GARI YA MH. DIWANI KATA YA SISIMBA MBEYA LAANGUKIWA NA MTI

Gari ya mheshimiwa diwani Geofrey Kajigili wa kata ya sisimba jijini mbeya likiwa limeangukiwa na mti ulioangushwa na mvua ilioambatana na upepo mkali

Mh. diwani Kajigili anaeongea na simu akiwa na mzee shariff na majirani wengine waliokuja mpa pole

AZRA VUYO JACK MTOTO ALIYEZALIWA MAHABUSU NA ANAENDELEA KUKULIA MAHABUSU WAZAZI WAKE WATUHUMIWA KUKUTWA NA MADAWA YA KULEVYA

MTOTO AZRA VUYO JACK AKIWA AMELALA

AZRA AKIWA AMEPAKATWA NA BABA YAKE VUYO JACK NJE YA MAHABUSU YA MAHAKAMA KUU MBEYA

BABA NA MAMA AZRA WAKIWA NA MTOTO WAO WAKISUBIRI KUINGIA MAHAKAMANI JANA ASUBUHI

ANASTAZIA CLOETE MAMA WA AZRA AKIFURAHI BAADA YA JOSEPH MWAISANGO WA MBEYA YETU KUMWAMBIA KWA UTANI KUWA ATAMCHUMBIA AZRA ILI ABAKI MBEYA

WAKIWA NA NYUSO ZA FURAHA BAADA YA UTANI WA HAPA NAPALE NJE YA MAHABUSU YA MAHAKAMA KUU MBEYA

MSAMARIA MWEMA EMILY MWAITUKA NDIYE ALIYEJITOLEA KUMHUDUMIA MTOTO AZRA HUKO MAHABUSU KWA KUMPELEKEA MAZIWA KILA SIKU

HILI NDILO GARI LA WAZAZI WA AZRA

Wakati Tanzania ikiwa imeridhia mkataba wa kimataifa wa kutekeleza na kulinda haki za watoto na kusimamia kwa karibu ulinzi wa haki za binadamu, sasa serikali ina kila sababu ya kuangalia haki za watoto walioko gerezani kwa makosa ya wazazi wao. Miongoni mwa haki ambazo serikali inapaswa kuchunguza kwa undani na kubainisha kisa kilichosababisha mtoto mdogo wa kike wa miezi sita , Azra Vuyo Jack, ajikute yeye na wazazi wake wakiwa katika mahabusu ya gereza la Ruanda jijini Mbeya wakikabiliwa na tuhuma za kukutwa na dawa za kulevya. Azra ambaye kwa jina la utani, kwa mujibu wa uchunguzi uliofanywa na Mbeya yetu huko gerezani anaitwa Merryciana au bibi jela jina ambalo limezoeleka zaidi mbali ya jina lake halisi alilopewa na wazazi wake la Azra . Mtoto huyo wa kike aliendelea kukua katika tumbo la mama yake akiwa gerezani, hatimaye alizaliwa salama Julai 15 mwaka jana katika hospitali ya wazazi meta. Mama yake ni Anastazia Cloete (27) mwenye asili ya kizungu, raia wa Afrika ya kusini Cloete alikamatwa mwaka juzi, Novemba katika mpaka wa Tanzania na Zambia , mji mdogo wa Tunduma akiwa mjamzito na kutupwa mahabusu katika gereza hilo hali iliyomfanya aendelee kulea ujauzito wake. Uchunguzi wa kina uliendelea kufanywa na madaktari wa hospitali hiyo hadi alipojifungua salama. Uchunguzi wa tukio la mtoto huyo hadi sasa umezusha mwendelezo wa harakati za kihabari na wanaharakati wa haki za binadamu kuona umuhimu wa kuondolewa kwa mtoto huyo ambaye kwa muda wote tangu azaliwe amekuwa akitumia maziwa ya kopo na hanyonyeshwi na mama yake mzazi. Mmoja wa ya wasamaria wema aliyejitolea kuwahudumia watuhumiwa hao waliyokumbwa na tuhuma za kukutwa na dawa hizo ni Emily Mwaituka ambaye amekuwa akifanya kazi kubwa ili kuhakikisha mtpto anakuwa na afya nzuri kwa kununuliwa makopo mawili ya maziwa kila wiki tangu alipozaliwa julai, mwaka jana. Mwaituka anasema amekuwa akinunua kopo moja la maziwa ya unga aina ya SMA 1 ambalo huuzwa sh 26000 na anapaswa kununua makopo mawili ili kuweza kumudu mahitaji ya mtoto huyo wa kike ambaye hanyonyi maziwa ya mama yake mzazi anayesubiri hatima ya kesi inayomkabili akiendelea kuwa mahabusu kwenye gereza la Ruanda jijini Mbeya. Uchunguzi uliofanywa na Mbeya yetu umegundua kuwa Cloete aliyekuwa akisoma nchini kwao katika chuo cha Capetech alijifungua mtoto wa kike miezi sita iliyopita baada ya kushikwa uchungu akiwa mahabusu na kukimbizwa hospitali ya wazazi ya meta. Cloete ambaye amekuwa akitumia majina mawili kwani alipolazwa katika hospitali hiyo aliandikishwa jina la Anastazia Elizabeth wakati alifikishwa hospitalini hapo kwa uchunguzi akiwa mjamzito Januari 14 mwaka jana na kufunguliwa jarada la matibabu lenye namba 46 – 26 – 83. Uchunguzi umebaini kuwa raia huyo wa afrika ya kusini na mumewe , Vuyo Jack ( 31 ) waliokamatwa mpakani hapo, aligundulika kuwa mjamzito alipokuwa mahabusu na kuanza kupatiwa matibabu sahihi yaliyosaidia ujauzito wake kukua vizuri. Habari za ndani zinadai kuwa kwa muda wote huo baada ya ujauzito wake kugundulika alikuwa akipatiwa matibabu chini ya uangalizi wa madaktari na alipofikia hatua za mwisho mjadala mzito ulifanywa na jopo la madaktari walioonyesha mashaka kuwa asingeweza kujifungua kwa njia ya kawaida na kutakiwa afanyiwe upasuaji. Imeelezwa kuwa daktari bingwa wa magonjwa ya wanawake katika hospitali hiyo Peter Msafiri , alipofanya uchunguzi alibaini kuwa raia huyo hapaswi kufanyiwa upasuaji kwa vile alikuwa na uwezo wa kujifungua bila matatizo. Dk Msafiri alipohojiwa anasema Cloete alijifungua salama ingawa walitaka kumfanyia upasuaji lakini alipinga hatua hiyo na kudai kuwa anaweza kujifungua salama kwa njia ya kawaida. Baadhi ya wauguzi wa hospitali hiyo ambao hawakutaka majina yao kutajwa walidai kuwa raia huyo wa Afrika ya Kusini alijifungua mtoto wa kike na kwamba mama yake akiwa mahabusu amekataa kumyonyesha kwa madai kuwa hapati mlo wa kutosha unaomuwezesha kutoa maziwa ya kutosha kwa ajili ya mwanae. Cloete alilazwa hapo kwa ajili ya uchunguzi , hamnyonyeshi mtoto wake, kweli amejifungua mtoto mzuri wa kike, amesema kuwa hawezi kumnyonyesha na anamlisha maziwa ya kopo akidai kuwa akinyonyesha atakosa nguvu kwa kuwa mahabusu alikowekwa hapati lishe bora anadai muuguzi mmoja. Miongoni mwa wanaharakati wa haki za binadamu walioguswa na habari za mtoto huyo kuendelea kukaa mahabusu na mama yake kulimgusa. Mchungaji William Mwamalanga, anasema kuwa kitendo cha mtoto huyo kuishi katika mazingira hayo hakuendani na haki za binadamu ambazo Tanzania imeridhia kwenye umoja wa mataifa. Mwamalanga anasema yeye na wanaharakati wenzake wanaandaa mpango maalumu wa kupigania haki ya mtoto huyo na kuhakikisha kuwa anaondolewa mahabusu baada ya kubainika kuwa amekuwa hanyonyeshwi na mama yake mzazi tangu alipozaliwa kwa madai kuwa hawezi kumnyonyesha kutokana na lishe duni anayopata akiwa mahabusu. Nakushukuru sana kuzisoma taarifa hizi, tunajiandaa ili kuona njia sahihi inayoweza kutusaidia kumtoa mtoto huyo mahabusu na kuiomba serikali iangalie kwa undani shauri hili kupitia kwa mwendesha mashtaka mkuu wa serikali ili kujua haki na stahili za mtoto huyo mchanga vinginevyo tunakiuka haki za watoto na binadamu ambazo Tanzania imeridhia kuzitekeleza, anasema Mwamalanga. Kumbukumbu za tukio hilo tulizonazo zinaonyesha kuwa raia hao wawili wa Afrika ya Kusini, waliokuwa wakiishi mtaa wa 2A Valley Road – Schaapkraal – Capetown walikamatwa na kilo 42 .5 za dawa za kulevya Novemba 18 mwaka juzi katika mpaka wa Tunduma na kufunguliwa – jalada namba TDM/IR/1763/2010. Katika tukio hilo ambalo Vuyo na Cloete walinaswa na dawa hizo walizozificha kwenye gari aina ya Nissana Hard body yenye namba za usajili CA – 508 – 656 lililokuwa likimilikiwa na Vuyo Jack waliokuwa wakitokea mkoani Morogoro kuelekea Afrika ya Kusini, Cloete alikuwa akisoma katika chuo cha Capetech. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa za ndani ambazo zimethibitishwa na Mkemia Mkuu wa Serikali dawa hizo za kulevya ni paketi 26 za cocaine zenye uzito wa kilo 28.5 paketi tatu za Heroine zenye uzito wa kilo 3.25 na paketi nane aina ya Morphine zenye uzito wa kilo 3.25, madawa hayo yote yanathamani ya zaidi ya sh bilioni 1.2. picha na mbeya yetu Habari na Christopher Nyanyembe KUTOKA MBEYA YETU BLOG

Mbeya Yetu: AZRA VUYO JACK MTOTO ALIYEZALIWA MAHABUSU NA ANAEN...

AZRA VUYO JACK MTOTO ALIYEZALIWA MAHABUSU NA ANAEN...: MTOTO AZRA VUYO JACK AKIWA AMELALA AZRA AKIWA AMEPAKATWA NA BABA YAKE VUYO JACK NJE YA MAHABUSU YA MAHAKAMA KUU MBEYA BABA NA MAMA...

Boko Haram's threat letter to NLC/TUC; real or fake?

According to the leadership of the NLC and TUC, they received a threat letter in their mail yesterday supposedly sent by Boko Haram. In the letter (above), the Islamic sect expressed their anger over the way the Labour leaders handled the fuel hike crisis. They asked the NLC president to resign and also threatened to bomb their HQ soon.

The letter reads 'I', 'AM' instead of 'WE'...probably a prank but the NLC people are taking it very seriously. They've handed the letter to security agencies. If this Boko Haram menace wasn't such a sad thing for Nigerians, I would have laughed at this letter. But....

Photos from Kanu Nwankwo's wife's 25th birthday and graduation

This happened a while back (2011) but the photos only just hit the net. Kanu and Amara married in 2004 and have two boys together. Continue to see more photos...

MTOTO AVUNJA MLANGO NA KUMBAKA MAMA YAKE MZAZI AKIWA AMELALA

Na Mwandishi Wetu, Songea ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JESHI la polisi Mkoani Ruvuma linamshikilia Frank Jota (26) mkazi wa kijiji cha Litisha Wilayani Songea kwa tuhuma za kumbaka mama yake mzazi mwenye umri miaka 54 ambaye jina lake limehifadhiwa wakati amelala nyumbani kwake majira ya saa za usiku. Kamanda wa Polisi Koa wa Ruvuma Michael Kamuhanda amesema kuwa tukio hilo limetokea januari mosi mwaka huu huko katika kijiji cha Litisha kilichopo nje ya mji mdogo wa Peramiho. Amesema kuwa siku hiyo ya tukio majira ya saa za usiku Jota alikwenda nyumbani kwao ambako alimkuta mama yake mzazi akiwa amelala na baadaye alianza kutafuta namna ya kuingia kwenye nyumba hiyo ambayo mlango wake ulifungwa na komeo kwa ndani. Amefafanua zaidi kuwa Jota baada ya kuona mlango umefungwa kwa komeo kwa ndani aliamua kuuvunja mlango wa nyumba hiyo kisha aliingia ndani na kwenda moja kwa moja kwenye chumba alicholala mama yake mzazi ambaye jina lake limehifadhiwa. Amesema kuwa Jota akiwa kwenye chumba ambacho mama yake alikuwa amelala alianza kumtishia kwa kisu alichokuwa ameshika mkononi na baadaye alimkaba shingo na kufanikiwa kumvua nguo ya ndani aliyokuwa amevaa kisha alianza kufanya naye mapenzi. Amebainisha zaidi kuwa wakati Jota akiendelea kufanya mapenzi na mama yake watu waliokuwa jilani na tukio walisikia kelele za mtu akipiga mayowe na walipofika kwenye eneo hilo la tukio waliingia ndani ya nyumba hiyo na kumkuta Jota akitokea kwenye chumba alicholala mama yake na baadaye alipowaona watu alijalibu kukimbia lakini majirani hao walifanikiwa kumkamata na kumpeleka kituo kidogo cha polisi cha peramiho. Hata hivyo kamanda wa polisi Mkoa wa Ruvuma Kamuhanda ameeleza kuwa polisi baada ya kumuhoji mtuhumiwa amekili kutenda kosa hilo na anatarajiwa kufikishwa mahakamani mara tu upelelezi utakapo kamilika. Mwisho.

MTOTO AVUNJA MLANGO NA KUMBAKA MAMA YAKE MZAZI AKIWA AMELALA

Na Mwandishi Wetu, Songea ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JESHI la polisi Mkoani Ruvuma linamshikilia Frank Jota (26) mkazi wa kijiji cha Litisha Wilayani Songea kwa tuhuma za kumbaka mama yake mzazi mwenye umri miaka 54 ambaye jina lake limehifadhiwa wakati amelala nyumbani kwake majira ya saa za usiku. Kamanda wa Polisi Koa wa Ruvuma Michael Kamuhanda amesema kuwa tukio hilo limetokea januari mosi mwaka huu huko katika kijiji cha Litisha kilichopo nje ya mji mdogo wa Peramiho. Amesema kuwa siku hiyo ya tukio majira ya saa za usiku Jota alikwenda nyumbani kwao ambako alimkuta mama yake mzazi akiwa amelala na baadaye alianza kutafuta namna ya kuingia kwenye nyumba hiyo ambayo mlango wake ulifungwa na komeo kwa ndani. Amefafanua zaidi kuwa Jota baada ya kuona mlango umefungwa kwa komeo kwa ndani aliamua kuuvunja mlango wa nyumba hiyo kisha aliingia ndani na kwenda moja kwa moja kwenye chumba alicholala mama yake mzazi ambaye jina lake limehifadhiwa. Amesema kuwa Jota akiwa kwenye chumba ambacho mama yake alikuwa amelala alianza kumtishia kwa kisu alichokuwa ameshika mkononi na baadaye alimkaba shingo na kufanikiwa kumvua nguo ya ndani aliyokuwa amevaa kisha alianza kufanya naye mapenzi. Amebainisha zaidi kuwa wakati Jota akiendelea kufanya mapenzi na mama yake watu waliokuwa jilani na tukio walisikia kelele za mtu akipiga mayowe na walipofika kwenye eneo hilo la tukio waliingia ndani ya nyumba hiyo na kumkuta Jota akitokea kwenye chumba alicholala mama yake na baadaye alipowaona watu alijalibu kukimbia lakini majirani hao walifanikiwa kumkamata na kumpeleka kituo kidogo cha polisi cha peramiho. Hata hivyo kamanda wa polisi Mkoa wa Ruvuma Kamuhanda ameeleza kuwa polisi baada ya kumuhoji mtuhumiwa amekili kutenda kosa hilo na anatarajiwa kufikishwa mahakamani mara tu upelelezi utakapo kamilika. Mwisho.

WABUNGE WA TANZANIA WATEMBELEA UINGEREZA

Mhe. Balozi Peter Kallaghe akiwakaribisha waheshimiwa wabunge

Katibu wa Chama cha wanawake UK (TAWA UK) Mariam Mungula akiwaeleza waheshimiwa machache kuhusu chama hicho

Afisa wa Bunge Justina Shauri, Mhe. Esther Matiku, Mhe. Beatrice Shelukindo na Mama Balozi Joyce Kallaghe wakiwa wanamsikiliza mhe. Balozi akitoa ukaribisho

Mwana blogger Jestina George akiwa katika picha ya pamoja na waheshimiwa Al-Shaymaa J. Kwegyir, Agripina Z Buyogera na Susan Lyimo

Picha ya pamoja na waheshimiwa baada ya chakula cha jioni

Wageni 11 wakiwemo Wabunge 11 na Afisa wa Bunge 1 waliotokea nyumbani Tanzania na kuja UK kwa Mualiko wa Commonwealth parliamentarians Group (CPA) walikaribisha chakula cha jioni na Mama Joyce Kallaghe Mke wa Balozi wa Uingereza akiwa na Viongozi wa Chama cha TA na TAWA nyumbani kwake.

Wabunge hao 11 wote wanawake na ambao miongoni mwao ni Viongozi wa wajumbe wa Tanzania Women Parliamentarians Group (TWPG) ,waliongozwa na Mwenyekiti wa TWPG Mheshimiwa Mama Anna Abdalla MP, na wakiwemo Mh.Susan Lyimo MP, Mh. Magdalena h. Sakaya (MP) , Mh. Angela Kairuki (MP), Mh. Esther matiko (MP, Mh. Beatrice Shelukindo (MP), Mh. Riziki Omari Juma (MP), Mh. Namalek Sokoine (MP), Mh . Faharia Hamisi (MP) ,Mh. Al-Shaymaa J. Kwegyir (MP), Mh. Agripina Z Buyogera (MP) na Afisa wa Bunge Mrs Justina Shauri.

Wageni walikaribishwa na Balozi Mheshimiwa Peter Kallaghe na Mama Balozi Joyce Kallaghe , Mheshimiwa Balozi aliongea machache ya Ukaribisho na kumpa nafasi Mh.Mama Anna Abdalla ambae alishukuru kwa mualiko huo na kuelezea kuhusu Umoja wa Wabunge Wanawake (TWPG) ambao kila Mbunge Mwanamke wa Bunge la Tanzania ni mwanachama wake na jinsi gani TWPG inavyofanya kazi kwa pamoja bila ya kujali itikadi za vyama vya kisiasa vya Waheshimiwa hao.

Usiku huo iliweza dhihirika kwa jinsi waheshiwa hao walivyokuja kujitambulisha kila mmoja alisimama na kujitambulisha na walilotilia msingi katika utambulisho wao ni kamati zao tofauti za Bunge ambazo wanahusika nazo na kuwa wnachama wa kikundi cha TWPG. Wageni waliokuwa pale walishuhudia zaidi ya nusu ya hawa wabunge waliongia na furaha bila ya kujali kuwa bado wana uchovu wa safari kutoka nyumbani wakisahau kutaja vyama vyao vya kisiasa. Mheshimiwa Mama Anna Abdalla alisisitiza kwamba ingawa vyama vya siasa ndio vilivyowapeleka wote bungeni lakini wakishaingia katika Bunge la Jamhuri ya Muungano ,wanawake bungeni hawaangalii vyama vyao vya siasa bali huwa wakiwa Bungeni kabla ya sera yeyote kupita Wanawake huwa wote kwa Umoja wanaangalia hii itamnufaisha vipi Mwanamke na Mtoto wa Kitanzania.

Maneno haya ya Mheshimiwa Mama Abdalla yalidhihirishwa na jinsi Waheshiwa wote walipokaa katika meza moja na kuongea na kucheka kwa pamoja na kwa furaha huku wakila chakula kitamu cha jioni bila ya kujali pale kwenye ile meza kuna CCM, NCCR, CUF wala CHADEMA.

Kitendo hiki kiliwavutia sana viongozi wa wanawake London ambao walikuwepo katika shuguli hii Bi. Nelly Msemwa (TA Taifa Deputy chair anaeshughulikia mambo ya wanwake ),Bi. Mariam Kilumanga(TAWA Chair ), BI Mariam Mungula (TAWA Secretary) , Bi Rose Kiondo (Afisa Ubalozi) na Bi Jestina George (TA London na Blogger), kiasi ambacho walipopewa nafasi ya kuongeza machache walimpa nafasi hii Bi Mariam Mungula ambae aliwashukuru sana Waheshimiwa Wabunge wa kitendo hicho na somo walilompa la kuwa hata Wakiwa Bungeni yeye akifikiri hakuna mashirikiano kati ya vyama tofauti kumbe sivyo kabisa wakiwa ndani na nje ya Bunge wanaweka wote ni kitu kimoja.

Bi Mariam Mungula vilevile alielezea kaazi za kikundi wa kina mama cha hapa UK ambacho yeye ni mmjoa wa viongozi wake Tanzania Women Association (TAWA) na kumalizia kwa kuwaomba waheshimiwa wabunge kupitia TWPG wasihau kuwa kuna wanawake wengine wa kitanzania hata kama ni nje ya nchi na ambao wako tayari kushirikiana nao kwa lolote katika kumuendeleza MWanamke wa KItanzania.

Kikundi hichi cha Waheshimwa kimekuja Uingereza kwa Mualiko wa CPA kwa siku chache katika majukumu yao ya kila siku ya kumpingania Mtanzania.

Mungu Ibariki Tanzania.

Na Jestina George wa www.jestina-george.com

BALOZI SEIF ALI IDDI AZUNGUMZA NA MABALOZI WAPYA WALIOTEULIWA HIVI KARIBUNI

MAKAMU WA PILI WA RAIS WA ZANZIBAR BALOZI SEIF ALI IDDI AKIZUNGUMZA NA MABALOZI SITA WAPYA WALIOTEULIWA KUIWAKILISHA TANZANIA KATIKA MATAIFA MBALI MBALI DUNIANI.

MAKAMU WA PILI WA RAIS WA ZANZIBAR BALOZI SEIF ALI IDDI AKIWA KATIKA PICHA YA PAMOJA NA MABALOZI WAPYA WA TANZANIA WALIOTEULIWA HIVI KARIBUNI.

UTAFITI: WAKAZI WA NCHI ZA BARIDI WANA MACHO NA UBONGO MKUBWA KULIKO WAKAZI WA NCHI ZA JOTO

Matokeo ya utafiti yaliyochapishwa mwaka jana yanaonyesha kwamba watu wanaoishi katika ukanda wa nchi za baridi juu ya mstari wa Ikweta wana macho na ubongo mkubwa zaidi kuliko wenzao wanaoishi karibu na mstari huo.

Kwa vile nchi nyingi za baridi mbali na mstari wa Ikweta zipo Ulaya, Urusi, Asia na Amerika ya Kaskazini, hii inamaanisha kwamba wakazi wa nchi hizi wana macho na ubongo mkubwa.

Na kwa vile sote tunajua kwamba ubongo mkubwa unahusianishwa moja kwa moja na akili nyingi, swali la muhimu linalozushwa na utafiti huu ni hili: Wakazi wa nchi za baridi (wengi wao ni weupe) wana akili kuliko wakazi wa sehemu zilizo karibu na Ikweta (weusi)?

Japo watafiti wamekwepa kufanya jumuisho hili, inavyoonekana wamefanya hivyo ili kukwepa mitafaruku tu. Je, ugunduzi huu mpya unaweza kueleza tofauti za kimaendeleo na kisayansi kati ya watu wa “kaskazini” na “kusini”?

Mgunduzi mwenza wa “DNA” mwenyewe alipata matatizo makubwa alipotoa dai kama hili mwaka 2007, dai ambalo lilimfanya afukuzwe au kujiuzulu nyadhifa zake zote za kisayansi na kiuongozi alizokuwa akizishikilia

Kwa maoni ya kutatanisha kuhusu mkondo huu wa mawazo tazama maoni ya binti machachari wa Kichaga aitwaye Aika HAPA. Maoni haya yaliwasha moto mkubwa sana huku wengine wakimshambulia na wengine wakimuunga mkono.

Wewe una maoni gani? Ni kweli watu weusi tuna akili “pungufu” tukilinganishwa na weupe?

The Happening: And I'm Back!

Don't worry, chaps, I ain't dead! The blog was for quite some months, though, and for that, my sincerest apologies. For still checking it out when it was devoid of life, my warm thanks. I must admit my work took its toll on me for a minute there, but with this new year comes a new beginning filled with promises to do what I truly enjoy. In 2012, I'm gonna go H.A.M. with every post. If it's the end as we know it, then by god, let's go out in style!

You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum! - Written by Field Ruwe

If you haven't read this article yet, do so...some serious stuff! Written by Field Ruwe, a Zambian journalist and author...

They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.

“It’s amazing how you all sit there and watch yourselves die,” the man next to me said. “Get up and do something about it.” Brawny, fully bald-headed, with intense, steely eyes, he was as cold as they come. When I first discovered I was going to spend my New Year’s Eve next to him on a non-stop JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston I was angst-ridden. I associate marble-shaven Caucasians with iconoclastic skin-heads, most of who are racist. “My name is Walter,” he extended his hand as soon as I settled in my seat. I told him mine with a precautious smile. “Where are you from?” he asked. “Zambia.” “Zambia!” he exclaimed, “Kaunda’s country.” “Yes,” I said, “Now Sata’s.” “But of course,” he responded. “You just elected King Cobra as your president.” My face lit up at the mention of Sata’s moniker. Walter smiled, and in those cold eyes I saw an amenable fellow, one of those American highbrows who shuttle between Africa and the U.S. “I spent three years in Zambia in the 1980s,” he continued. “I wined and dined with Luke Mwananshiku, Willa Mungomba, Dr. Siteke Mwale, and many other highly intelligent Zambians.” He lowered his voice. “I was part of the IMF group that came to rip you guys off.” He smirked. “Your government put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing, the dead, and the healthy.” “Are you still with the IMF?” I asked. “I have since moved to yet another group with similar intentions. In the next few months my colleagues and I will be in Lusaka to hypnotize the cobra. I work for the broker that has acquired a chunk of your debt. Your government owes not the World Bank, but us millions of dollars. We’ll be in Lusaka to offer your president a couple of millions and fly back with a check twenty times greater.” “No, you won’t,” I said. “King Cobra is incorruptible. He is …” He was laughing. “Says who? Give me an African president, just one, who has not fallen for the carrot and stick.” Quett Masire’s name popped up. “Oh, him, well, we never got to him because he turned down the IMF and the World Bank. It was perhaps the smartest thing for him to do.” At midnight we were airborne. The captain wished us a happy 2012 and urged us to watch the fireworks across Los Angeles. “Isn’t that beautiful,” Walter said looking down. From my middle seat, I took a glance and nodded admirably. “That’s white man’s country,” he said. “We came here on Mayflower and turned Indian land into a paradise and now the most powerful nation on earth. We discovered the bulb, and built this aircraft to fly us to pleasure resorts like Lake Zambia.” I grinned. “There is no Lake Zambia.” He curled his lips into a smug smile. “That’s what we call your country. You guys are as stagnant as the water in the lake. We come in with our large boats and fish your minerals and your wildlife and leave morsels—crumbs. That’s your staple food, crumbs. That corn-meal you eat, that’s crumbs, the small Tilapia fish you call Kapenta is crumbs. We the Bwanas (whites) take the cat fish. I am the Bwana and you are the Muntu. I get what I want and you get what you deserve, crumbs. That’s what lazy people get—Zambians, Africans, the entire Third World.” The smile vanished from my face. “I see you are getting pissed off,” Walter said and lowered his voice. “You are thinking this Bwana is a racist. That’s how most Zambians respond when I tell them the truth. They go ballistic. Okay. Let’s for a moment put our skin pigmentations, this black and white crap, aside. Tell me, my friend, what is the difference between you and me?” “There’s no difference.” “Absolutely none,” he exclaimed. “Scientists in the Human Genome Project have proved that. It took them thirteen years to determine the complete sequence of the three billion DNA subunits. After they were all done it was clear that 99.9% nucleotide bases were exactly the same in you and me. We are the same people. All white, Asian, Latino, and black people on this aircraft are the same.” I gladly nodded. “And yet I feel superior,” he smiled fatalistically. “Every white person on this plane feels superior to a black person. The white guy who picks up garbage, the homeless white trash on drugs, feels superior to you no matter his status or education. I can pick up a nincompoop from the New York streets, clean him up, and take him to Lusaka and you all be crowding around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he’s a riffraff. Tell me why my angry friend.” For a moment I was wordless. “Please don’t blame it on slavery like the African Americans do, or colonialism, or some psychological impact or some kind of stigmatization. And don’t give me the brainwash poppycock. Give me a better answer.” I was thinking. He continued. “Excuse what I am about to say. Please do not take offense.” I felt a slap of blood rush to my head and prepared for the worst. “You my friend flying with me and all your kind are lazy,” he said. “When you rest your head on the pillow you don’t dream big. You and other so-called African intellectuals are damn lazy, each one of you. It is you, and not those poor starving people, who is the reason Africa is in such a deplorable state.” “That’s not a nice thing to say,” I protested. He was implacable. “Oh yes it is and I will say it again, you are lazy. Poor and uneducated Africans are the most hardworking people on earth. I saw them in the Lusaka markets and on the street selling merchandise. I saw them in villages toiling away. I saw women on Kafue Road crushing stones for sell and I wept. I said to myself where are the Zambian intellectuals? Are the Zambian engineers so imperceptive they cannot invent a simple stone crusher, or a simple water filter to purify well water for those poor villagers? Are you telling me that after thirty-seven years of independence your university school of engineering has not produced a scientist or an engineer who can make simple small machines for mass use? What is the school there for?” I held my breath. “Do you know where I found your intellectuals? They were in bars quaffing. They were at the Lusaka Golf Club, Lusaka Central Club, Lusaka Playhouse, and Lusaka Flying Club. I saw with my own eyes a bunch of alcoholic graduates. Zambian intellectuals work from eight to five and spend the evening drinking. We don’t. We reserve the evening for brainstorming.” He looked me in the eye. “And you flying to Boston and all of you Zambians in the Diaspora are just as lazy and apathetic to your country. You don’t care about your country and yet your very own parents, brothers and sisters are in Mtendere, Chawama, and in villages, all of them living in squalor. Many have died or are dying of neglect by you. They are dying of AIDS because you cannot come up with your own cure. You are here calling yourselves graduates, researchers and scientists and are fast at articulating your credentials once asked—oh, I have a PhD in this and that—PhD my foot!” I was deflated. “Wake up you all!” he exclaimed, attracting the attention of nearby passengers. “You should be busy lifting ideas, formulae, recipes, and diagrams from American manufacturing factories and sending them to your own factories. All those research findings and dissertation papers you compile should be your country’s treasure. Why do you think the Asians are a force to reckon with? They stole our ideas and turned them into their own. Look at Japan, China, India, just look at them.” He paused. “The Bwana has spoken,” he said and grinned. “As long as you are dependent on my plane, I shall feel superior and you my friend shall remain inferior, how about that? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Latinos are a notch better. You Africans are at the bottom of the totem pole.” He tempered his voice. “Get over this white skin syndrome and begin to feel confident. Become innovative and make your own stuff for god’s sake.” At 8 a.m. the plane touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Walter reached for my hand. “I know I was too strong, but I don’t give it a damn. I have been to Zambia and have seen too much poverty.” He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something. “Here, read this. It was written by a friend.” He had written only the title: “Lords of Poverty.” Thunderstruck, I had a sinking feeling. I watched Walter walk through the airport doors to a waiting car. He had left a huge dust devil twirling in my mind, stirring up sad memories of home. I could see Zambia’s literati—the cognoscente, intelligentsia, academics, highbrows, and scholars in the places he had mentioned guzzling and talking irrelevancies. I remembered some who have since passed—how they got the highest grades in mathematics and the sciences and attained the highest education on the planet. They had been to Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to leave us with not a single invention or discovery. I knew some by name and drunk with them at the Lusaka Playhouse and Central Sports. Walter is right. It is true that since independence we have failed to nurture creativity and collective orientations. We as a nation lack a workhorse mentality and behave like 13 million civil servants dependent on a government pay cheque. We believe that development is generated 8-to-5 behind a desk wearing a tie with our degrees hanging on the wall. Such a working environment does not offer the opportunity for fellowship, the excitement of competition, and the spectacle of innovative rituals. But the intelligentsia is not solely, or even mainly, to blame. The larger failure is due to political circumstances over which they have had little control. The past governments failed to create an environment of possibility that fosters camaraderie, rewards innovative ideas and encourages resilience. KK, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, and Banda embraced orthodox ideas and therefore failed to offer many opportunities for drawing outside the line. I believe King Cobra’s reset has been cast in the same faculties as those of his predecessors. If today I told him that we can build our own car, he would throw me out. “Naupena? Fuma apa.” (Are you mad? Get out of here) Knowing well that King Cobra will not embody innovation at Walter’s level let’s begin to look for a technologically active-positive leader who can succeed him after a term or two. That way we can make our own stone crushers, water filters, water pumps, razor blades, and harvesters. Let’s dream big and make tractors, cars, and planes, or, like Walter said, forever remain inferior. A fundamental transformation of our country from what is essentially non-innovative to a strategic superior African country requires a bold risk-taking educated leader with a triumphalist attitude and we have one in YOU. Don’t be highly strung and feel insulted by Walter. Take a moment and think about our country. Our journey from 1964 has been marked by tears. It has been an emotionally overwhelming experience. Each one of us has lost a loved one to poverty, hunger, and disease. The number of graves is catching up with the population. It’s time to change our political culture. It’s time for Zambian intellectuals to cultivate an active-positive progressive movement that will change our lives forever. Don’t be afraid or dispirited, rise to the challenge and salvage the remaining few of your beloved ones. Field Ruwe is a US-based Zambian media practitioner and author. He is a PhD candidate with a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism, and an M.A. in History. Thoughts?

LALA UN0NO NA KITU KUTOKA ETHIOPIA TADESSE MAKETE

Mkutano wa kujadili mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi

Mkurugenzi msaidizi wa Idara ya Mazingira,Ofisi ya Makamu wa Rais Bw. Richard Muyungi akizungumza na wadau wa mazingira kutoka Taasisi mbalimbali,wizara na wadau kutoka nchi wahisani wakati wa ufunguzi wa mkutano wa wadau hao unaojadili mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi na mkakati wa kitaifa kuhusu mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi leo jijini Dar es salaam.

Mshauri wa masuala ya mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi kutoka Idara ya Kimataifa ya Maendeleo (DFID) nchini Tanzania Bi. Magdalena Banasiak (kushoto) akizungumzia athari za mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi duniani na mchango wa wadau mbalimbali wa ndani na nje ya nchi katika kuhakikisha kuwa athari za mabadiliko ya tabia nchi zilizoanza kujitokeza zinadhibitiwa.

Mkurugenzi msaidizi wa Idara ya Mazingira,Ofisi ya Makamu wa Rais Bw. Richard Muyungi akiwasilisha mada kuhusiana na mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi na ripoti ya tafiti ya athari za kimazingira iliyofanyika katika baadhi ya maeneo yakiwemo Zanzbar, Mbeya, Tanga, Manyara, Shinyanga na Mwanza leo jijini Dar es salaam.

Baadhi ya wadau wa Mazingira kutoka ndani na nje nchi wakifuatilia mada mbalimbali zilizokuwa zikiwasilishwa wakati wa mkutano wa wadau wa mazingira kuhusu mkakati wa kitaifa kuhusu mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi leo jijini Dar es salaam.

Wadau wa Mazingira kutoka, Taasisi mbalimbali,wizara na wadau wa mazingira kutoka nchi wahisani wakiwa katika picha ya pamoja mara baada ya ufunguzi wa mkutano unaojadili Mkakati wa Kitaifa kuhusu mabadiliko ya Tabia nchi leo jijini Dar es salaam.