Warioba on Constitution, Fundikira is dead

Warioba also calls for change of Constitution
07 Aug 2007By Nasser Kigwangallah
Former Prime Minister Joseph Warioba has asked the government to pave the way for the enactment of a new national Constitution. He said the target should be a comprehensive document without the deficiencies that have made the one now in use face a barrage of scathing attacks from academics, legal experts, opposition politicians and various other Tanzanians. Warioba, who once served as Justice minister and Attorney General, made the appeal in Dar es Salaam yesterday when opening a two-day conference on the Constitution. ``A solid Constitution would remove favouritism and other inadequacies in the running of the country`s affairs. It would also enable wananchi to have a more effective say on issues affecting their lives,`` he told the conference, organised by the Tanzania Centre for Democracy. ``So far, fourteen amendments have been made to the Constitution, with none involving the direct participation of the people,`` noted Warioba. ``The new Constitution should encompass all these realities because Tanzania values unity and equality among its people, regardless of tribal, religious and cultural differences of its people,`` observed Warioba, cautioning political parties not to use their differences to divide Tanzanians. He proposed that the National Assembly be given constitutional powers to run its affairs independently and that Cabinet ministers and their deputies cease to be drawn from outside the House. Opposition MPs have been criticising the Constitution as too aligned to the policies and interests of the ruling CCM to benefit the nation as a whole. However, the government has been arguing that it is good enough for the country`s political and other needs.
* SOURCE: Guardian


Fundikira is no more
07 Aug 2007By Raphael Lucas, PST, Tabora
The country`s first Justice Minister, Chief Abdallah Said Fundikira, is no more. According to reports given by Tabora CCM regional secretary Daniel Fussi, the elderly Fundikira died of heart complications at his Mwanza Street residence in Tabora at noon yesterday. The CCM leader said Fundikira`s body was preserved at Tabora Regional Hospital of Kitete as funeral arrangements were underway. He said the burial of Fundikira, who, apart from being a national leader, also commanded respect in the area as a traditional leader, would take place tomorrow at Itetemia, his home village. Chief Fundikira was born in March 1921 at Itetemia and was the first born in the family of Mzee Saidi Fundikira. He attended his primary education at Tanga Primary School. He undertook middle school education at the same school and later joined Tabora School for secondary education where he graduated in 1939. The late Chief Fundikira joined Makerere University in Uganda from 1940 to 1946 and was conferred with a first degree in Agriculture. In 1957, he was ordained as chief of the Wanyamwezi in the Nyanyembe chiefdom. In 1961 soon after independence, the first Chief Minister Julius Nyerere appointed Fundikira as minister for water, a portfolio he served for one year. He was appointed the first local justice minister when Tanganyika became a republic in 1962. In 1964, he resigned from the civil service. In 1967, he was appointed as board chairman of the defunct East African Airways until 1972 when his term of office came to an end. The late Chief Fundikira continued running private business until 1990, when he spearheaded the debate on multipartism in Tanzania in collaboration with other politicians such as the late Kassanga Tumbo, Prince Bagenda, Mabere Marando, Ndimara Tegambwage, when they formed a national political reform committee (NCCR). In 1993, soon after the birth of multiparty democracy in the country, Fundikira formed the UMD party and took part in the 1995 presidential election in which CCM emerged victorious, with Benjamin Mkapa being announced as the winner. He held the party’s top leadership post until 1999 when he crossed over to CCM. After the 2000 general elections, President Mkapa appointed him a nominated MP until 2005. He remained a CCM member until his death. According to the Wanyamwezi tradition, the burial of a chief should be conducted at night but, in this case, Chief Fundikira will be laid to rest at 6.00pm just before sun set.

Fundikira: The long journey
He was among the first Ministers in the Uhuru cabinet, having served as Justice Minister. Fundikira hailed from a family of Nyamwezi chiefs but lost his title after founding President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere scrapped the chiefdoms set up in the country. However efforts were made by the Uhuru Government to incorporate tribal leaders, such as himself in the Government system. Such were gestures of goodwill meant to strengthen national unity above tribal inclinations. In 1961, he became president of the East African Muslim Welfare Society, an organisation of a few Muslims, which sought better access to education. The organisation was founded in 1945 by the Aga Khan with the aim of promoting Islam and raising the standard of living for East African Muslims. As the country headed back towards the road to multi party politics, Fundikira played a pivotal role in organising the opposition by chairing the first interim structure of an opposition umbrella body under the name National Committee for Constitutional Reforms. He later formed his own party, the Union for Multiparty Democracy, but latter shifted camp to the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi. In 2005, Fundikira was nominated as Member of Parliament by former President Benjamin Mkapa along with a host of others, including Makongoro Nyerere and Anne Kilango of CCM.
* SOURCE: Guardian