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Adeladius Makwega
Dodoma
For those who read my writings, you may recall that I once wrote a piece titled The Decisions of Magistrate Mrisho Kikwete.
In that case, Magistrate Mrisho Kikwete, who was serving at the Primary Court in Msoga in 1944, received a criminal case at his desk between Mbone Lunema and Makinamsisi.
The case involved these two individuals who were participating in a traditional dance, where Makinamsisi pushed Mbone Lunema, causing him to fall, lose two of his teeth, and later become lame. Mbone Lunema then went to court to file a complaint. Both individuals were Wakwere from clans that traditionally engage in joking relationships.
Before the court presided over by Magistrate Mrisho Kikwete, the case was dismissed on the grounds that it was a customary matter—a form of joking. The issue, it was determined, lay with Mbone Lunema himself, who lost his teeth due to carelessness during the joking interaction initiated by Makinamsisi.
In my earlier text, I explained that this account was recorded by Professor Tigiti Sengo, who in 1972 was a university student conducting research in Msoga village on joking relationships among the Wakwere people and how such cases were handled in court.
Professor Sengo was informed about this case by the Magistrate of the Msoga Primary Court in Bagamoyo (now Chalinze), Honorable Bakari Mgweno, in June 1972. He had personally witnessed the case when it was decided in 1944.
According to Professor Sengo’s writings, in 1972 he was also provided with a copy of the case proceedings up to its dismissal.
In my text, I posed a question: Was Magistrate Mrisho Kikwete the father of Honorable Jakaya Kikwete?
This question formed the final sentence of that piece.
Personally, I sought out my Wakwere friends and relatives living in Msoga and Lugoba to help answer this question. When I contacted them by phone, they connected me with Teacher Michael Mbena Kigunia, a retired teacher who was 82 years old in 2022 and 86 years old in 2026.
This teacher explained that he knew the Kikwete family well from long ago—starting from the grandfather, father, and other relatives—many of whom grew up together both at home and in school.
“The Kikwete family had a good life; they produced enough food, did not struggle with hunger, and many of them went to school even in those early days.”
Teacher Mbena went further and answered my question by stating that Magistrate Mrisho Kikwete was indeed the grandfather of Jakaya Kikwete.
He also noted that he knew Magistrate Kikwete well, as the Msoga court at that time was large and well-known, serving many Wakwere people.
Fortunately, on February 1, 2022, at 2:41 p.m., I received a direct answer to this question from Honorable Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete himself, the former fourth President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
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Before quoting his response, I recalled the teachings of my lecturers during my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Tumaini University Iringa—Dr. Irene Mkini, Dr. Gasper Mpehongwa, and Professor Esau Ntabindi—who taught me that when quoting a prominent leader, their words should be presented exactly and enclosed in quotation marks.
“Mrisho Kikwete was my grandfather, who fathered my father, Kikwete Mrisho Kikwete, also known as Halfani Mrisho Kikwete. He was a traditional leader, and one of his responsibilities was to listen to and decide customary cases among the Wakwere people.”
These are his exact words in response to my question.
Personally, I sincerely thank Honorable Jakaya Kikwete—first, for reading my text, and second, for respectfully providing an answer to the question I had raised.
His act of responding to this question is commendable and should be emulated by other leaders. A leader is a servant of the people, and when clarification is needed, it is noble to provide it.
“I wish you success in your work, Honorable Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, and may God grant you and your family good health. Ahlan wa sahlan.”
This is an article by Mwanakwetu from 2022, which Honorable Jakaya Kikwete read and responded to.
To you, my brother Jakaya Kikwete, today I kindly ask for your support: if you come across Mwanakwetu articles, please help share them so others can read them. There are things some of us know that others do not.
Just as Professor Tigiti Sengo’s text was carefully preserved in typewritten form—telling the story of your grandfather Mrisho Kikwete from 1944—and later read again in 2022, 78 years later, Mwanakwetu has given new life to this information, allowing it to be read even in future generations.
To my readers, I wish you a good day. My next piece will focus on the Wakerewe people.
I wish you a good day.
Email: makwadeladius@gmail.com
Phone: 0717 649 257
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