How Mwinyi became Zanzibar President

 Daily News reporter]

ALHAJ Ali Hassan Mwinyi, affectionately known as Mzee Rukhsa, had the rare distinction of serving as the third President of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar from 1984 to

1985 and first Vice-President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

He also served as the second President of Tanzania for a decade, from November 5, 1985 to November 23, 1995. Mwinyi, a devout Moslem, was born in 1925 on the mainland, but his family moved to the island of Zanzibar when he was very young.

He entered politics in 1963, leaving his post as principal of the Zanzibar Teacher Training College to become permanent secretary to the minister of education in Zanzibar. In 1970, he was appointed to the Tanzanian cabinet as Minister of State in the President’s Office.

He held various government posts in succeeding years, including Minister for Health and Home Affairs (1982-83) and Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism (1982-83); he also served as ambassador to Egypt for five years. In April 1984, Mwinyi was elected president of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council.

He narrates in his book how he was elected to the top office in Zanzibar. He says in his book that he was invited to the CCM meeting in Dodoma, January, 1982, at that time as a Minister and Member of the NEC but he was not a member of the Central Committee.

He narrates how he missed a good place to sleep when he was in Dodoma and ended up in a student hostel at the College of Business Education in Dodoma. Former president Jakaya Kikwete corroborated this in his eulogy to Mzee Mwinyi at Uhuru stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Mzee Mwinyi, says,“The meeting was very difficult, it was scheduled for 5 days but it took 7 days. There were two groups from Zanzibar who were fighting each other a lot. The first group was known as the liberators, and the guards of the revolution, the second group called themselves ‘front liners of bringing about change’.

He says, “Others did not have a group, our group was Zanzibar.” The front liners are the ones who led the attacks against for – mer president Aboud Jumbe, who eventually resigned on January 29.

After President Jumbe resigned, the puzzle became, who will succeed him. He said at that time, the two groups were applying covert and overt strategies to have one of them become Zanzibar President.

At the same time, Mwalimu Nyerere (Julius, the founding president) also had other ideas. Mwalimu Nyerere always respected the ideas of Sheikh Thabit Kombo Jecha, an old veteran and respected Zanzibari politician and leader. Mwalimu Nyerere always liked to listen to him.

Sheikh Thabit Kombo while the meeting was going on had gone to KCMC, Moshi for treatment. Mwalimu Nyerere sent a plane to bring him to Dodoma quickly. When he arrived in Dodoma and was asked at the meeting about who should become pres – ident, Sheikh Thabit Kombo, without hesitation, said Ali Hasan Mwinyi.

President Mwinyi admits how stunned he was by the way his appointment was received with joy by everyone. Other sources corroborate Sheikh Thabit Kombo Jecha’s role in the appointment of Ali Hassan Mwinyi as Zanzibar President and later on as President of Union government 18 months later.

President Mwinyi says that later he also came to find out that the idea of looking for a new president who is not aligned to the groups and who can unite the people of Zanzibar started earlier since he was the ambassador to Egypt, and his name was coming up frequently.

While he was acting in the NEC, it sat on March 10, 1984, to discuss presidential candidates in a special election to elect the president of Zanzibar.

Two names were suggested, and both were unsolicited. Sheikh Id