Tanzania: CCM and the land scam in Loliondo
By Elias Mhegera – The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in Tanzania should await its crucifixion in Loliondo, Arusha region in the Northern Zone, come General Elections in 2015 if it will not handle properly the land scam going on now.
The Oloswokwan ward councilor Yanick Doinyo (Ololosokwan), displaying the certificate of ownership (title deed) to journalists (not in the picture) when the Maasai tribe leaders convened journalists in Dar es Salaam, on his left are fellow councilors Mathew Siloma (Arash), and Daniel Ngoitiko (Soitsambu). (Photo by the courtesy of Anna Titus, Business Times photographer)
One could tell this due to the tone and tenacity of the 13 representatives from Loliondo who met journalists at the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) on Tuesday this week.
The cry for the ‘mother land’ was affirmed by the vow of dying there, ‘what come may’ through the traditional leader of the Maasai tribe who accompanied a well organized team including retiree civil servants, politicians, lawyers and councilors from this area.
Khamis Kagasheki
The elderly Saimon Nakoren had this to say “kama ni kuua sisi waje wachimbe shimo na kuzika mtu yote humo ile wanaitaga kimbari hatutoki Loliondo” a Kiswahili word in a strong Maasai accent meaning that “if is genocide let it be, we are prepared to be buried alive there, but we are not prepared to leave our land,” .
A strong message is that the long land based conflict could have serious ramifications if the government was not to handle this matter prudently.
History shows that this problem has its roots in early 90s in 1992 when the Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC), from the United Arab Emirates was apportioned a large piece of land for commercial hunting purposes much to the detriment of the indigenous Maasai whose livelihood depends entirely in livestock keeping.
Maasai
Since then the Loliondo land scam has stood high as a true label of what is happening in this area at least in the media, with minor disappearance during the advent of the faith healing by one evangelist Ambilikile Masapila popularly known as ‘babu wa Samunge’.
The fuss for the much sought-after land has created employment to some graduate scholars from this area through NGOs like Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations (PINGOs) and the Tanzania Pastoralists Community Forum (PCPF).
These entities have never been friends of the government due to the fact that they are seen as the sources of ‘incitement’ against the government.
But this time it is not representatives of the NGOs but rather, people’s representatives, the councilors through the CCM, with other elders all of them sympathizers to the ruling party.
At the behest of all this commotion representing the government’s interests is Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources Khamis Kagasheki who has been turned into a scapegoat between the Maasai people on one side, and the government on the other.
Earlier the Maasai people aired their grievances through their representatives who spoke with emotions taking into consideration that they have travelled all the way from Loliondo, to Arusha and then to Dar es Salaam by their own expenses.
Leading the team of three councilors all of them from CCM with their wards in brackets was Yanick Doinyo (Ololosokwan), Mathew Siloma (Arash), Daniel Ngoitiko (Soitsambu).
The message from these Maasai women is clear, an Arab should move from Loliondo
Currently news is not that there is a land conflict in Loliondo, but what are the political ramifications of this quagmire, is news. The CCM deputy secretary general Mwigulu Nchemba was at the area recently in order to calm the situation.
Judging from the extent of commotions one can say that the end results will not be a matter of ‘use of force’ as has been the trend of affairs for quite some time in this country.
So the main threat and the gist of these news is that with a region which has already lost three constituencies, in Arusha Urban-Godbless Lema, Arumeru East-Joshua Nassari and Karatu –Israeli Natse all from the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), it is a political risk to let Ngorongoro go to the underdogs if the land scam was not resolved peacefully.
During the meeting at the TGNP a former legislator from Ngorongoro, Mathew Oletimani (CCM), 1995-2005 was monitoring events silently as a neutral observer, but a key look could tell that he knew how this firmness of the Maasai people could send the wave of shocks to the government.
Unfortunately the responsible Minister Kagasheki has failed to deal with the political moods of the people and therefore causing commotions from within his own party.
His recent decision to move from the constituency after people had forced him to listen to them as a whole rather than through their representatives did not augur well with his party bosses.
Even his continued insistence that he will deal with inciters as he was responding to the BBC indicates that he either do not know the political strategy of retreating or else there is poor communication between the CCM party whose chairman is the incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete, and other government functionaries whom he leads.
“We have their list, (inciters) and we are going to deal with them,” retorted Kagasheki when he spoke on the matter to the BBC.
By all indications there will be soon a compromise in order to avoid the backlashes that might have a spillover effect in the whole zone as there are rumours that there is a conspiracy for other councilors from the CCM to resign from their posts in support of their colleagues if the disputed land was to be taken by the government.
This is not the first time that Kagasheki is contradicting with his colleagues in the CCM led government. Last year he was caught up in a war of words in which the fellow Cabinet Minister, Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office – Environment Dr. Terezya Huvisa who chose to remain mum.
The tug of war ensued when the later chose to ban some tourist hotels from conducting business after releasing that they did not adhere to the governing laws leading to pollution after they had directed their sewerage to the sea, and other discrepancies that were noted by inspectors.
On the contrary Minister Kagasheki opposed this move by saying the decision was taken at a wrong time when the tourism business was at its high peak. “Closing a tourist hotel at this particular moment is tantamount to denying our country the much desired foreign currency,” he had lamented.
Currently one excuses that he uses for the commotion is that some companies which benefits from illegal tourist businesses including those of photographs are behind the NGOs and other opposing forces.
And now the main question is who really this Kagasheki is, whom is he working for? Is he a true patriot working for the good of his country but facing obstacles from unscrupulous people or he is a patriot but who has failed to read the signs of the time?
These and many other questions are yet to be answered taking into consideration that this land scam popularly known as “Loliondo gate” has many hidden but sensitive myths which some claims involves big shot interests as preserved in the OBC from the UAE.
Responding to the utterances by Minister Kagasheki the Executive Coordinator of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRD-Coalition) Onesmo Olengurumwa said that Kagaseheki has set a wrong precedence to the NGOs, the human rights defenders.
“Utterances like those cannot be accepted taking into consideration that we have witnessed a series of indecent attacks towards the human rights defenders like what happened to Dr Stephen Ulimboka and the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) Absalom Kibanda, I call upon the Minister to retract his threats immediately,” warned Olengurumwa.
The THRD-Coalition is the only body (NGO) that deals with security management of the human rights defenders (HRDs) who are categorically human rights lawyers, journalists and volunteers in the human rights regime.
