Mwalimu, 10 years after: Part 1

Recollections on President Julius Kambarage Nyerere


By Father Arthur H. Wille, M.M.
　
I first met Julius Kambarage Nyerere in 1955. At this time I was assigned by Msgr. Gerard Grondin, Prefect Apostolic of the Prefecture of Musoma, Tanzania (formerly called Tanganyika) to open a new mission among the Zanaki Ethnic Group (formerly called tribe). When I first arrived in Tanzania in late 1951, after spending some months in Nyegina Mission, I went with another Maryknoll priest, Father Edward Bratton, to begin a mission among the Simbiti Ethnic Group at Komuge.

It was during my work in Komuge that I first came in contact with Maria Waningo the daughter of Gabriel Magige and his wife Anna Nyashiboha.

She was living in Baraki village with her parents at that time. She would later marry Julius Nyerere. Her father Gabriel Magige was one of the pillars of the Catholic community in Komuge. He had been one of the first five Simbiti men to be baptized in 1933 in a new mission that the Missionaries of Africa (formerly called the White Fathers) had established in Butuli in Tarime District for the Luo people.

Butuli was not far from Baraki where Gabriel lived. His faith and desire for baptism was so strong that he and four other men agreed to study for baptism in another ethnic group language Luo. The Luos had immigrated into Tanganyika from Kenya. They had fought the Simbiti Ethnic Group and taken some of their land from them.

The relationship between the Luos and the Simbiti was not a friendly one. Despite this, Gabriel Magige went to Butuli to prepare for baptism and was baptized there. He and the four other Simbiti who returned with him began the evangelization of other Simbiti. I was impressed when I came to know him. He was a person of great faith and devotion to the church. He passed this same faith and love of the church to his children.
　
The local Christians admired Gabriel and his wife Hanna very much. They told me the story of how strong was his faith. One Saturday night thieves stole all his cows. When he awoke and his neighbors discovered that all his cows were stolen, they urged him to pige yowe, a Swahili signal that cows have been stolen.

When this signal is given, all the young men come with their bows and arrows and spears to follow the thieves in order to recover the stolen cows. His neighbors urged Gabriel to give the signal. He replied that it was Sunday. He must first go to their little outstation church and pray. When he had fulfilled his Sunday obligation, he returned to his house and gave the signal that his cows were stolen. Even though some time had passed he and the young men were able to recover all his cows.

In 1946 when the first Maryknollers came to Musoma they lived with the Missionaries of Africa who had been working in this area to learn their policy and programs to convert the people.

In the Prefecture of Musoma there were a number of small Bantu ethnic groups such as the Kwaya, Jita, Kiroba, Kabwa, Zanaki, Ikizu, Shashi, Nata, Ikoma, Issenye, Simbiti, Sweta, Surwa, Hasha, and segments of Sukuma. There also are the Luo people who are of the Nilotic race as well as a small group of the Batatiro who belong to the Nilotic Hamitic people.

In 1955 Msgr. Gerald Grondin informed me that I was assigned to open a mission among the Zanaki people. He also told me that I was fortunate because there was man there, Julius Nyerere, who could teach me his ethnic group or tribal language. Msgr. Grondin and I went to see Julius Nyerere in his village of Butiama to ask him if he would be willing to teach me his Zanaki language.

He was overjoyed when he heard that we were going to build a mission for his people. He agreed to move into Musoma town to teach me his language as there was no place for me to stay in his linguistic area.

When we were leaving him, he asked if he could get a ride into Musoma town to make arrangements for a place to stay. At this time he was married to Maria and they had two children, Andrew and Anna. Without any hesitation he climbed into the back of our pickup to ride into town. He wanted to make arrangements in Musoma town for a place where he and his wife Maria and their children could live.

He started to teach me a few days after I had visited him in his home in Butiama. In the afternoons after teaching me we would drink tea together. It was at this time especially that he told me much about himself, his childhood, his family and especially what he hoped to accomplish when he led the country to independence. He never had any doubts that Tanganyika would become independent from England. He knew world opinion was against colonialism. He was not in a hurry to achieve independence. Rather he was wanted the British set a date so that they could prepare for independence properly.

After the independence of Ghana and Nigeria took place, the independence fever swept across Africa like a grass fire. When this happened the European powers and America who were giving some development aid to African countries stopped. They would wait until these countries would become independent.
　
One day when Julius was teaching me, he showed me a 20 shilling Tanganyika bill. He explained that some of the workers in Musoma Government Hospital were demanding bribes from the patients before they would treat them and give them the medical care they needed.

He put a small mark with a pen on the 20 shilling bill and asked me to witness it. He said that he would give it to someone who was ill and would go for medical assistance at the hospital. One person did go, but the worker who asked for the bribe in the hospital would not accept the 20 shilling bill. He demanded that the person first go and change the bill into 20 one shilling coins. In this way he thwarted Nyerere’s effort to root out corruption in Musoma Hospital.

This was my first personal experience with Julius and his determination to fight injustice which would be prominent throughout his life.

To be continued

tomorrow...