By Adeladius Makwega – Mbagala
This was March 21, 2026. Mwanakwetu woke up very early at his home, speaking with one of his relatives from Mahenge, Ulanga, asking,
“Brother, why have you been unreachable?”
Mwanakwetu spoke with this relative, who is a Muslim, and he said that the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) is causing them a lot of confusion:
“Now it is dragging us into disputes over matters that should have been properly decided by our leaders… they are the leaders. Now, our fellow Muslims in Kenya say Eid was yesterday, while here we say Eid is today… these things divide us greatly.”
My reader, understand that Mwaakwetu’s ancestral home on his father’s side is Ikangao Village, where there have long been two major communities—Christians and Muslims. It is also the place where Aishi Manura, a player for Tanzania’s national football team (Taifa Stars), comes from.
After this conversation, an image came to Mwanakwetu’s mind: the 2010 General Election. At that time, on TBC Taifa, all programs were suspended, and only election-related broadcasts and news bulletins were aired from TBC Mikocheni. Broadcasters and producers were assigned duties: those in the regions were to collect reports on the election situation in their areas, while those in Dar es Salaam were tasked with going out into the streets. On that day, Mwanakwetu was in a special TBC Taifa vehicle assigned to cover Ubungo and Ilala, visiting several polling stations in those areas.
“When we arrived in Ubungo, we visited Mlimani Primary School, which was a polling station. There, we spoke with voters, supervisors, and candidates.”
The situation at that station was very calm. The first person to approach Mwanakwetu’s microphone was Martha Josephy Jally, a supervisor at one of the stations at the school. This very fair-skinned woman said:
“The situation is very calm. Voters are casting their votes peacefully. Since morning, I have not seen any police officer arguing with, pushing, or arresting any citizen. In my station, agents from CUF, CHADEMA, and CCM are present, monitoring the election process.”
When the CUF parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Mtatiro, was approached, he also said the situation was calm, with citizens voting peacefully.Mwanakwetu and his colleagues visited several stations and then went to Ukonga Mombasa, where there was a primary school near the FFU Ukonga base. There too, the situation was very calm, with citizens voting.
On that same day, during that election, Mwanakwetu was told about a surprising incident in Kasulu District, Kigoma Region. In a village near the Tanzania–Burundi border, a polling station supervisor at a primary school, known as Maria Katabuhaga, told him that they sat the entire day at the station and not a single voter showed up. The villagers had grievances that had not been addressed, and their anger led them to boycott voting. When closing time came, Teacher Maria Katabuhaga and her colleagues shut down the station and later handed over the election materials to their superiors.
My reader, remember that Mwanakwetu was moving around in that vehicle. Later, he requested permission to go vote at his home in Mbagala. That day, he voted at Mbagala Primary School and then returned home, where the situation remained calm.
Why has Mwanakwetu narrated these three incidents?
First, the complaint from this Muslim man in
Morogoro—Mwanakwetu leaves it as it is.
Second, the story of the 2010 General Election in Kigoma, where citizens
boycotted voting due to anger.Third, the overall calmness during the 2010
election, at a time when the Tanzania Police Force was led by Inspector General
Said Mwema.
This calm election environment of 2010 impressed many Tanzanians more than the previous general election, when the police force had been under Inspector General Omari Mahita.
Through this article, Mwanakwetu simply asks: after Tanzanians witnessed the drama, chaos, turmoil, and tension of the 2025 General Election, what will they say about Inspector General Camilius Wambura? Even if Inspector General Said Mwema had his weaknesses, they were comparatively minor.
Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:
“What will they say against Inspector General Camilius Wambura?”
Have a good day.
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