Protect your own life and the lives of those around you

 

Adeladius Makwega-MBAGALA

“The use of the death penalty increased sharply worldwide in 2025, mainly because many people were executed for drug-related offenses that do not involve intentional killing. This is contrary to international law and does not help to deter crime.”

Says the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.

On January 21, 2026, the United Nations’ social media page quoted the UN official responsible for human rights, Volker Türk, speaking about the struggle to abolish the death penalty.

When Mwanakwetu read this statement, three things came to his mind:

First, the name of Said Abdallah Mwamwindi, a maize farmer who killed the then Regional Commissioner of Iringa, Dr. Wilbard Kreluu, on December 25, 1970, during the era of UJAMAA villages at Mkungugu, Isimani Division, Iringa Rural District, Iringa Region.

Mwanakwetu had worked in this area between 2004 and 2009 as an Assistant Education Officer Grade III at Isimani Secondary School, which at that time was under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. The school enrolled many students from the area where this incident occurred.

One of the students remembered by Mwanakwetu was Ustadh Mwinyi Kasike, who at that time was a student at Isimani Secondary School and also the leader of Muslim students.

 He said:

“Our elders say that when this incident occurred, many villagers of Mkungugu were arrested to give testimony for the prosecution, and many relatives fled the village to different areas of Mkungugu to avoid giving testimony, because they knew that the testimony would be used against their relative Said Abdallah Mwamwindi so that he would be hanged. This action intensified hatred in the Ujamaa village of Mkungugu. As a result, many of the indigenous clans of Mkungugu fled the village, and some died while in exile where they had fled. Meanwhile, we hear that elders still go to bury their relatives in those places they fled to.
This situation caused the village of Mkungugu to decline greatly in development, because only the elderly, old women, and children remained.”

Brother Kasike said he believes that among the Tanzanians who were hanged at that time, after Said Abdallah Mwamwindi’s appeal failed, was that relative.

 

The second thing Mwanakwetu remembered after reading this UN quotation was the research of Ms. Neema Chusi, who was a student at Tumaini University, Iringa, Faculty of Law, in 2002. In her research titled The Death Penalty Is Obsolete, Ms. Chusi said:

“In Kintazini in Iringa Region, it was a place where Arabs, Germans, and later the British used to hang people. Therefore, among the Hehe, Bena, and Kinga peoples, when someone was told ‘you are going to Kintazini,’ it meant they were being taken to be hanged, and this situation increased hatred within the community.”

The third incident Mwanakwetu recalled was this:

“A doctor went to see a patient who was a devout Christian of the Lutheran denomination. This patient was very ill, and as the condition worsened, he lost his appetite, which caused his health to deteriorate greatly. The doctor, who was also a believer in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, told his patient: ‘I ask you to try to eat food, because not eating now is to kill yourself, and this act is a sin for us as Christians. You did not commit this sin when you were strong—how can you commit it now when you are sick, and against yourself?’
Indeed, the patient began to eat, regained morale, and started eating properly. That understanding of holding onto his faith helped the patient regain strength, although he later died—not because he refused to eat, but simply due to the illness that was troubling him.”

What does Mwanakwetu say today?

Thus, Mwanakwetu has used all three stories to support the argument of Volker Türk, the UN official responsible for human rights, including the protection of human life.

Mwanakwetu says it is the responsibility of each of us to protect our own life and the lives of others.

“It is absurd that the very act which is prohibited for one person to do is then legally authorized for another to do behind the scenes—this is not right, it is unacceptable. Killing is a crime; killing is a crime—there is no debate.”

In this matter, even those who carry weapons, whether in defense and security forces, from the lowest to the highest ranks, must be careful and protect the lives of civilians. The legal permission to carry weapons should not make the weapon bearer arrogant or make them believe they have the authority to do whatever they wish—this is unacceptable.

Therefore, as the world struggles to abolish the death penalty, this call for armed personnel to exercise caution must go hand in hand. Nations that demonstrate misuse of weapons should not be allowed to purchase arms, and their authorities should be placed under United Nations supervision after such incidents occur, because history shows that when rights are violated, there are clear signs that even more rights will be violated in the future.

Are you there?

Remember:

““Protect your own life and the lives of those around you.”.”

I wish you a good day.

makwadeladius@gmail.com
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