THEY MAY HAVE EXTINGUISHED THEIR LITTLE LAMP, BUT THE SUN IS STILL RISING

 

Adeladius Makwega – MBAGALA

 

On the night of August 27, 2026, as Mwanakwetu was preparing to go to sleep, his eyes suddenly fell upon a statement issued by the Secretary-General of CCM, Dr. Asha Rose Migiro, concerning the decision to expel Dr. Emmanuel John Nchimbi, the former Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, from the party. Dr. Nchimbi had resigned from his position on August 25, 2026.

 

For Mwanakwetu, this was no ordinary announcement.

Dr. Nchimbi is not someone who entered politics yesterday as a stranger waiting to be shown the door. He is a politician who has climbed many steps within the party and in national leadership. He has served as Secretary-General of CCM, ambassador, and minister in several ministries. Before all that, he served for a long period as National Chairman of the CCM Youth League.

 

When Mwanakwetu read the statement, he remained silent.

Then he said to himself:

 

“So, these days, even history can apparently be put to a vote and sentenced by people who may not even have been present on the very pages of that history!”

Indeed, the turmoil currently unfolding within CCM left Mwanakwetu almost embarrassed to publicly identify himself as a cadre of the party.

 

Not because he has stopped respecting politics.

Far from it!

Rather, because sometimes when politics turns into theatre, even the audience begins to wonder whether they are still sitting in a political arena—or whether the whole show has quietly moved into a comedy hall.

 

That night was particularly cold.

 

Mwanakwetu decided to get into bed.

But before sleep could take him, he suddenly remembered the late Richard Hiza Tambwe, who once served as CCM's National Head of Propaganda.

 

Mwanakwetu remembered the words Richard Hiza Tambwe had told him in 2015:

 

“You, Doroth's son, you son of Teacher Doroth, look at your CCM expelling people from the party. Just look at what is happening! Who in CCM has the authority to question Dr. Nchimbi? By what scale can his loyalty and credentials within CCM possibly be measured?

When you look at Dr. Nchimbi and those questioning him, who among them possesses the light? Even when Dr. Nchimbi speaks, you can see the light in his eyes; you can see it on his forehead.

 

These actions are simply hatred against Edward Lowassa—nothing more.

When you look at Emmanuel John Nchimbi, you know that this is a man who carries hope for those coming behind him.”

 

Those words returned to Mwanakwetu that night like an old song he had known for years, but which he had suddenly decided to listen to with new ears.

 

For those who do not know about the long-standing neighborhood connection between Mwanakwetu and Richard Hiza Tambwe, theirs was a relationship rooted in many years of proximity.

 

For a long time, Richard Hiza Tambwe lived in Mbagala Kizuiani, in the Transfoma (Kwamalade) area, together with his wife, Mama Tulo, also known as Mama Agness.

 

These are stories dating back many years, to the early 1990s.

 

Mwanakwetu's mother, Teacher Doroth Mlemeta, also lived in that area. That is why, in the political circles of Temeke District and Mbagala, Richard Hiza Tambwe used to call Mwanakwetu:

 

“Doroth's son!”

Other people would laugh and ask:

“Why doesn't he call you Makwega? Why does he keep using your mother's name?”

But Mwanakwetu did not mind.

 

Because sometimes, the name people give you carries a history far greater than the name written on your birth certificate.

That night, I kept thinking about Richard Hiza Tambwe's words concerning light.

And I asked myself:

Were those who participated in the meeting that purportedly decided to expel Dr. Emmanuel John Nchimbi from CCM present when we elected him National Chairman of the CCM Youth League?

Did they know where we brought him from?

Did they know the journey we travelled before placing him in that chair?

How many of those sitting in that meeting were actually there that day?

Or do today's CCM leaders assume that everyone who was there has already passed away, just like the late John Gudinita?

How many of them knew Dr. Nchimbi's history before sitting around a table and beginning to judge him?

 

And who, exactly, came up with the idea?

Mwanakwetu believes that some of them may not even have been in the hall of that history.

Some may not even have possessed CCM membership cards at the time.

 

So how does a tenant suddenly become the landlord and proceed to evict the very people who built the house?

And that is where the question becomes serious:

How can you judge a person on a page of history that you yourself never read?

You cannot!

You may have a title.

You may have a meeting.

You may have a stamp.

You may even have a microphone.

But not everyone holding a microphone possesses the light required to speak on behalf of history.

Mwanakwetu said to himself:

No one can erase Dr. Nchimbi's political journey simply by passing a resolution against his membership.

And perhaps I should put it in very simple language.

Perhaps the person who can take Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi's shoes off is the door of a mosque as he enters the mosque.

Perhaps the person who can remove his hat is the door of a church as he enters.

And if the matter concerns the waistband of his trousers, then that is something his wife can certainly take care of!

But when it comes to the light of his history, his contribution, and his political journey, that is an entirely different matter.

 

You cannot extinguish the sun by locking it inside an envelope.

You cannot erase daylight simply by announcing that night has arrived.

And you certainly cannot take away a person's light through a meeting of people sitting in darkness, believing that the lamp has gone out simply because they cannot see it.

Those without light cannot take anything away from the one who possesses it.

Mwanakwetu says:

Dr. Emmanuel John Nchimbi remains a son of CCM.

And if anyone disagrees, let them argue with history.

Because history does not fear meetings.

History does not fear votes.

History does not fear titles.

History does not fear detention.

History does not fear the barrel of a gun.

And above all, history cannot be erased with a pen in a single day.

Mwanakwetu, are you there?

If you are, remember these words:

“THOSE WITHOUT LIGHT CANNOT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE ONE WHO HAS LIGHT.”

And to those who believe they have switched off the light, they may eventually discover that all they managed to extinguish was their own little lamp—while the sun is still rising.

I wish you a good day.

✉️ makwadeladius@gmail.com

📞 0717649257