By Frank Kimboy
Dar es Salaam — The
number of high-profile Tanzanians who passed away in 2019 is arguably
the
highest compared to other years in the country's recent history.
Several high-profile leaders, businesspersons, politicians and other celebrities were deprived of their lives in the year.
They include Ruge
Mutahaba, who was Cloud Media Group programmes manager; business mogul
and a philanthropist Reginald Mengi and Ali Mufuruki, a business leader.
Also on the list of
those who died in 2019 are James Mapalala and Ambassador Paul Ndobho
both veteran politicians. Another was famous Clouds FM presenter Ephraim
Kibonde.
Mr Mutahaba
He was born in 1970
in Brooklyn in the United States. He collaborated with his friend
Joseph Kusaga, who was running Clouds Disco to establish Clouds Media
Group. Clouds produces content and entertainment news for youthful
audiences aiming at inspiring and empowering young Tanzanians.
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He died on February 26 at a South African hospital where he was receiving treatment.
The news of his
death was received with shock. One of those who expressed their griefs
following Mutahaba's death was President John Magufuli.
Shortly after the
sad news broke out, Dr Magufuli, who referred to Mr Mutahaba as 'my
son,' tweeted: "I have received with shock the information about the
death of Mr Mutahaba."
Mutahaba attended
primary education in Arusha before shifting to Dar es Salaam. He
attended his secondary education at Forodhani in Dar es Salaam, and
later went for his A-levels at Pugu Secondary School. He then went to
San Jose University in the US where he earned a bachelor's degree in
Marketing and BA in Finance.
Reginald Mengi
Mengi was born in
1943 and died on May 2, 2019. He was a Tanzanian billionaire
businessman, philanthropist, and published his autobiography titled 'I
Can, I Must, I Will'.
He was chairman of
the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), Confederation of Tanzania
Industries, IPP Gold Ltd., Media Owners Association of Tanzania, as
well as the executive chairman and owner of IPP Ltd and chairman of
Handeni Gold.
Mengi had an estimated net worth of $560 million according to Forbes Richest Persons in Africa 2014.
He received various
awards during his lifetime. including: Most Respected CEO of the East
African Community (EAC), Martin Luther King Drum Major for Justice
Award, Global Leadership and Humanitarian Award, United Nations NGO
Lifetime Achievement Award, the Business for Peace Award, International
Order of the Lions Award, and Business Leader of the Year Award.
The media mogul and philanthropist died in Dubai last May.
Mr Mengi's death
came six months after the death of his ex-wife and IPP co-founder Mercy
Anna Mengi. In 2015, he married Miss Tanzania 2000 and Bongo Flava
singer Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe.
Mr Mengi studied
accountancy and was articled with Cooper Brothers in the UK and after
being accepted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
England and Wales, he returned to Tanzania in 1971 where he was employed
by the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand Tanzania.
He stayed with
Coopers & Lybrand-Tanzania (now PriceWaterHouseCoopers) up to
September 1989 during which time he became its chairman and managing
partner.
In October 1989, Dr Mengi left Coopers & Lybrand-Tanzania to concentrate on his own businesses.
Today, his flagship IPP Limited owns several TV and Radio stations as well as newspapers.
It also has interests in a number of Coca-Cola's Bonite's Bottlers.
Ali Mufuruki
He was born in 1958
and died on December 7, 2019. He was a Tanzanian businessman leader,
author, founder and board member of several organisations.
He was a founder of
Infotech Investment Group, founding chairman of CEO Roundtable of
Tanzania and Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) East Africa, board
chairman of Vodacom Tanzania and Wananchi Group Holdings, trustee of the
Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) and co-author of the
book Tanzania's Industrialization Journey, 2016-2056.
He died at the Morningside Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.
James Mapalala
He was born in
1936. Mapalala is remembered as one of the veteran politicians and
leading pioneers of political pluralism in Tanzania.
He is remembered
for being the first Tanzanian politician to have publicly demanded the
reinstatement of multiparty democracy in 1986, something that angered
the government.
Mapalala died at the Hubert Kairuki Memorial Hospital on October 23, 2019, where he was receiving treatment.
He was admitted at the hospital for nearly two weeks after developing breathing complications.
In 1986, Mapalala
was jailed for two years in Lindi and later taken to detention in the
Mafia Island before being released in 1989.
He was accused of
forming a political party contrary to the constitution which at the time
recognised one party political system.
He officially
formed the Chama cha Wananchi (CCW) in 1991, and then united it with
another political party formed in Zanzibar-Kamahuru to form the present
Civic United Front (CUF) in 1993.
He was elected the
first party's national chairman, the position he served until 1994, when
his tenure ended following a political wrangle in the party.
The party was then
left in the hands of Musobi Mageni Musobi as the national chairman and
Seif Shariff Hamad as secretary general. Mapalala is survived by a wife
and several children.
Paul Ndobho
He was born in
1938. To many young people, Ambassador Ndobho isn't familiar to the many
of Tanzania young generation. But to the older generation Ndobho is
revered as a strong politician, who had guts to stand even against
Father of the Nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
Ndobho passed away on September 8, 2019 at Bugando Hospital aged 81.
It was in 1968 when
Ndobho opposed a bill, which was orchestrated by Mwalimu Nyerere, which
sought to provide gratuity allowances to Members of Parliament and
ministers. His main argument was that Tanzania was still too pooer to
afford such kind of expenditure.
He convinced his
colleagues through a private member motion something which at that time
was seen as 'trying to commit political suicide'. However, his motion
sailed through as only one legislator opposed it.
The then national newspaper, The Nationalist, branded the decision by the Parliament as 'A people's victory'.
Ndobho became a
legislator at the young age of 27 after he won the Musoma North
parliamentary seat in 1965 through Tanzania African National Unity
(TANU). The constituency was the home village of Mwalimu Nyerere.
He was appointed to
various positions during Mwalimu Nyerere's administration, including:
Kigoma regional secretary (1975) as well as Tanzania ambassador to
Russia (1976). In the early 1990s, when the then President Ali Hassan
Mwinyi reintroduced multi-party political system, Ndobho defected to the
then main opposition NCCR-Mageuzi.
He vied for the
Musoma Rural parliamentary seat through NCCR-Mageuzi the position which
he won after Mwalimu Nyerere, the founder of the ruling CCM, campaigned
for him.
The aftermath
The nation will
continue to honour these high-profile Tanzanians who shaped, inspired
and challenged the thought processes of many people in various fields,
including politics, business, entertainment and entrepreneurship.
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