibar) and a current member of the CCM National Executive Committee, criticised CUF decisions, arrived at because of poor advisers, which pushed democracy to the brink of an abyss. He said the expulsion of the 34 CUF legislators from the Houses was necessitated by their neglect to abide by the constitution and that they even failed to notify relevant authorities of their absence. A political party cannot just wake up and expect to come to power without having long-term plans to acquire political power, he said. Although one of the major demands of the opposition was for the reform of electoral institutions, they forgot that one of their roles in the House was to urge for a change of laws which they thought were undemocratic. However, Mohamed suggested a review of the legislation that made the CUF legislators lose their seats. This should be done to build democracy. He contended that CUF failed to be effective politically because its leaders yearned to go to the State House before they were due. CUF failed to come up with strategies which could enable the party to win the elections and occupy the State House legally instead of boycotting House sessions. “It is an open secret that CUF is a powerful party, but it fails to achieve its objective without preparing the means,” he said.

In early April the London-based press freedom watchdog ‘Article 19’ published a detailed report entitled ‘Freedom of Association and Assembly – Unions, NGO’s and political freedom in sub Saharan Africa’ in which Tanzania was one of the case studies. The report warned that there was not yet democracy in Africa. Ruling parties still had too much control. In Tanzania, it noted that under the Political Parties Act the conditions imposed on the registration of new parties were cumbersome and that the Act effectively compelled all parties to support the policy of keeping the Union. In commenting on the report ‘The East African’ wrote that recent political manoeuvring by CCM pointed towards the country’s backsliding towards a one-party state with only 15 opposition MP’s left in parliament.

INDICATIONS OF RECONCILIATION
On March 9 CCM’s Secretary General Philip Mangula and his CUF opposite number Seif Shariff Hamad had caused some surprise when they announced that they had signed an agreement which called upon the two parties to put past hatreds behind them and restore normal political life. Between April 9 and 23 CCM and CUF technical committees continued to meet on reducing political tensions but reached agreement on only one of the four items on the agenda. Discussions were to continue.

As this issue of TA went to press the Swahili paper Nipashe, under the banner headline ‘CUF compromises on refugees’ wrote that Zanzibar refugees in Kenya might be prepared to return home following an assurance from Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed Seif Khatib, that all but four, who would be charged, could now return home without risk of prosecution. However, on April 28 the Guardian wrote that 700 mostly young refugees had agreed to move to the UNHCR-supported camp at Daadab in Kenya and had said that they would not return to Pemba until the release of CUF members said to be held in police stations and there was an independent commission of enquiry.

CCM SUCCESS
CCM received a great boost and the opposition a severe blow in the by-election in Busega (Mwanza Region) when candidate Raphael Chegeni (CCM) obtained 22,512 votes against the recent presidential candidate, former deputy leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and leader of the United Democratic party (UDP) John Cheyo, who got only 18,044. The loss was all the greater because, for the first time, all the opposition parties had stood together in support of Cheyo. These results and four other CCM by-election results indicated that there had been virtually no change in popular opinion in the country since the October general elections.

In Zanzibar Aman Abeid Karume (CCM) was declared to be the new President and CCM won a two thirds majority in the House of Assembly but the election was seriously flawed and had to be held again in 16 constituencies in the Urban West region on November 5. The results have been rejected by all the ten opposition parties which took part. The leading opposition party, CUF, refused to recognise the government and its MP’s decided to boycott the National Assembly and the Zanzibar House of Assembly in protest.

A PERSONAL DIARY. Part 2. Zanzibar. by editor David Brewin

Saturday October 27.
1O.00am. Final election rallies: The CCM rally is a sea of yellow. More than 50% of the big crowd are dressed in CCM yellow caps, green and yellow t-shirts with portraits of the presidential candidate. Picnic atmosphere. People are enjoying themselves -chatting, shopping at scores of small stalls, singing, dancing, playing drums. Less than 25% are listening to the speeches. No police in sight. The CUF rally is quite different. A quiet, disciplined and serious crowd listening to the speakers -CUF Zanzibar leader Seif Shariff Hamad speaks then Lipumba at his penultimate rally -he is flying to Dar es Salaam this afternoon. Armed police are stationed every 10 yards around two sides of the meeting and chivvying people on the periphery who are standing or sitting where the police feel they should not be.

Sunday October 29. Election day
8.30am. Mjimkongwe, Stonetown, a CUF stronghold. Two long queues of voters. Women approach the polling station from one side; men from the other. We immediately see two young men being beaten with batons and then taken away by the police. We are told that they had been wearing CUF badges. On the other side of the school we see a man being chased by police dressed in sailor style uniforms. When he falls down he is severely kicked before being whisked away. Assuming that I am an observer, angry CUF women crowd around us and point out three small groups of about a dozen young girls all holding voting certificates. “These are not Zanzibaris” they say. “Look at the colour of their skin, the clothes they are wearing”. They are dressed in shabby shirts and trousers in contrast to what we are told are the real Zanzibar women who all seem to be immaculately dressed most with their heads covered. The girls refuse to talk. Their leader tells them not to. They look very uncomfortable. The leader is asked where she lives. “Over there” she says pointing to a house. “Oh no you don’t” says an angry CUF man. I know everyone in that house”. We move away and the police move in to question the people who have just been talking to us. In a very intimidating situation, with the help of my press pass, I squeeze through the crowd and into the polling station. I exchange a few words with the Returning Officer and then see a large space on a bench and move to sit down. The Returning Officer indicates that that is where the electoral list is held and I am not allowed to sit there. Six party political monitors squeeze more closely together on their bench and invite me to join them. The Returning Officer starts his speech prior to opening the polling station. He translates part of it into English for my benefit. A nervous CUF monitor says that he is not happy about some of the people standing in the queue waiting to vote. The Returning Officer, who gives every indication that he is going to run his operation with military precision, replies: “I am in charge here. My decision on who can and who cannot vote is final. If you want to object you know the procedure. You can make your objections in writing later”. One of the CUF monitors leaves. Voting begins. Outside a crowd is pushing against the gate to try and enter. A middle aged Arab is pushed through and is heavily hit on the head by a policewoman’s baton. People in the crowd tell us that another man has just been arrested by the police and put in the boot of a saloon car. He had had to be turned round because his head didn’t fit in properly before the lid was slammed down. The police car had then driven away (About 150 people were
arrested during election day).

1O.15am Mlandege Polling Station (Darajani Primary School).
Voting is proceeding in an orderly way. I am told that some people from the mainland had come and tried to vote but they had been chased away.

11.20am Jangombe Polling Station. Very long queues. Voting has not yet started because there are no ballot papers and forms. I ask the Returning Officer if I may speak to the party agents. “You can ask me questions. You can’t do anything else”. After one or two I say that I have no more questions. He says “Then get out”. This seems reasonable under the circumstances.

11.45am. Kwahani Primary School. Just after we arrive we hear loud applause from hundreds of waiting voters. Voting has not started but a truck has just arrived with the missing documents Then the delivery man reveals that he hasn’t brought ballot boxes for the two presidential elections nor the ink to mark voter’s fingers. Angry reaction. Voting can’t start. CCM monitor points out that voting must close at 5.00pm. Loud dissent from almost everyone. But people soon become calm again and accept what has happened (During the whole day the calm and patience of the voters was remarkable to witness).

12.15pm. Mikunguni. Voting has just started. Ballot boxes are being sealed, in the presence of party monitors with the help of lighted candles. By chance the Chairman of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, Mr. Abdulrahman Jumbe Mwinyi is present. I ask him about the delays. “Inefficiency” he replies. One or two members of his staff had got things wrong. “And that is the only reason for the delay” he adds before he moves on.

1.00pm. Amani Stadium. Voting had started early and everything is in good order.

1.45pm. Jimbo la Kikwajuni.(Kisiwa Primary School). Voting proceeding slowly. Many have been waiting seven hours. 4.45pm. I pay a visit to the ZEC headquarters to find out how the election is going generally. As I arrive CCM presidential candidate Karume with a retinue of top CCM people is leaving.

7:30pm. Bububu polling station, about 8 kms from town. Pitch dark. Voting has not yet started. Scores of unhappy people surround me assuming that I am a foreign observer and I will do something. Heavily shielded and armed police everywhere but I am not impeded after showing my press card.

8.00pm -a puncture! A Monitor from the TADEA party helps us with his powerful torch to change the wheel.

8.30 pm Jangombe polling station. Pitch dark. A large number of people. I speak at length to a young civil servant here to do his duty and supervise one classroom where voting should have taken place. He is eager to hear what is happening elsewhere. He has received no instructions all day and people have been blaming him for not letting them vote. He has told them that he also is hungry, thirsty and tired. The people accept what he says. In spite of the darkness I feel remarkably safe. Hundreds of people around the polling station are still hoping to vote.

9pm Raha Leo. Voting completed. Am told that counting of votes had started and CUF was reported to have been in the lead but counting had then suddenly stopped on instructions from ZEC. Voters had been instructed to leave. Only the Returning Officer and party monitors were left, in accordance with the rules. In one badly lit classroom there is a heated argument about ballot box seals. CUF monitor wants to seal the boxes with the seals he has in his hand. CCM monitor is friendly. Maybe my presence persuades him to stop objecting. He tells CUF man to go ahead and place his seals on the five ballot boxes -one each for the presidency of Tanzania, the presidency of Zanzibar, the Tanzanian National Assembly, the Zanzibar House of Assembly and one for local councillors. As he moves over to seal them he is stopped by the Returning Officer. “No” he said. “Not now. Maybe later”

9:30pm. Meet an American observer who said he has seen plenty of examples of bad administration but no actual rigging. He had witnessed the opening of some ballot boxes in Stonetown (a CUF stronghold) and had noted that there were about 200 votes for CUF and 50 for CCM. Then the counting had been stopped.

9.45pm. Another journalist tells me that the German Swahili radio service ‘Deutsche Welle’ had managed to interview one of the voters said not to be from Zanzibar. This voter was said to have explained that they had been brought over from Dar es Salaam the night before.

10.00pm We notice two long lines of teenage boys near another polling station in Stonetown. I ask them what they’re waiting for. They refuse to speak. I ask the policeman who is with them and he explains that they are security guards for the Zantel office. They look very young and very numerous for such a job. My companion wants to ask more questions because he thinks that they are villagers brought in from the countryside to vote. I notice armed marine police rapidly descending upon us and not looking friendly. We leave very hurriedly.

Monday. October 30. The day after.

8.00am. Go to the port to buy a ticket for my planned return to Dar es Salaam in the afternoon. Hear that the election has been annulled by ZEC in 16 constituencies (in Zanzibar town and the West coast). Three of these seats were won by CUF in 1995.

10.00am Attend a packed CUF press conference at Bwawani Hotel. CUF leader Hamad says that the election has been a complete mess and should be run again in its entirety. It would take three to six months to organise. The Field Force had taken ballot boxes away and nobody knew where they were. ZEC was responsible for the chaos. Zanzibar needed a provisional government consisting of respected people to conduct new elections. “If ZEC ignores us, as usual, they will bear responsibility for what then happens. It will prove that the ZEC is working with the CCM . Yesterday ZEC had claimed that they had nullified the results in two whole districts because of irregularities. In fact CCM had told ZEC to close the counting because CCM was losing. There had been irregularities everywhere. In Kanyageni the Field Force had confiscated all ballot boxes by force. At Mjimkongwe they had brought people from all over to vote. At Bububu they tried to bring ballot boxes from elsewhere. “Did you meet ZEC and complain?” he was asked. “My manager went five times but could get no meaningful answers”. If the Commonwealth Agreement (on reform of the ZEC) had been implemented we would not be in this position he concluded.

11.15 am. On advice from the local BBC correspondent all the journalists move off to the Serena Hotel to receive a press release from the Commonwealth observers.

11.30am I suggest that we go to the CCM HQ to hear what they have to say but we do not reach their office. On the main street we see people scattering in every direction. Police beating people up. The police suddenly jump out of their truck and start shooting. (They were shooting in the air although that wasn’t apparent at the time). I am heard telling the driver to turn round fast and saying that I don’t want to die in Zanzibar. Shops close. People disappear. Have to cancel a lunch engagement.

6.30pm Arrive in Dar es Salaam. Am trying to separate gossip and rumour from the truth but one persistent rumour is that perhaps the President of Zanzibar, Dr Salmin Amour (who was not allowed to run for a third term and his favoured candidate to succeed him was not selected) might have been the cause of the problems in Zanzibar. It is announced that all parties except CCM have decided to boycott the second election in the 16 constituencies in Zanzibar. CCM supporters insist that the violence was not all on one side. “CUF started throwing stones before the police started firing” one pointed out. A new CCM Councillor tells me that, after attending a rally in Dar es Salaam, his car windscreen had been broken. But CUF had paid for the damage!

Sunday 5th November
Evening. A documentary lasting two hours on TV features the respected editor Jenerali Ulimwengu, Dar es Salaam University Professor Samuel Mushi and Dr Lauran N dumbaru from Zanzibar talking about the Zanzibar elections. The programme has as its background remarkable scenes of the beating up of people prior to the shooting in the air (which I had witnessed). The video showed that, as CUF’s Seif Hamad had left his press conference, his supporters had started celebrating on the main street Darajani. “We’ve won. We’ve won” they were shouting. Smiles all round. Like a fiesta. The police had responded angrily and started beating people. Some people had reacted by throwing stones. Police anger had increased. Some, including an old lady, who had fled into a nearby shop, were dragged out and beaten again. Nobody resisted. Most could be seen to have their hands in the air in surrender. One policeman had vented his anger by stamping heavily on a bicycle. Extracts from the discussion: “This is a shock…. Shameful … Where are we going? Not understandable. Violence even when people are lying down! The police did nothing to stop cameramen taking the pictures! CUP have been complaining for long about human rights abuses; this justifies their claims …. Who will look after the ballot boxes for the next week? .. Zanzibar is being destroyed” -DRB.

WHAT THE FOREIGN OBSERVERS SAID
Dr Gaositwe Chiepe, former Botswana Foreign Minister and Chairperson of the Commonwealth Monitoring Group. “We wish to record our sadness and deep disappointment at the way in which so many voters were treated by the ZEC … in many places this election was a shambles. The cause is either massive incompetence or a deliberate attempt to wreck at least part of this election. Either way the outcome represents a colossal contempt for ordinary Zanzibar people and their aspirations for democracy … in some places the voting went well and staff were often efficient and dedicated. But the scale of the organisational failure is such as to totally cancel out these positive factors …. the Zanzibar elections should be held again in their entirety. But first the existing election management machinery must be reformed from top to bottom … “. What had happened in Zanzibar was a travesty of democracy. The failure of the ZEC had erased all the good things the international community had seen. Just before departure she added: ‘We were confirmed in our view that elections should be held again by the way in which the suspension of elections in the 16 constituencies was implemented. It suggests that there may be even greater cause for concern”.

Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Team Leader Dr Alex Ekwueme praised the conduct of the mainland election but said that it was a matter of deep regret that, notwithstanding the assurances given, the ZEC was unable or unwilling to conduct the elections in Zanzibar in an efficient manner …. the counting process was sometimes interfered with by ZEC officials and by some ruling party cadres. The political crisis into which the ZEC had thrown Zanzibar was totally unnecessary and could have been avoided …. The observer team regrets that it is unable to endorse the Zanzibar elections as having been free and representative of popular opinion ….. ”

SADC mission chairman Geoff Doidge said that the ZEC’s capacity to organise the elections fell far short of expectations. Given the comparatively small size of Zanzibar it was difficult to believe such problems were purely technical … all parties should urgently meet to agree on fresh elections under a reconstituted ZEC. There had also been unequal access by opposition parties to the media and other resources.

Laurie Cooper, International Foundation for Election Systems, Washington DC: “The Zanzibar elections squandered the opportunity to advance Zanzibar’s transition to democracy. The ZEC’s suspension of the election operations compromised the integrity of the election process archipelago wide ….. the removal of ballot boxes from the voting stations … in Jangombe, Amani, Sogea, Wawi and other stations without the full participation of poll workers, party agents, candidates appeared to have been hastily implemented and ill-conceived. The 14­member delegation is of the opinion that these elections did not merit the trust of Zanzibar’s citizens … new elections in all constituencies properly conducted could address the volatile situation …. the delegation notes with deep regret the actions of the security forces …. ” .

DETAILED RESULTS

ZANZIBAR PRESIDENCY: Karume 67% Hamad 33%

ZANZIBAR HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY (50 elected seats):

CCM took 28 seats in Unguja and 6 in Pemba (compared with none last time) = 34 elected MP’s plus six special seats for women, plus five regional commissioners plus the Attorney General -Total 46 seats.

CUF got 17 elected seats compared with 24 in 1995. (These figures may not be exactly right but will be corrected in the next issue of TA if necessary -Editor).

The CUF boycott was fully supported as illustrated by some of the results of the election for National Assembly MP’s this year compared with those of 1995. In Kikwajuni CCM scored 2,448 votes in 1995 and 6,101 in this election. CUF’s vote fell dramatically from 1,985 in 1995 to 212 in 2000. In Jangombe CCM had 9,947 votes in 1995 and 7,321 this year. CUF fell from 4,461 in 1995 to 293 this year.

EFFORTS TOWARDS RECONCILIATION
President Karume (52) is widely regarded as a conciliator and he lost no time in taking several steps to ease the tension in the Isles.

First of all he had a ‘clean sweep’ in selecting his new 12­member cabinet (reduced from 14 for reasons of economy). He appointed as Chief Minister Mr Shansi Vuai Nahoda (38) former TV producer and information officer. The cabinet includes one woman but does not include a single one of the ministers who served under previous President Amour. It also includes three ministers from Pemba (previously none). Of the four new Deputy ministers none were in Amour’s cabinet.

The President made a further important move towards reconciliation by freeing the 18 CUF leaders who have languished in jail for three years charged with treason and another in releasing the 150 people who were arrested during the election. It was decided not to continue with the treason trial as treason could not be committed in Zanzibar because it was not a sovereign state. Many wondered why it had taken three years to find this out.

On December 1 an apparently more friendly attitude to the press was reported in the Guardian. The government had apologised to various journalists who had been barred from the swearing in of President Karume. It had been due to ‘lack of proper communication between the authority and security guards’ it said.

Influential former President Mwinyi, quoted in the Guardian on November 26, said that Zanzibaris should try to form a coalition government as had been proposed by Mwalimu Nyerere after the 1995 elections. But he thought that it would be very difficult because CUF refused to recognise the President who had won by a two-thirds majority. He hoped to help to bring about a rapport in Zanzibar

In his first speech to the new Parliament in Dodoma President Mkapa said that in the next two months the Union and Zanzibar governments would start resolving some of the issues undermining the smooth operations of the Union. He welcomed views from within and outside the country. All people should respect the peoples’ verdict, stop bickering and get down to work.

The famous astrologer Shekh Yahaya Hussein was reported in the Guardian to have forecast a government of national union in Zanzibar within 14 months.

WHAT WILL THE DONORS DO?
Most Western donors stopped providing aid to Zanzibar during the last five years because of concerns about the 1995 elections and subsequent allegations of infringement of human rights in the isles. After this second irregularity-filled election what could they do? Cutting aid to Zanzibar did not seem to have been successful. Those who suffered most were the poorest sections of the population. With their constant stress on good governance and democracy however, would the donors not be accused of bias if, while enforcing sanctions against other countries, they left Tanzania alone? However, why should the 30 million mainlanders (compared with only 800,000 Zanzibaris) be punished when the conduct of the mainland election received widespread praise from international observers?

For the Commonwealth, which had strived for two years to bring about an agreement between the warring sides and had finally obtained the signatures of CCM and CUF leaders to an accord in 1999 (under which the ZEC would be reformed), what happened must have been a great disappointment. Zanzibar’s CCM refused earlier this year to implement the reform of the ZEC in spite of repeated pleas from Commonwealth representatives.

The new American administration also faces a dilemma. CCM represents continuity and stability. A CUF government in Zanzibar would be likely to be less enthusiastic about preservation of the Tanzanian Union and would probably cultivate closer relations with Arab countries some of which face serious conflicts with Muslim fundamentalism.

Prime Minister Tony Blair congratulated President Mkapa on his election but said he had been disappointed with the events in Zanzibar.

WHAT WILL THE OPPOSITION DO?
CUF now faces a major dilemma. Well before the election its leader, Seif Shariff Hamad, recalling the probability that CCM rigged the 1995 election in its favour, stated that, if CCM ‘fixed’ the election again (his words) the result would be ‘a tooth for a tooth’. Immediately following the election CUF warned that if there were no new elections within four months under a reformed ZEC Zanzibar would enjoy no peace. During the following few days five small home-made bombs were detonated. One damaged the government-run Wete (Pemba) Hotel, another went off near a polling station and another seriously injured a member of the Electoral Commission. CUF denied responsibility. Tanzania has substantially increased its police force and army in Zanzibar and should be able to control the situation.

If tensions were to continue however, the Union between the mainland and Zanzibar could itself be in danger. Many mainlanders are already weary of and embarrassed by the seemingly endless feud between those Black Africans in Zanzibar who were in favour of the 1964 revolution who tend to support CCM and those, many of whom have Arab roots, who were not in favour and now support CUF. If the animosity were to be turned into more violence the people of the mainland might want to reconsider their participation in the Union. One analyst suggested that Zanzibar needs a South African style ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’. Others consider that the best solution would be to ask the UN to conduct a truly free and fair election in the Isles.

THE GOVERNMENT’S POSITION
President Benjamin Mkapa, fresh from his huge election victory, has made it clear that he resents foreign interference in Tanzanian internal affairs. He took a strongly anti-CUF position before the elections in Zanzibar and after the elections even praised the police. He did however agree to launch an enquiry into what happened.

According to CCM the irregularities (and all agree that there were many) were caused by sabotage from CUF members who had managed to infiltrate the CCM government-appointed ZEC, to remove a vehicle containing election materials and thus prevent the election taking place in a number of constituencies. CCM pointed out that several people had been arrested for removing a ZEC vehicle during election day.

CCM Deputy Secretary General Seif Iddi was quoted in the press as saying it had been a CUF conspiracy and an act of sabotage. President Karume was said to have been very angry about this but CUF’s Seif Shariff Hamad had looked happy at the turn of events.

“LET’S FORGET IT”
For CCM and perhaps the majority of the population of Tanzania there is a desire for the Zanzibar election to be forgotten. Tanzania should be left alone to get on with its development. This may well happen.

Tanzanians in general greatly enjoyed and were probably relieved by the American election debacle which took place at about the same time. So many of the phrases used to describe the Zanzibar election were soon being used in the debate on the Florida election such as -fraud, lost ballot boxes, miscounting of votes, stopping counting, uncertainty as to who had won …..

International and local pressure on Zanzibar for an improvement in the human rights situation there has led to a tense situation in the Isles during recent weeks.

AMOUR NOT TO STAND – CCM PRAISED FOR DECISION
The first issue causing tension was whether the Zanzibar Constitution should be changed to allow President Salmin Amour to stand for a third term in office from October. In one of the most difficult decisions they have had to take, the Central and National Executive Committees of the CCM in Dodoma eventually decided at the beginning of March (following an earlier 4-day CCM meeting of CCM elders in Zanzibar which had recommended the change) that the Zanzibar constitution should not be changed. Instead, the matter could be reconsidered after the October elections. After its narrow win in 1975 many in CCM in Zanzibar apparently feared that, without the tough minded and assertive Dr Amour (popularly known as ‘commando’) heading its election list, the party might have a struggle to win in October.

This had become a major national issue during February as lawyers, academics and politicians of all persuasions on the mainland said it would be a breach of democracy. Mwalimu Nyerere before he died had made it clear that he was not in favour of such a thing. Union Vice-President Dr Omar Ali Juma (from Zanzibar and believed to have presidential ambitions himself) indicated that he also did not favour Amour’s continuation in office. 45 mainland CCM MP’s in the Union parliament petitioned Amour to shelve the proposed amendment. Then another group of 52 mainland CCM MP’s, including the Deputy Speaker and ten former ministers, censured Amour for his attempts to amend the constitution. Finally, it is believed that President Mkapa and former President Mwinyi brought their influence to bear against the change at the Dodoma meeting. Even though Amour himself chaired the meeting he kept a low profile and insisted repeatedly that he wasn’t himself pushing for the constitutional change.

Opposition leaders joined CCM supporters on the mainland in welcoming the outcome. The leading article in the Guardian was headed ‘Cheers CCM’. The East African said that CCM deserved kudos for its decision which would have come as a relief to most ordinary Tanzanians ‘who had seen the question of the Zanzibar constitution built into a crisis of almost umanageable proportions before their very eyes’ .

Returning to Zanzibar after the Dodoma debate, President Amour was quoted in the Daily News as saying that the decision had not been bad but had been taken to ‘give time for CCM to look into ways of revising its presidential two-terms policy’. Although the Isles government had all the powers necessary to amend its own constitution, it had been forced to seek prior consultation and the wisdom of CCM on proper ways to carry out the idea.

President Mkapa announced a minor cabinet reshuffle on March 2. Minister of Home Affairs Ali Ameir Mohamed changed places with Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Information and Policy) Mohamed Seif Khatib. Some speculated that the apparent demotion of Ameir, who hails from Zanzibar, was because he was on the losing side on the issue of a third term for President Amour but he denied this.

AN EIGHTH AMENDMENT TO THE ZANZIBAR CONSTITUTION
Other aspects of the Zanzibar constitution have also been under debate recently. The Government proposed and the Civic United Front (CUF) opposition opposed a Bill, one of the clauses of which would allow Dr Amour, as a former president, to be immune for life from prosecution for any acts committed while in office. 35 MP’s took part in the debate but CCM failed to get the necessary two thirds majority. The voting was CCM 47 to CUF 24. Some CCM members threatened to take the House Speaker to court for allowing the four CUF MP’s in prison (for treason) to vote. The Speaker explained that the four had written to him to indicate that they were opposed to the Bill.

According to the Guardian, on April 18, the CCM majority in the House approved a government plan to reduce the number of constituencies ahead of the elections. CUF complained that some narrowly held CUF constituencies in Pemba were amongst the ones to be removed.

THE COMMONWEALTH-BROKERED AGREEMENT
On March 24 outgoing Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, issued a statement accusing Zanzibar of lack of progress on a range of critical areas of the agreement which had been signed between the two Zanzibar parties on June 9, 1999 (The agreement was published in TA No 64 Editor). He was referring amongst other things to the composition of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), establishment of a credible voters register, equitable access to the public media and reform of the judiciary. Dr Amour later described this as unfair as 90% of the agreement had been implemented.

Commonwealth special envoy Dr Moses Anafu arrived in Zanzibar on March 26 for a week in an attempt to get the two parties to fully implement the agreement. Dr Anafu told ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ that the government had told him that they had implemented 30 of the 38 proposals drawn up by the Inter-Party Committee (IPC) set up to implement the agreement and six others needed amendment before implementation. Two had been turned down. Outstanding issues included the reform of the Electoral Commission, the appointment of two additional CUF members to the House of Representatives (the government said that this was difficult as it would mean displacing two CCM members and that President Amour had no powers to do this) and the formation of the committee to examine alleged mistreatment of students and civil servants suspected of being supporters of CUF (the government said that it would appoint an independent assessor instead).
Dr Anafu said that few of the proposals needed legislation -only those concerning the reform of the judiciary and the composition of an independent electoral commission were likely to need it and the experts who had been in Zanzibar in connection with the agreement had prepared the necessary draft bills.

As this issue went to press it was reported from Zanzibar that the new Commonwealth Secretary General, Mr. Don Mc Kinnon, who had already written to President Mkapa expressing his concern about delays in implementing the agreement, had been invited to visit the Isles. Dr Anafu said that he himself expected be in Zanzibar at the end of April to pursue agreement implementation. He explained that during his March visit he had received assurances from President Amour that the agreement would be implemented in full but that there was no need to set a timetable. Anafu said that Tanzania had always had an enviable reputation because of the peace which had reigned in the country for many years and anything that detracted from this would be a loss for Africa. He had urged CUF to show restraint. He also added that during the negotiations last year, when it looked as though there was going to be an impasse, President Mkapa had intervened as Chairman of CCM, had appointed a negotiating team and facilitated the agreement. He hoped that President Mkapa might be able to do something similar again.

THE TREASON TRIAL
The most serious problem between the island and the mainland has for long been the alleged abuse of the human rights of opposition supporters in Zanzibar as exemplified by the insistence of the Zanzibar authorities on pursuing a case of treason against 18 CUF leaders. Most mainlanders are embarrassed by the way in which the accused have been held in jail for two years without trial and by the adverse international publicity given to the case. On January 26 45 CCM Union MP’s called on President Amour to stop the trial. They said it was political and lowered the dignity of the nation. The CCM committee in parliament then stated that this was their personal action and was not a CCM decision.

The Dar es Salaam Guardian reported that when the hearing of the trial had resumed on January 19 there were riots outside the High Court in which stones were thrown, tear gas bombs fired and some 70 people were injured.
The government’s case was not strengthened by the confusion on its own side. Zanzibar’s Attorney General (AG), the 72-year old Mohamed All Omar, had caused quite a stir earlier when he had said that the treason trial was nothing but politics and that he could not proceed with the case unless eight more top CUF leaders including Vice-Chairman Seif Shariff Hamad and Secretary General Shabaan Mloo were also arrested ­something which could have caused further outcry locally and internationally. The then Union Minister of Home Affairs Ali Ameir Mohamed made it clear that he wanted the trial to proceed without additional arrests.

However, on January 25 the Attorney General, having tried without success to persuade the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Police to effect the additional arrests, himself issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamad and Mloo. Both had presented themselves to him two weeks earlier volunteering to be arrested. They later said they had been prepared to die or face life imprisonment. On January 26 however, there was a bombshell. The Attorney General was summarily replaced by High Court Judge Saleh Abdullah Damoha.

On 27th January defence counsel in the case asked the High Court to dismiss the charges because Zanzibar was not a sovereign state and therefore not prone to a military coup; Zanzibar had ceased to exist as an independent state in April 1964 following a merger with the then Tanganyika. Another defence counsel said the case was time-barred due to the prosecution’s failure to facilitate its hearing for over two years. The defence team also objected to an application for an adjournment to enable the new Attorney General to study the file.

However, the case was then adjourned by the presiding Deputy Chief Judge Garba Tumaka who hails from Nigeria.
President Amour had earlier made a conciliatory gesture. On January 12 he had announced that former Zanzibar Sultan Jainshid bin Abdallah bin Khalifa, who was overthrown in the revolution of 1964 and is now in exile in Britain, was free to return to the country (but not as King).

When the case resumed on February 27 the prosecution accepted the defence argument that the charge sheet was faulty and promised to rectify it before the next session. The defence also succeeded in having two assessors whom they described as CCM zealots replaced. There was a lengthy debate on whether Zanzibar was a sovereign state and it was revealed, according to the Guardian, that the alleged treason took place between October 30 and November 28 1999.
When the hearing was resumed again on April 3, Judge Tumaka, in a 60-minute address, rejected the defence argument that there was no case to answer. He said that Zanzibar was constitutionally a state and therefore the treason charges stood. The trial was to commence on May 2. Bail application was refused because treason charges were not ‘bailable’.
After this judgement Seif Hamad and 11 others were charged with stealing a police firearm and causing grievous bodily harm to four police officers as they were trying to contain riots at a CUF rally. The case was expected to be in court on May 18.

TENSION INCREASES
CUF Secretary General Seif Hamad was quoted in the Swahili press on April 3 as saying that his party would meet ‘force with force’. In the next elections it would be ‘an eye for an eye’ if CCM insisted on the current electoral commission running the elections in the same manner as in 1995. On April 18 he explained that his earlier statement did not relate to bloodshed as some people were thinking. It meant that CUF would not tolerate the injustice it suffered in the 1995 elections. Meanwhile parts of the press were complaining about CUF supporters behaving like hooligans after a reporter was beaten up.

Tension on the streets increased further when the police engaged in an operation described by Minister of State Ali Ameir Mohamed as designed to ‘teach a lesson’ to people and politicians who refused to obey the police. The police were looking for weapons. Amongst the people arrested briefly was Mohamed Dedes, a member of the Inter-Party Commission set up under the Commonwealth-brokered agreement, who is also a CUF Central Committee member. At one or two CUF branches flags were reported to have been tom down and files destroyed and at one time the police fired into the air. Several people were said to have been injured. Isles Police Chief Khalid Nuizani stated that 60 people had been arrested altogether but they were young hooligans who had taken part in the disturbances. He said that there had been no special selection of suspects as claimed by CUF.

INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
In their strongest statement yet, the EU Heads of Mission in Dar es Salaam issued a statement on April 6 which was quoted in the Guardian and said that ‘Resolution of the conflicting situation in Zanzibar is a moral and political responsibility of the Union government. If the current situation in Zanzibar continues, this will have a negative impact on the international community’s perception of human rights, good governance and democracy in Tanzania’. In the same statement, issued by the Embassy of France, the EU expressed dismay at the outcome of the most recent development in the treason trial ‘We call upon the government of Zanzibar to immediately drop the charges and release the accused’. They expressed concern at the indications of failure of the Zanzibar government to prepare the way for a peaceful and fair election later this year; these included harassment of the opposition party, arbitrary and heavy -handed policing and the unwillingness to implement the Commonwealth-brokered agreement, particularly the rejection of the proposed reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission. They went on: ‘Considering both the issue of the treason trial and the issue of the agreement, the EU representatives are all of the opinion that there is a serious risk of further deterioration of the human rights and democracy situation in Zanzibar. We therefore appeal to all parties to show moderation and responsibility in resolving their differences -the government of the United Republic has a key role with regard to respect for human rights, governance and democracy, as well as responsibility for the police force in Zanzibar’ .

Amnesty International sent out a report on April 12 under the heading ‘Widespread arbitrary beatings and arrests of opposition supporters’ .

The press freedom watchdog Article 19 in a 30-page report entitled ‘Democracy on shaky foundations’ which was quoted in the East African, warned that Zanzibar’s democracy was in danger.

GOVERNMENT REACTIONS
President Mkapa, in a nationwide broadcast on April 10, called on the people not to heed politicians bent on creating conflicts in society. He said there was a hidden agenda among those who talked of violence and bloodshed and that leaders who threatened to shed blood would not be tolerated in Zanzibar. He was quoted in the East African as saying that the political problem in Zanzibar had had a negative effect on business, especially ferry boat operators and business between the mainland and Zanzibar, as fear spread to both islanders and mainlanders. He cautioned politicians against defaming their country and asked them to protect the national image and achievements.

Zanzibar ministers stepped up their attacks on foreign involvement in the issue. Minister of State Ali Juma Shamhuna accused Dr Anafu of double standards. He had said one thing to CUF and another thing to Dr. Amour which made implementation of the accord difficult. Government spokesman Hafidh Ali was quoted in The East African as saying that as far as the trial was concerned it was a matter for the court. “Aren’t the people calling for the government to intervene the same people who call for independence of the courts? Why can’t they let the process go on freely and fairly in an independent court? If they want the case dropped they should talk to the concerned organs and not to the government”.
Zanzibar Minister of State Mohammed Ramia said that CUF was always running to foreign embassies to feed them with lies. He said the problems of Zanzibar would not be solved by the Accord, the media or by the embassies alone. Deputy Chief Minister Omar Mapuri was quoted as saying that the problems of Zanzibar were that it was a young democracy and foreign embassies were interfering in the island’s internal affairs.

CCM Secretary General Phillip Mangula issued a strongly worded statement on April 20 (quoted in the Guardian) -following a CCM Central Committee meeting in Zanzibar attended by President Mkapa -in which he accused the international community of being biased in favour of CUF. He warned western countries that they would have to share the blame if the ongoing unrest in the Isles ended in bloodshed. When CUF supporters issued statements like ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ and mobilised their supporters to buy machetes, not a single word was uttered by the international community. This made CUF arrogant and endangered the understanding reached between the two parties. The Secretary General showed video tapes in which CUF leaders were telling the people that they were afraid neither of the police nor the judiciary.

TOURIST BOOM
Meanwhile, in spite of the political problems, Zanzibar’s success in tourism continues. Tourism is now by far the fastest growing sector of the economy -100,000 tourists are expected to bring in $72 million this year compared with less than $2 million five years ago -East African.

President Amour has put much speculation to rest by announcing that he will not try to have the constitution of Zanzibar changed to enable him to stand for a third term as President in the 2000 elections.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JUNE AGREEMENT
Following the resumption of normal functioning of the House of Representatives (after signing of the June 9, 1999 agreement between the CCM and opposition Civic United Front (CUF) parties -see Tanzanian Affairs No 64) President Amour said to MP’s on July 28 “I am overjoyed in seeing tolerance among you during this entire budget session of parliament. The accord was a historic milestone towards peace and reconciliation” .

The Daily News reported on November 2 that the Commonwealth Secretariat, which had negotiated the agreement, had set May 2000 as the deadline for its implementation. The first step was the setting up of a 14­member Inter-Party Committee (IPC) of the House of Representatives. The CCM and CUF chairmen of the IPC (Haje Mkema and Abubakar Bakari respectively) announced that six consultants (three foreign and three Tanzanian), appointed by the Commonwealth to review the constitution, election laws, electoral commission and judiciary had started work on November 2 and had been given one month to submit their proposals. But, according to the Daily News, the government had made it clear that it would only implement proposals it found palatable because the IPC had no legal powers to force it to ‘swallow all proposals’ .

TREASON TRIAL
British High Commissioner Bruce Dinwiddy during a visit to meet President Amour in mid-August last year called on Zanzibar to speed up the trial of the 18 CUF activists who have been in custody for two years on charges of treason. He said that this long detention without trial was damaging the reputation of Zanzibar and the human rights record of Tanzania in the eyes of the world as the accused had been declared ‘prisoners of conscience’ by Amnesty International. Talking to the Swedish Ambassador (whose government refuses to resume aid to Zanzibar until the treason case is resolved) on August 17, President Amour said that the government would ensure that the treason case would be expedited and fairly handled. He questioned why the case was connected to aid provision. He said it was a legal matter and even the Commonwealth-brokered agreement had been silent on the issue. On December 3 the newspaper ‘Mtanzania’ quoted a government spokesman as saying that the treason trial would take its course without internal or external interference. It would be unconstitutional for the government or President to interfere with the judiciary. On December 30 OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim added his voice to the chorus of criticism of what was going on. “We must admit that justice delayed is justice denied” he said. He added that the delay was tarnishing the country’s Image.

As long ago as September 10 the Guardian had quoted State House spokesman Geoffrey Nkurlu as saying that hearing of the treason trial would start soon but at the end of 1999 it had still not started. The same paper later quoted Zanzibar Attorney General, Mohamed Ali Omar, as having wondered why the police had not yet arrested the main CUF leaders -Vice-Chairman Seif Sharrif Hamad and Secretary General Shabaan Mloo -in addition to the 18 already held. The Attorney General said that the leaders had been mentioned by some of the 18 suspects in the case during investigations. “One cannot arrest the dancer without the drummers” he was quoted as saying. Both CUF leaders then declared that they were ready to be arrested. The Director of Criminal Investigations was then said to have denied that he had received orders to arrest Hamad and Mloo and eight others who had also been mentioned. A CUF spokesman said that these contradictory statements by government were designed to further delay the case. On September 22 Union Minister for Home Affairs, Ali Ameir Mohamed (who is from Zanzibar) told the Guardian that he was surprised that the trial had not yet started. He added that law enforcers would be summoned to explain why they were not executing orders which would enable the trial to start. On December 29 the Swahili paper Majira quoted Zanzibar Chief Justice Harnid Mahamoud Hamid as saying that the trial would start before the end of February 2000. It could take place only after the present session of the Appeal Court had finished. Some 61 prosecution witnesses were said to have been lined up. The paper thought that one of Zanzibar’s Nigerian judges would hear the case.

The Swahili press reported on November 16 that the 18 accused had written to participants in the Commonwealth Conference in Durban, which was attended by 45 heads of Government, accusing them of failing to put pressure on the Zanzibar government to speed up their trial. They were quoted as saying that, while the Commonwealth had taken a tough stand on minimal human rights abuses in Kenya and Zambia, the organisation didn’t seem to care about their predicament ~ they had been languishing in prison for two years without their case being heard. They said that Tanzania should be suspended from the Commonwealth Club.

On the day (June 10, 1999) that the media of the world were trumpeting the end of the war in the Balkans and the signing of a peace treaty, the beginning of week-long celebrations surrounding another peace treaty went virtually unnoticed in the world outside. After 1,225 days of political impasse in Zanzibar, an agreement, put together by Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Anyaoku and his negotiator Dr Moses Anafu after four years of effort, was signed between representatives of the combative political parties in the Isles -Mr Khatib Hassan, a member of the National Executive Committee for the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and Mr Shabaan Mloo, Secretary General of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) for his party.

Special prayers were read at the ceremony in the House of Representatives and seven white pigeons were released. A multitude of guests attended a dinner in the evening and heard President Amour say: “I can now welcome to State House my old friend Maalim Seif (a term of affection for Seif Shariff Hamad, the CUF leader) for a bottle of soda, a cup of coffee or even haluwa. In a convivial atmosphere he added “You and I understand each other, CCM and CUF understand each other, let us build the nation patriotically”.

Chief Anyaoku, who was given honorary Zanzibar citizenship said in his speech that Zanzibar was now ‘the real pearl of Africa’. He pointed out that the whole object of the agreement was about both parties putting the past behind them.

THE AGREEMENT (Abbreviated)
The CCM and CUF realise that there is a POLITICAL IMPASSE in Zanzibar. They also realise that if the impasse is allowed to continue it will exacerbate social divisions, retard the orderly socio-economic development of Zanzibar and undermine its nascent democracy. CCM and CUF have therefore agreed to work together in the spirit of national reconciliation to consolidate democracy in Zanzibar, promote human rights and good governance and ensure that future elections are free of controversy and that the will of the electorate will be respected.

The parties agree to the establishment of an INTER-PARTY COMMITTEE (IPC) composed of CCM and CUF MP’s. It will have no constitutional or legal status but will play a useful role in NATIONAL RECONCILIATION through the promotion of dialogue and the fostering of mutual confidence between the parties. The IPC will facilitate the implementation of this Agreement.

Zanzibar has already begun to reap the benefits of the agreement. Donor agencies, most of which had stopped aid to Zanzibar because of doubts about the fairness of the last elections and allegations of human rights violations, indicated that they would soon resume aid. Tanzania and Zanzibar have received congratulations from many countries. OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim saluted the high standard of political maturity shown by leaders of both sides in the dispute. US Ambassador Rev. Charles Stith visited President Amour to congratulate him on his leadership and political courage. On May 19 Sweden announced that it would be resuming aid but Norway said that it would resume aid to Zanzibar only after the 2000 elections and if they were free and fair and if the 18 treason suspects (see below) were treated fairly.

TREASON TRIAL
Many, inside and outside Tanzania were disappointed that there was no reference in the agreement to the Treason Trial of 18 leading CUF personalities who have been in jail for over 20 months (see earlier editions of Tanzanian Affairs). There was some speculation however, that President Amour might release them as he has authority under the constitution to do so. Amnesty International in its report covering September 1998 to March 1999 described the charges as ‘fabricated’ and said that the trial might not begin for several months

Political analysts have been trying to work out what had made the two leaders Amour and Hamad finally embrace after such a long and bitter confrontation. Both parties have gained something. CCM is happy that CUF finally recognises Dr Amour as President of Zanzibar and has ceased its boycott of the House of Representatives. CUF is happy about the proposed reform of the much criticised Electoral Commission and the Judiciary. The agreement lacks a precise timetable for the various actions proposed and much goodwill will be needed if it is to be implemented successfully. The approach of the next elections was certainly one factor favouring agreement especially as CUF needed a reformed Electoral Commission if it were to have a chance. CCM has gained in confidence that it will win again. There has been also continuous pressure from donors.

The preliminary enquiry into allegations of treason against 18 senior members of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) including four members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, was finally concluded after the alleged plotters had been in jail for 14 months. The latest of four magistrates who have been handling the case, Mr Mshibe Bakari, announced on January 5 that the full trial would begin on January 15. The previous magistrate had given the prosecution a 60-day deadline in December to complete its investigations. There had then been a further delay until, on February 12, the magistrate gave the prosecution 14 days to submit its complete case file. On February 26 the charges were finally read in court.

They alleged that the accused had made statements on November 27 1997 and on other dates which showed their intention to commit treason. The prosecution asked for more time to go through the evidence it had provided to the court and which, it said, it had not had time to study ­particularly the parts it considered too sensitive for public consumption which dealt with national security and should be tried in camera. The defence objected strongly and asked that they be given the evidence so that they could prepare their defence. However, according to the Guardian, the magistrate adjourned the case until March 3 and then abruptly left the court without answering the defence counsel’s demand.

On March 3 the prosecution said that CUF had planned to recruit retired soldiers in a ‘Blue Guard’ revolutionary army. According to witness statements (quoted in the Guardian) from two former CUF members who had been expelled from the party for insubordination, a secret meeting had been held at Mbezi beach in Dar es Salaam to plan the alleged coup to overthrow the Zanzibar government.

POLITICAL STALEMATE CONTINUES
CUF announced on March 1 that it would continue its boycott of the Zanzibar House of Representatives until the CCM signed the I8-point peace plan drawn up by the Commonwealth Secretariat (See TA No 62) to end the political impasse. Zanzibar President Dr. Salmin Amour had earlier made it clear that the impasse could be solved only though the House of Representatives. A CUF representative, Mr Abbas Muhinzi, speaking at a one-day seminar organised by the East And Southern Africa Universities Research Project (ESAURP) and opened by Open University Vice­Chancellor Prof. Geoffrey Mrnari under the title ‘Zanzibar Political Plight’, said that, while Zanzibari’s could agree on the Commonwealth proposals, there were certain forces at work on the mainland hijacking efforts towards peace. Prof. Teddy Malyamkono of ESUARP described Zanzibar as the ‘black sheep’ in Tanzania’s political development.

Prospects of a compromise solution suffered a setback when President Mkapa visited Pemba in March. According to the East African he made several defiant speeches that ran contrary to the Commonwealth proposals ­which had included one calling for an end to confrontational statements. President Mkapa insisted that CUF must accept that the 1995 presidential elections were won fairly by the CCM, something widely questioned by observers who were there. Western nations had no authority, he said, to tell Tanzania what kind of democracy it should have. There was nothing wrong with one party continuing to rule for many years, as had happened in Britain under Margaret Thatcher.

The first item of business in the March session of the Zanzibar House of Representatives was to debate, again in the absence of CUF members, a speech by President Amour in which he had said, inter alia that ‘a thorn goes out where it goes in’. In other words, any political consensus would be reached inside the House of Representatives and not anywhere else. Several CCM MP’s attacked foreign envoys for ‘meddling in the internal affairs of the country’. One MP said that neither the Commonwealth Secretary General nor any foreign envoy could bring about consensus in the Isles. Several MP’s attacked the media for misleading people into believing that the House was meeting to discuss the Commonwealth-brokered consensus. There was no such thing, one said.

A further element of confrontation between CCM and CUF had been reported in the ‘The African’ on February 5. It stated that Zanzibar Attorney General Ali Mohamed Ali was proposing that President Amour should be left to rule for life as he was liked by the majority of the population. President Amour’s second term of office ends next year and he is not eligible, according to the constitution, to stand again. The opposition said that the days of kingdoms and sultanates were over.

Mwalimu Nyerere wrote in the Daily News that ‘If and when experience shows that the restriction laid down in the constitution needs to be changed (which in my opinion should be very very rare) the change should not lengthen the term of the current office-holder, who is bound in honour to observe the restriction under which he or she was elected in the first place. Otherwise it is difficult to see how future presidents can honour the new restriction’ .

The Tanzania White Paper Committee on changes needed in the Union’s constitution has been debated in Zanzibar recently. The East African reported that virtually all Zanzibaris want to retain their separate identity and do not approve of proposals for a unitary government for the mainland and the Isles. One old man was quoted as saying that he was a Zanzibari first, a Tanzanian second and an African third. The opposition however favours a proposal under which there would be three governments -something opposed by the CCM.

The high hopes of the Commonwealth Secretariat, which has been trying for two years to bring about a settlement between government and opposition in Zanzibar (see TA No 61), seem to have been dashed once again. According to an article in the East African on November 16 by Salim Salim, (a former Press Secretary to the present leader ofthe opposition Civic United Front (CUF) Seif Sharrif Hamad, Zanzibar President Salmin Amour has ‘demonstrated once again that he is not prepared to come to terms with the opposition party’. The President was quoted as saying that no foreigner, be he an individual or an organisation, could bring harmony to the islands. The President was also said to have brushed aside an appeal by Tanzanian Vice-President, Dr Omar Ali Juma (himself a Zanzibari) made on the same platform two days earlier, for Zanzibar’s leaders to give full support to the Commonwealth peace initiative. Dr Juma was quoted in the Guardian as saying that the efforts of Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku were never directed towards uniting CCM and CUF and by no means aimed at establishing a coalition government. The Chief had felt that an opening had to be made somewhere to start engaging them in dialogue.

However, President Mkapa has again praised Dr. Amour for his firm stand against ‘opposition manoeuvres aimed at causing mistrust among the people’.

According to the Daily News, Seif Shariff Hamad announced to the CUF General Council at a meeting in Dar es Salaam on August 9, that CUF would recognise the government of Dr Amour and was ending its boycott of the Zanzibar Assembly ‘for the benefit of all Zanzibaris’. The CUF National Congress agreed unanimously to sign compromise protocols proposed by the Commonwealth. Seif Shariff claimed that, under the proposed agreement, the Electoral Commission would be disbanded and a new one formed including neutral members; new voters lists would be drawn up; the Zanzibar constitution could be reviewed; some special seats in the House of Assembly would be made available to CUF; President Amour would submit a list of person whose houses had been destroyed; sacked students and civil servants would be reinstated; treason suspects would be set free. He asked his members to be patient and to avoid confrontation.

But President Amour clearly sees that he is winning the battle. He told a large crowd on August 22 that CUF was politically finished and was now at the mercy of the rank and file of the CCM. He accused CUF of being engaged in all sorts of political trickery and deceit in Pemba by telling the people there that the time had come for the Isles to have a President from Pemba. Referring to the negotiations under Commonwealth auspices he said that CUF had rejected Dr Anyaoku’s recommendations three times. ‘There would not be a government of national unity.

Chief Anyaoku announced in a message from Kuala Lumpur, where he was attending the Commonwealth Games, that he was adjourning talks on the package of proposals he had made in March 1998 for a solution of the problem (which had been accepted unanimously by CUF) ‘to allow CCM to complete its deliberations on them’. The CCM was due to respond by not later than its Central Committee meeting on October 10. CCM had set up a special seven-member committee to study the proposals but on October 11 the Guardian reported that the said meeting did not take place.

The latest session of the Zanzibar House of Assembly (in October) was held in Pemba -the first time it has been held in the island since the 1995 elections in which CUF won all the seats

TREASON TRIAL

The treason trial of 18 CUF leaders on charges of treason has now been going on for more than a year and the preliminary enquiry has been adjourned 25 times to enable the police to finalise their investigations.

On August 4 there was a legal wrangle on procedures and efforts were made to persuade the Attorney General to brief the court on the evidence he had so far collected. The Prosecutor, Police Superintendent Patric Biatao, said that the Attorney General was reluctant to send an affidavit or a state attorney to shed light on the evidence because the court had not informed him in writing. The defence regarded this as a flimsy excuse. A ruling on what to do next was postponed because the magistrate fell ill.

On August 18 the Magistrate gave the Attorney General 10 days to present an affidavit to explain how far he had got with the evidence and why four parliamentarians had been arrested among the 18 accused without following procedures. On September 1 affidavits were produced which said that in the case of the four MP’s the Attorney General had given his consent within a day of each arrest, in accordance with the law. One had been charged with organising an illegal demonstration, two were charged with inciting the public and Juma Duni MP with importing army uniforms. The defence team questioned every aspect of the affidavits and, after taking a one hour leave to consult legal books, Senior Superintendant of Police John Kimario asked for more time to consult the Attorney General. On September 29 the defence continued to challenge the AG’s affidavit saying that his consent to the arrest of the four seemed to have been given after they were arrested.

On October 13 the court ordered the AG to state within a week whether he had given consent to the arrest of the four. The court also ordered the prosecution to show cause why the hearings of the trial proper should not begin in the absence of additional suspects and to state how much more time it needed to complete investigations.

As this issue of TA goes to press Tanzania is abuzz with rumours and leaks to the media to the effect that there might be a settlement in the long standing deadlock between the CCM government and the CUF opposition party in Zanzibar. This would be very good news indeed for Tanzania’s image abroad if it were to happen as Zanzibar has become something of an embarrassment to the Union government.

The special envoy of Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Anyaoku, Dr Moses Anafu, has been working with the parties since early June and it was expected that the Secretary General would himself go to Tanzania on August 12 to sign protocols which would bring an end to the conflict. However, as this issue went to press Chief Anyaoku told ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ that his visit was being postponed but he hoped to go towards the end of August.

According to the Dar es Salaam ‘Daily Mail’ and Britain’s ‘Africa Analysis’, the proposed agreement would mean a return to parliament by the opposition CUF MP’s who have been boycotting it since the elections in 1995; there would be constitutional changes especially in the conduct of elections and compensation would be paid to those CUF supporters who have had their houses demolished. The agreement could also mean that CCM would no longer have a two thirds majority in the Zanzibar parliament and would not therefore be able to change the constitution to allow President Amour to stand for a third term in office. But, after the press revealed details of the proposed settlement, there were immediate reactions from the CCM leadership. Never, said Zanzibar Chief Minister Mohammed Billal, would the government surrender to the CUF and the next day President Amour said that no agreement had been reached – he would continue to rule Zanzibar until 2000 when the next elections would be held. But later he was reported (in the Dar es Salaam ‘Guardian’) to have said that, if a settlement were to come about, it would show that the CCM had won. “If they see me as a catalyst for settlement that would be very good” he said.

Meanwhile the CUF party is having internal difficulties. An indication of this was the recent action taken by the party against Ms Naila Majid Jiddawi MP (for Women) and ‘shadow’ Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Union Parliament who was removed from her ‘shadow ‘post; attempts were made to force her out of the party and hence out of parliament. According to the ‘Daily Mail’ she was alleged by CUF leaders to be leaking CUF secrets to CCM and to be a close friend of President Amour’s wife. Ms Jiddawi, who is a businesswoman, then appealed to the High Court to fight her expulsion. She had met the Zanzibar President’s wife only once, she said. She admitted that she was opposing the party’s policy of boycotting the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Following the success of the appeal she returned to parliament in Dodoma and, according to the ‘Daily News’ received a tumultuous welcome from all sides of the House.

The ‘Daily News’ has also reported a top CUF official as having admitted that there has been a steady decline in the party’s strength. He said that the injustices being committed against CUF members and supporters made the days of colonial rule look better. He said that the party leadership had gone to great lengths to try and ensure that justice was done in Zanzibar through local and international initiatives.

At the Mikunguni by-election on June 21 (following the death of the previous MP on April 12) the CCM candidate, irrigation expert Dr. Suleiman Omar, won by 4,926 votes (92%) compared with 409 for CUF candidate Badru Vuaia. This compared with 4,158 for CCM and 576 votes for CUF in the 1995 general election. There was again a very heavy turnout. Almost 99% of registered electors voted. Eight parties contested the byelection.

On April 29 the Zanzibar House of Representatives suspended all CUF MP’s (excluding the five in detention under the treason trial) from the session then underway, for contravening House regulations. All CCM MP’s supported the motion but CUF MP’s ‘contemptuously clapped their hands’ according to the ‘Daily News’. They had been excluded in October (for five days), again in February for 20 days and again on June 15 for boycotting the budget sessions. The CUF MP’s lose fuel, electricity and constituency allowances when they are suspended.

On May 1 CCM’s Maudline Castico described allegations of human rights abuses in Zanzibar made by the newly elected MP, Juma Duni, to the UN Human Rights session in Geneva as ‘pure junk’. Visitors from all walks of life came to Zanzibar without any hindrance. What human rights violations did they see, she asked.

TREASON TRIAL
The former candidate of the opposition CUF party for the post of Vice-President of Tanzania and victor in the by-election in October 1997 for the Mkunazini seat in the Zanzibar House of Assembly (TA No 59) Mr Juma Duni Haji was arrested on May 11 and was later added to the group of 17 CUF leaders being held for treason. His house was searched thoroughly and, according to the ‘Guardian’, ‘it was presumed that the arrest was in connection with the alleged importation of army uniforms’.

Little progress has been made in bringing the case, which began in December 1997, to trial. The preliminary enquiry was till under way as this issue of TA went to press. In May, defence counsel had again asked the court to set a deadline for the prosecution to complete collecting evidence. The prosecuting officer was quoted in the ‘Daily News’ as saying that efforts were underway to net additional suspects to strengthen the evidence but he refused to reveal the whereabouts of these suspects because this would tamper with efforts to collect the evidence. When the 18 suspects were brought to court, for what is becoming one of their routine visits (on June 13) three were missing because of ill health. The Magistrate instructed the Commissioner of Prisons to submit a report on the health of the three before he postponed a bail application from the accused until June 25. On that day the application was turned down because the magistrate said that the court had no jurisdiction to grant bail. He said the applicants should appeal to the High Court if they were not satisfied with his decision. The case was then adjourned until July 8 to enable the prosecution to ‘solidify’ its evidence. On July 20 the case was adjourned again until August 4 and it was stated that the Attorney General was studying the file to decide whether to begin the trial proper in the absence of other suspects alleged to be ringleaders.

Amnesty International issued a statement on July 8 when it heard that the Vice-Chairman of CUF, Seif Sharif Hamad, had been ordered to report to the police (he was questioned for one hour) and later stated that it considered the 18 suspects as prisoners of conscience imprisoned solely on account of their non-violent opinions and political activities. Amnesty is calling on the Zanzibar government to release them.

In a move which seems to be have been designed to boost Zanzibar’s judiciary and its international image, President Amour appointed (on May 23) seven Nigerian nationals. They are filling the posts of Deputy Chief Justice, three High Court Judge posts and three commissioners of the Zanzibar Law Review Commission. According to the Dar es Salaam, ‘Guardian’, they are to handle the treason trial if and when the trial proper starts.

Although the Zanzibar government has long insisted that there is no political crisis in the Isles this view is not widely shared. The ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party did publish a statement in March admitting that there was an impasse but added that a solution depended on the political goodwill of the Civic United Front (CUF) opposition party. The statement also praised Zanzibar President Salmin Amour for his openness in dealing with the situation and his willingness to talk about it to the media.

MWALIMU INTERVENES
This change in tack was perhaps stimulated by Father of the Nation Mwalimu Nyerere who had caused some consternation when he said on January 23 (according to the Dar es Salaam ‘Express’) that the first step in resolving any crisis was to admit that there was a problem. It would be unwise to “fumbia macho” (close the eyes); the Zanzibar problem was not only for Zanzibaris, he said. “It is also a Tanzanian problem. The Union would bear the brunt if something went wrong there. It was time the Union government did something to avert a conflict which would have security overtones on the mainland”.

When Professor Haroub Othman of the University of Dar es Salaam (quoted in the ‘Daily News’) said at a seminar that he thought that Mwalimu would be the best mediator in what he described as the ‘crisis-laden islands’ and that he had a feeling that the CCM was not serious in wanting a solution, did not want Mwalimu to intervene and was not even very keen on him, he was soundly rebuked. CCM’s Zanzibar Publicity Secretary Ms Maudline Castico said that the Professor should apologise for making such outrageous statements on CCM’s relationship with the former President. CCM in Zanzibar had the highest respect for Mwalimu and would always treasure his role in the liberation and development of the country, she said. She reminded the Professor about the efforts made by CCM to promote and broaden democracy in the Isles and pointed out that the House Speaker had opened an office in the opposition stronghold of Pemba in an effort to bring about mutual understanding.

Probably referring to the amount of time Mwalimu Nyerere is spending as mediator in Burundi, Serengeti CCM MP Julius Semwaiko told Union parliamentarians that Tanzania should concentrate on solving problems at home rather than those in foreign countries. “We should ask our colleagues from Zanzibar what is going on there” Semwaiko said.

Gradually the press – both government and privately owned – has been taking up the issue. The government-owned ‘Daily News’ in an editorial on January 12, Zanzibar Revolution Day, the 34th anniversary of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, wrote: ‘We would like to make a special appeal to President Amour and the opposition to embark on dialogue immediately to solve the present political impasse in the Isles’.

But on the same day Zanzibar President Amour was quoted by the ‘Daily News’ as saying that that there was ‘a conspiracy to bring Zanzibar into turmoil, perpetrated from outside by using internal elements’ but that the solution to the political impasse in the isles would be reached by Zanzibaris themselves. In an apparent reference to a recent by-election in which support for the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) had dropped significantly, he said that the political situation in Zanzibar was excellent and seemed to improve with each passing day. People were learning more and more to live together in harmony under the multi-party system.

Dar es Salaam Archbishop Polycarp Pengo on January 12 urged churches to pray for tranquillity in Zanzibar; the political situation in the Isles was of concern to everybody, he said.

INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION
Meanwhile international concern about the situation continues. South African Vice-President Thabo Mbeki was in Zanzibar last year and the Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations was in Zanzibar earlier this year, apparently trying to help. The ‘Daily News’ reported however that the Zanzibar government maintained that they had been there for ‘purely holiday purposes’. President Marti Ahtisaari of Finland is also thought to have discussed the problem during his recent visit and an EU delegation led by Britain had a meeting with Tanzanian Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete and raised concern about the crackdown on opposition politicians.

More significant was a second visit to Zanzibar by Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku in January during which (according to the ‘East African’) he had 10 meetings with CCM and CUF party leaders. He proposed what he called a ‘middle course’ including a five-point plan under which the parties would be requested to desist from making confrontational public statements; CUF would be given some ministerial posts in a coalition government plus five of the 10 nominated seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives plus two additional seats in the Union Parliament; CUF would be expected to call off its boycott of proceedings in the Zanzibar parliament; the media would be asked to give balanced coverage of political activities, and, the government should agree that all former Zanzibar political office holders would receive uniform treatment. Unlike the position after his previous visit, the Chiefs visit did not end there. On February 23 he sent his personal representative, Mr Moses Anafa, to continue the talks but a blanket of secrecy then descended and it is not known whether any positive results were achieved. CCM Publicity Secretary Ms Maudline Castico, who did not take part in the talks, said that she did not think the envoy had any new agenda to offer; any solution depended on the goodwill of CUF.

Visiting British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Tony Lloyd was reported in the ‘Business Times’ on April 3 as having sharply differed with Tanzanian President Mkapa’s oft-stated position that he has no mandate to intervene in Zanzibar. “The Union does not govern Dar es Salaam only” Lloyd was quoted as saying “Zanzibar is part and parcel of the Union and that is why we say that (the Union Government) has a role to ensure that things are normalised.” According to a letter in the Dar es Salaam ‘Sunday Observer’ Lloyd also pointed out that it was Tanzania that was the signatory to the international conventions on human rights and should be responsible for any violations in any part of the Union including Zanzibar.

Director of the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) Jan Arne Munkeby said “Until a political solution to the problem of Zanzibar has been found, Norway will not enter into new agreements for assistance to Zanzibar.”

The reaction of Minister of State in President Mkapa’s Office Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru was to castigate these two diplomats for talking to the press instead of following official channels. According to the ‘Daily News’ (April 2) Zanzibar CCM Publicity Secretary Maudline Castico went further. The remarks by the envoys of Britain and Norway were a gross misconception of the real situation in the Isles; they were one-sided in favouring the opposition. They had gone too far by meddling in the political affairs of Zanzibar instead of concentrating more on development issues, she said. These diplomats had remained silent when the opposition engaged in acts aimed at disturbing the peace. There was no violation of human rights in the Isles as the two envoys had implied. In a reference to the treason trial (see below) she went on ‘It is the height of absurdity to suggest that criminal prosecution is a violation of human rights since law courts are institutions established to ensure those same human rights are safeguarded’.

It is also reported that three journalists, including a BBC correspondent, were briefly detained by the Zanzibar police while trying to cover demonstrations in support of those being charged with treason.

DAY OF HARMONY
When the newly elected CUF MP for Mkunazini took his seat on February 3 there was a rare day of harmony between the parties Mr Juma Duni Haji MP pledged his allegiance to the Zanzibar government, shook hands with CCM cabinet ministers and was applauded on both sides of the House. The other CUF MP’s even attended morning prayers for the first time since November 1995 – they object to blessings for President Amour – and stayed in the House until it ended the session.

But, by the next day, the harmony was over. The 25 CUF MP’s were abruptly suspended (and lost their allowances) for 20 days for ‘their persistent failure to attend House sittings’.

THE TREASON TRIAL
The trial for treason of 17 CUF opposition political leaders, including CUF Deputy Secretary General Nassor Seif Amour and three members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives continues. They were originally arrested (in December) on charges of sedition; they allegedly plotted to overthrow the Zanzibar Government and remove President Amour; later the charge became treason. All have been refused bail and several have been held in prison for over four months. On January 6 CUF leader Seif Shariff Hamad and Secretary General Shabani Mloo were interrogated for 2 hours by Police CID from Dar es Salaam but later released.

The 17 CUF activists started a hunger strike on January 19 because of what they described as ‘the unsatisfactory handling of their case (a preliminary hearing before submission to the High Court) by the state.’ They ended their strike on January 23 after being assured by Zanzibar Attorney General Ali Mohamed Omar that their case would be handled fairly. He agreed to look into why the police had delayed producing the file on the case. The case had been adjourned from January 9 to February 3. The Magistrate said (at the Vuga regional court) that he was not competent to give a ruling on the failure of the prosecution to bring evidence against the accused.

On February 3 the court was told that the Attorney General had indicated that the evidence so far collected by the police was not enough considering the seriousness of the charges; these could attract capital punishment or life imprisonment he said. The police were given one more month to collect evidence.

When the case was resumed on March 3 the prosecutor, Police Superintendent Patrick Biatao, said that the Attorney General had ordered police to round up more suspects after going through a police file. Many of these suspects had left Zanzibar but a man-hunt had been launched. Mr Omar had warned the police that going ahead with the trial without arresting the other suspects was tantamount to fighting a losing battle.

The defence counsel requested the court to dismiss the case as the prosecution had failed to bring the needed evidence within the allotted one month without giving convincing reasons. The trial Magistrate agreed with the defence that the Attorney General should be summoned to shed light on the evidence and the case was due to come up again on March 17th. The defence asked the court not to agree to any further adjournments and the magistrate said that he needed time to study the request.

When the case resumed on March 17 it was attended by foreign diplomats from Dar es Salaam. Responding to alleged criticisms from the diplomats, Zanzibar Chief Minister Dr. Mohamed Bilal said that the treason charges were not politically motivated and that the diplomats concerned were contravening diplomatic norms in interfering in Zanzibar’s internal affairs.

LIPUMBA LOSES CASE
Former CUF candidate for the post of President of Tanzania, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, and the Majira newspaper have lost a case in the Isles’ High Court in which they were accused of defamation. Prof. Lipumba admitted that in a speech in Pemba during the last general elections he had accused Zanzibar Electoral Commission Chairman Zubeir Juma Mzee of buying a house in Kilimani for Shs 60 million paid for from a bribe he had received for ensuring that President Amour would win the presidency. The defendants were ordered to pay Shs 30 million each to Mr Mzee for defamation. The judge said that no proof had been provided to support the allegation that Mzee had bought the said house. Speculation that he was often seen in the house was not enough evidence to prove that he had bought the house immediately after the election. President Amour announced in April that Mr Mzee had been reappointed for another five year term as chairman of the Electoral Commission.

TSETSE ERADICATED
And now some good news! Tsetse flies have been finally eradicated from Zanzibar. Under an International Atomic Agency project, tsetse were mass bred in a ‘fly factory,’ male flies being sterilised with gamma radiation and released by air to mate with females, who were therefore not able to produce offspring. Since September 1996 not a single wild fly has been captured in once heavily infested areas of Unguja – Daily News.

Commemorating his two years in office on October 24 President Salmin Amour said that there was no political crisis in the Isles and the question of mediation did not arise. The only problem he was aware of was the refusal of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) to accept the results of the 1995 elections. His narrow victory margin did not undermine his ability to govern he was quoted in the Daily News as saying.

Increasing pressure is being brought to bear against the CUF MP’s who have been boycotting the House of Representatives since the last elections in 1995. First they were told that they would no longer receive seating and lunch allowances and then, because they refused to attend morning prayers, because these included reference to President Amour, they were suspended by the Speaker for five days for showing disrespect. CUF appealed to the High Court. The House has also passed a ‘Zanzibar Broadcasting Bill’ designed to help Zanzibar to properly supervise the radio media and also cater for the new technologies and the competition which will arise through the setting up of private radio stations in the Isles.

CUF WIN BY-ELECTION

TA No 59 [actually TA58] contained details of the extraordinary story of Zanzibar CUF MP Salum Msabah Mbarouk who reportedly resigned his seat, took refuge in the Swedish embassy and then tried to recover his seat again. Zanzibar Chef Minister Dr. Mohamed Bilal was reported in the Daily news as having accused ‘a certain foreign diplomatic mission’ of taking part in the saga.

The CUF took the case to court demanding that the by-election not be held but, they lost the case and the mysterious MP seems to have disappeared into obscurity.

GREG CAMERON reports on the Mkunazini by-election: ‘It is in Mkunazini where most of the historical Stonetown lies. Moreover, most of the government ministries, including the State House, where President Salmin Amour works, are in Mkunazini thus giving it symbolic importance far beyond its spacial boundaries. The results were expected to be a weather vane for CUF’s boycotting of the Zanzibar legislature in what the party considers the rigging of the Zanzibar Presidential election in 1995 in favour of the CCM.

The voting went off without incident. Counting lasted until 8.45 am the following morning, with reporters and party representatives keeping an all night vigil. The results were as follows:

Juma Duni Haji (CUF) 1,641 (51.38%)
Sultan Mugheiry (CCM) 1,473 (46.12%
Ramadan Hamad Seleman (TADEA) 1 (0.03%)
Masoud Hamad Khamis UDP 6 (0.19%)
Ahmed Amran (NCCR) 12 (0.37%)

During the general election CUF had won with 3,060 votes (72.7%) against CCM’s 1,151 (27.3%).

Meanwhile, 12 officials of the CUF including two members of the House of Representatives were arrested immediately after CUF’s last rally and before voting on November 30 and were charged with sedition. It was alleged by the police that they had told a CUF rally, prior to the vote, that the people should be prepared for a bloodbath should the party lose in Mkunazini. The magistrate ruled that they should be remanded until December 11 when he would rule on bail participation and the status of the legislators (Daily News). On the CUF stronghold of Pemba many people have concurred with the alleged statements of the 12 accused. Pembans are fed up with the crisis with many exclaiming that their homeland ‘is unliveable’ (hapakaaliki). Even on workdays Chake Chake and Wete appear dormant as if it were a Sunday.

Those who have the means are trying to leave; others say they will only continue to die. Though a small minority may be fed up with the boycott and wish the CUF to re-enter the mainstream to bring the hoped for basic development, the vast majority feel a cessation of the boycott would make little difference to their lives. The CUF leadership has assured its followers that it will form the government before the next election. This seems to be based on the hoped for intervention of outside powers. This scenario seems unlikely however and what CUF will ultimately do to bring about this promise is unclear. The stalemate continues.’

Later the Daily News reported that a female CCM employee had been shocked when she arrived home from a campaign rally to find a note from her husband saying that he was divorcing her immediately. A strong supporter of CUF, he had seen his wife on television celebrating with CCM fiends at a CCM rally!

Under the heading ‘Erring reporters in for a tough time in Isles’ the Daily News (October 5) reported that under a change in the Newspaper Act of 1988 recently passed in the House of Representatives, journalists convicted of ‘professional misconduct’ would now be liable to fines between Shs 200,000 and Shs 1 million. Those circulating illegal or banned publications would be fined up to Shs 500,000 or sent to prison for up to three years or both. Zanzibar Minister of Information Issa Mohamed Issa was quoted as complaining that privately owned newspapers were quick at highlighting mistakes the government was presumed to have made no matter how trivial. He said that he had not seen any foreign correspondent going to the rural areas to write development news. We was also quoted as saying that foreign media were more bent on writing news aimed at discrediting the government and that writing such news was a criminal offence.

The Daily News reported on October 18 that following the robbery of a group of tourists visiting the Jozani Forest, famous for its red colobus monkeys, one of the suspected bandits was beaten into unconsciousness by an angry mob of local residents.

Conditions in the Mnazi Moja General Hospital were described as critical in the Daily News on October 24 as the hospital had virtually run out of drugs and equipment and telephone lines had been disconnected because of failure to pay bills. Patients were being advised to buy the drugs they needed from private pharmacies.

But the economy in Zanzibar is doing better. Growth was 6.3% in 1996 compared with 3.7% the previous year; inflation is down from 18.1 % to 12.5%; procurement of cloves reached 10,339 tons compared with figures as low as 1,500 tons in recent years. Per capita income and population are growing at the same rate – 3.3%.