The 1960s tour of Zanzibar

If you walk along Gizenga Street you’ll see a number of the second-hand bookshops selling a distinct guidebook to Zanzibar. The sleeve features a black-and-white photograph of a woman weaving a basket and at its top a red band, over which the title, ‘A guide to Zanzibar,’ is printed in white. If you happen to be staying at Emerson Spice hotel then there is already a copy in your room.

This edition of the guide was published in 1961 and they still exist in abundance. It’s a must-have for any Zanziphile, and it may have directly or inadvertently influenced many subsequent descriptions of the island with its passages, such as:

Zanzibar provides a new experience by bringing to life the old story book pictures we thought were figments of the artist’s imagination. Here one steps into another world of palaces and tropical gardens, narrow streets and shops filled with hand-crafted gold, silver and ivory; a bazaar that mixes with colourful profusion the produce of the old and new worlds.

It is well worth a read, extensive in its content and incredibly well researched. Considering the history of Zanzibar, much of the information inside is still very valid. On the other hand, having been written over half a century ago, much has also changed. To be on Zanzibar with book in hand provides visitors and residents alike with a fascinating insight into the now and then, and even before then.

Last week I decided to follow a section of one of its walking itineraries that takes the reader through Stone Town, step-by-step, and began a partial tour of the town with nothing but this 53-year old book to guide me.

I began by entering ‘The quarter of Mkunazini (i.e., the place where there is a Mkunazi – Rhamnus nabeca, a tree the pounded leaves of which were formerly used by the Arabs as soap).’ So there is, or was, a jujube tree somewhere in Mkunazini, and undoubtedly prominent enough to have inspired the name. I was already learning something new.

‘In this area are situated the Zanzibar headquarters of the ANGLICAN UNIVERSITIES MISSION TO CENTRAL AFRICA and the CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST which are approached by a turning on the right.’

The church is most definitely still there, but the given uses of some of the surrounding buildings have changed. For example, St. Monica’s Girls’ Primary School, now also admitting boys as Mkunazini Primary School; and the Mission Women’s Hostel, formerly a hospital for infectious diseases and the first of its kind in Zanzibar, now St. Monica’s Hostel.

Politely refusing a guide (for I had the book!) I then entered the cathedral. I remember taking a tour once before, and casually eavesdropped on descriptions and explanations given to tourists for comparison.

As I suspected, the book offers some details that I neither remember nor overheard, and all of them fascinating. For example, ‘The clock in the tower was presented in about 1880 by Seyyid Barghash (Sultan 1870-88) at whose request the tower was built slightly lower than that of his own Palace, the Beit-el-Ajaib.’ Also, ‘The altar mosaics were given by Miss Thackeray, cousin of William, the novelist,’ and the mezzanine gallery, then used as a Chapel (St. Peter’s) has ‘let in the altar a square piece slab of wood on which are carved five crosses. This slab is a fragment of beechwood from Winchester Cathedral in England and was found under the early English walls built in A.D. 1202. The wood was under water for 700 years.’

The stairs to the gallery were closed by a gate and clearly not usually part of the tour, but I asked to have a quick look and found the slab! It was as if the guide held secrets that I was unearthing; facts once known to a lost generation of residents but long since forgotten.


- See more at: Mambo Magazine

Wanasiasa...

Ni Sawa kabisa kutimuliwa kwa Mansoor !

Hakuna Jipya au la kushangaza kwa kutimuana mwanachama katika chama cha Kisiasa .

Mtindo wa mwana siasa wa chama hiki au kile kufukuzwa chamani si jambo jipya duniani.
Si Jipya wala si haramu,kwa sababu ni jambo la kawaida . Si chama cha CCM, ndicho kinachofukuza watu chamani . CUF - wamemfukuza Rashid Hamadi na wengineo . CHADEMA - kimewafukuza mamia ya wanachama waliopinga siasa potoshi za kikabila .

George Galaway , wa Uingereza , alifukuzwa katika chama Labour. ANC - wamefukuza Malema Kagema - amewafukuza na hata kuwafunga waliompinga.Museveni,nae amefanya hayo hayo na zaidi ya hayo na vipo vyama vingi na wengi wengineo duniani.

Kwa nini hii leo iwe kero kwa sababu CCM imemtimua Mansoor?

Huu ndio ujuha wa akili za wapinzani.

Uwanachama na kuigia katika chama maana yake ni kuamini -SERA NA ITIKADI ZA CHAMA.
Unapo kwenda kinyume na SERA NA ITIKADI ZA CHAMA ,ni sawa na kujitowa katika chama.Hilo si jambo geni kwa mwenye akili. Ikiwa mtu hakubaliani na sera za chama pana mambo mawili:

Ama kungojea kufukuzwa kama vile alivyofanya Mansoor au kujitoa mwenyewe kwa hiyari ikiwa mtu ni mstaarabu.
Baadhi ya watu wanataka kumvalisha Mansoor ,kilemba cha ukoka katika michakato kwenye masuala ya kile kiitwacho "Masilahi ya Chama" na "Masilahi nchi " - maanenohaya kwa kweli ni political jagons/rhetorics za kipotoshi za kisiasa zinazotumiwa na vipofu wengi wa siasa za CUF ambao wanataka kubabaisha UMMA wa wananchi .

Wanao piga debe la CUF utawasikia wakisema "Tunapigania masilahi ya nchi sio masilahi ya chama ".

Kwani masilahi ya chama na itikadi zake zinapiganiwa kwa sababu ya mawingu na upepo au kwa sababu uboreshaji wa hali ya maisha ya wananchi katika nchi ya Zanzibar?

Kwani chama kisiasa kinapopigania kushika khatamu za utawala,kwa mujibu wa "Sera na Itikadi za Chama " hawasemi kua "sera zao na Itikadi zao ikiwa za Kiliberali au za kijamaa ndizo sambamba na masilahi na mahitaji ya nchi ?

Sasa hawa wapi madebe matupu kwa nini wanataka kutofautisha "MASILAHI YA CHAMA NA MASILAHI YA NCHI "?.

Kuhusu haki ya Kikatiba ya nchi kuwa ni juu na ya nguvu zaidi kuliko haki za chama .

Katiba ya nchi inampa kila mwananchi haki sawa ya kujitamka,kutowa fikira zake,na kuamini akitakacho bila ya woga au wasi wasi na vitisho. Na ndio maana kila mwananchi anatumia uhuru huo na haki hizo za kuchaguwa chama au hata Dini aipendayo kwa mujibu wa imani yake .

Kwa mfano.
Mwananchi anapo kubaliana na kuamini Dini ya Uisilamu - mtu huyo hawezi kamwe kuubiri ukristo msikitini, akifanya hivyo bila ya shaka ATATIMILIWA BILA YA HURUMA .

Mwananchi yeyote yule anapojiunga kwa mfano kwenye chama CUF - haitawezekana kamwe awe anapita pita kuubiri mambo ya siasa za Chadema seuze za CCM -mwanachama huyo hapana shaka atatimuliwa kama vile walivyotimiliwa akina Rashid Hamadi na wenzake wengi.Viongozi wa CUF walifanya hivyo bila ya aibu na kutowa sababu za kama wao ni watume wa mambo ya kisiasa Kijiweni.

Kwa nini liwe kubwa kwa kufukuzwa kwa Mansoor ?
Kwa nini Mansoor ,asitimuliwe wakati hafuati miongozo na sera za chama cha CCM.Wananchi wa Zanzibar mnapenda sana kudangwa na kujidanganya -ukweli mnauogopa na mnachaguwa uwongo kuufanya ndio Ukweli.

Wengine wanasema Mansoor ,hastahiki kufukuzwa kwa sababu uzaliwa wake na Yusuf Himidi.

Wengine wanasema amefukuzwa kwa sababu mama yake ni mwarabu. Kufukuzwa kwake ni kinyume na katiba ya nchi.

Wapinzani wanaropokwa maneno mengi ama kutokana na ujinga wao wa kisiasa au chuki zao dhidi ya CCM.

Sababu zote tatu ni potoshi na ni kasuma za wenda wazimu wenye ukosefu wa ukomavu wa kisiasa .

Tokea lini haki ya kuchagua na kujitamka kurithiwa kutoka kwa bibi ?
Itakuwaje Kukubaliwa au kukataliwa uwanachama iwe kwa sababu za uasili wa wazazi wa mwananchi? Imekhusu nini kuingiza Katiba ya Nchi na suala uwanachama katika chama cha siasa?.

Katiba ya nchi yeyote kwenye nchi za ustaarabu wa haki za Binaadam haiwezi kulazimisha chama chochote kuingiza au kumtowa mwananchi chamani . Kuingia au kutoka katika chama ni uhuru wa mtu. Kuchaguwa na kuomba kuchaguliwa VIVYO HIVYO ni haki ya kila mwananchi.

Chama chochote cha Kisiasa ni sovereign kujiamuliya kuhusu uwanachama kwa misingi ya sheria na kanuni zake kwa mujibu wa sheria za nchi.

Kila chama kina haki ya kumkubali au kumkatalia uwanchama mtu yeyote ,ikiwa baba yake alikuwa mwana mapinduzi baada ya kuuwa watu au ikiwa baba yake alikuwa shekhe au shoga hiyo haikhusiani na lolote.Ikiwa anaetaka uwanachama haaminiki katika imani na itikadi au ni mweda wazimu kwa nini apewe uwanachama ?

Kikawaida mtu mstaarabu anatafuta uwanachama kwa mujibu wa Itikadi zake ,Mansoor ameingizwa CCM kilazima na kwa sababu zake za kibinafsi sio kwa Itikadi za kisiasa.Yeye kunako mfaa ni CUF NA WENZAKE .

Tokea lini ukamuona Mkoministi kuingia katika chama cha wanaopenda Uleberali - mambo ya haki za Ushoga na Usagaji ?

Kila mwananchi ambae anapenda siasa za Kiliberali za kama za CUF -anataka nini katika CCM wakati chama hiki ni cha siasa za Ujamaa ? Tokea lini Mkiristo kutaka kusaliya Msikitini ? Kwa hivyo Mansoor ,lake ni kuenda kule kwa anaosikilizana kwa yote
na hasa kisiasa- si kwengine ni kule kule CUF. TATIZO LIKO WAPI ?

Tutahadhari kuigizwa katika Ujinga na Jazba ,za kwamba kila asiyetaka siasa ya MAMLAKA KAMILI NI MSALITI NA HAPAENDELEI "masilahi ya nchi " - sasa kwa lugha HIYO HIYO ya Ma-CUF sasa ule uhuru na haki kwa wote Kikatiba haki ya Kujitamka,Kufikiri na Kuchagua haija tuhusu "sisi tusio taka kuuvunja Muungano.?".

HAKI HIZO HATUNAZO KWA SABABU HATUKUBALIANI NA SIASA POTOSHI ZA CUF - KWA HIVYO NI WASALITI.
Tunacho kijuwa sisi ni kwamba ishara za Usaliti zipo kwa CUF ,kwa sababu ya UADUI WAO WA KUTAKA KUUVUNJA UNDUGU WETU WA JADI BAINA YA ZANZIBAR NA TANGANYIKA = MUUNGANO WA TANZINIA .

MUUNGANO OYEE IKIWA KWA SERIKALI MBILI AU TATU NA KUELEKEA KWA SERIKALI MOJA.

MUUNGANO OYEE !



Ali Mtsashiwa

Unguja wakataa Serikali tatu...

Wajumbe wa Baraza la Katiba Wilaya Kaskazini (B) Unguja wameukataa Muundo wa Serikali tatu uliopendekezwa na Tume ya Mabadiliko ya Katiba Tanzania kwa madai kuwa utaliongezea taifa gharama zisizokuwa za lazima.

Wakizungumza wakati wa kutoa maoni yao kwenye rasimu ya Katiba, Wajumbe hao hamesema hawaoni haja wala ulazima wa kuwa kuliongezea taifa gharama hizo, wakati nchi bado ina mambo mengi yanayohitaji uwezeshwaji.

Abdallah Kombo Baraka kutoka shehia ya Zingwe zingwe akichangia alisema mfumo huo ambao ulipendekezwa na Tume haufai kwa sasa hivi Taifa lina mambo yakushuhulikia kuliko kuongeza jukumu lingine.

“Hivi sasa kupata huduma kume jaa urasimu halafu unaongeza Serikali ya tatu si hatari zaidi” alisema Baraka.

“Waheshimiwa hivi sasa uchumi wetu uko chini halafu tunataka kuongeza Serikali ya tatu njaa si itatisha jamani, mimi napendekeza muundo wa sasa uendelee” alisema Khamis Makame Mkombe akichangia katika Mkutano huo.

Alisema kuleta Muungano wa shirikisho ni njiia za kuua Mungano ambao umedumu kwa nusu karine.

Sambamba na hayo Salim Suleiman Ameir kutoka shehia ya Donge alisema Muundo wa serikali tatu si makubaliano ya Waasisi Abeid karume na Mwalimu Nyerere na kudai kuleta mfumo mpya ni kuvunja heshima yao.

“Tukiwa na Muungano wa shirikisho lazima kuwe na mkataba maalumu mmoja akiukiuka ndio Muungano ushavunjika uoo, kwa hiyo ni vyema tuendelee na mfumo wetu huu uliasisiwa na wazee wetu ili tupate radhi zao” alieleza Ameir.

Baadaye Mjumbe wa tume ya mabadiliko katiba Awadhi Ali Said alitoa ufafanuzi uliolenga kuelezea Serikali ziliopo Tanzania lakini wajumbe hao waliendelea na msimamo wao huo.



Mwananchi