Julius Nyerere

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Julius Kambarage Nyerere (13 April 1922 – October 14, 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, scholar, and political theorist.

He served Tanganyika as Prime Minister from 1961 to 1964, then as President from 1964 to 1985, before which he led Tanzania's successor state, Tanzania, as President from 1964 to 1985.

He was a founding member of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) party, which, in 1977, became the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, and chaired it until 1990.

He promoted Ujamaa's political philosophy, despite being an African nationalist and African socialist. Nyerere, a born in Butiama and later in Tanganyika's British colony, was the son of a Zanaki chief.

He attended Makerere College in Uganda and then Edinburgh University in Scotland after finishing his education.

He returned to Tanganyika, married, in 1952, and worked as a teacher.

Early life

Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in Mwitongo, a village of Butiama in Tanganyika's Mara Province, on April 13th, 1922. He was one of 25 children of Nyerere Burito, the Zanaki chief, and was one of 25 of his dead children. Burito was born in 1860 and given the name "nyerere" ("caterpillar") in Zanaki, after a rash of worm caterpillars infested the local area at the time of his birth. Burito had been named chief in 1915, when he had been appointed by the German imperial kings of then German East Africa; his position was also accepted by the new British imperial government. Burito had 22 wives, of whom Julius' mother, Mugaya Nyang'ombe, was the fifth. She was born in 1892 and had married the chief in 1907, when she was fifteen years old. Burito four sons and four daughters, of whom Nyerere was the second child; two of his siblings died in infancy; Mugaya bore four sons and four daughters.

These wives lived in several huts around Burito's cattle corral, one of which was his roundhouse. The Zanaki were one of the smallest of the 120 tribes in the British colony and were subdivided into eight chiefdoms; they would only be united under the kingship of Chief Wanzagi Nyerere, Burito's half-brother, in the 1960s. The Abhakibhweege were Nyerere's clan. Nyerere was given the personal name "Mugendi" ("Walker" in Zanaki at birth), but it was soon changed to "Kambarage," the name of a female rain spirit, according to a omugabhu diviner. Nyerere was born into the Zanaki polytheistic belief system and spent time at his mother's house, helping with the millet, maize, and cassava raising. He worked with other local boys in the herding of goats and cattle. At some point, he underwent the Zanaki's traditional circumcision ceremony in Gabizuryo. He was exposed to African-administered power and control as the son of a chief, and living in the compound gave him a deep appreciation for communal life that would influence his later political views.

The British colonial administration encouraged the education of chiefs' sons in the hopes that this would continue the chieftain system and prevent the growth of a distinct indigenous group that might challenge colonial rule. Nyerere began his studies at the Native Administration School in Mwisenge, Musoma, about 35 kilometers from his home, at his father's request. He was in a fortunate situation, considering that the bulk of his contemporaries at Butiama were unable to afford a primary education. He was raised in Swahili, a language he had to learn while studying there. Nyerere excelled at the academy, and after six months' exam results were so poor, he was able to postpone a grade. He avoided sporting involvement and read in his dormitory during free time.

Although at the school, he also underwent the Zanaki tooth filing procedure to have his upper-front teeth sharpened to triangular points. It may have been at this point that he quit smoking, a habit he retained for many decades. He also started to be interested in Roman Catholicism, but was initially worried about the devance of his people's ancient gods. Nyerere began trekking 14 miles to the Nyegina Mission Centre, operated by the White Fathers, to learn more about the Christian faith; though Marwa eventually stopped, Nyerere continued. In 1936, his elementary schooling came to an end; his final exam results were the highest of any pupil in the Lake Province and Western Province area.

His academic success enabled him to obtain a government scholarship to attend the prestigious Tabora Government School, a private school in Tabora. After reading Scouting for Boys, he indulged in sporting pursuits but helped to establish a Boy Scout's brigade. Fellow students recalled him as both ambitious and competitive, eager to be ranked in the top of the class in examinations. He used books in the school library to help his English language skills to a high degree. He was heavily involved in the school's debating process, and teachers recommended him as the head prefect, but the headmaster dismissed him as "too kind" for the position. Nyerere married Magori Watiha, a young girl who was then only three or four years old but had been chosen by his father in accordance with Zanaki tradition, but he had been waiting for him. They did not live together at the time, but now they were doing so together. In March 1942, during Nyerere's last year in Tabora, his father died; the school turned down his offer to return home for the funeral. Edward Wanzagi Nyerere, Nyerere's brother, was chosen as the father's successor. Nyerere later decided to be baptized as a Roman Catholic; at his baptism, he took the name "Julius," but later said that Catholics should "take a name other than a tribal name" on baptism.

Nyerere completed his secondary education in October 1941 and began studying at Makerere College in Kampala, Uganda's capital. He received a bursary to finance a teacher training course in Uganda in January 1943. He studied at Makerere University with many of East Africa's most gifted students, but he spent little time socializing with others instead focusing on his reading. He took courses in chemistry, biology, Latin, and Greek. He read the Papal Encyclicals and read the works of Catholic philosophers such as Jacques Maritain; the most influential of all were John Stuart Mill's writings. He won a literary competition with an essay on women's subjugation, for which he had applied Mill's philosophy to Zanaki culture. Nyerere was also a founding member of the Makere Debating Society and founded a Catholic Action group at the University.

In July 1943, he wrote a letter to the Tanganyika Standard in which he argued that capitalism was alien to Africa and that the continent should shift to "African socialism"; in his words, "the African is by nature a social being." In moving the population away from a more explicitly socialist model, Mandela's letter went on to state that "the educated African should lead" in moving the country toward a more explicitly socialist path. The letter, according to Molony, "serves to mark the beginnings of Nyerere's political emergence, principally in taking and cultivating the viewpoints of leading black thinkers of the time." Nyerere, Andrew Tibandebage, and Hamza Kibwana Bakari Mwapachu founded the Tanganyi African Welfare Association (TAWA) in 1943 to help the tiny number of Tanganyikan students at Makerere. TAWA was allowed to die off, and the Tanganyika African Association's (TAA)'s relatively moribund Makerere chapter was revived, although this too had stopped functioning by 1947. Despite being aware of racial insensitivity of the white colonial group, he maintained on treating people as individuals, acknowledging that many white people were not bigoted against indigenous Africans. Nyerere earned a degree in education after three years in Makererere.

After leaving Makerere, Nyerere returned home to Zanaki province to build a house for his widowed mother before spending his days reading and farming in Butiama. He was offered teaching positions at both the state-run Tabora Boys' School and the mission-run St Mary's, but decided against the latter despite lower pay. He participated in a public debate with two teachers from the Tabora Boys' School in which he argued that "The African has enriched more than the European since the aparthership of Africa"; after winning the debate, he was barred from returning to the school. He gave English lessons to senior citizens outside of school hours and also held discussions on political topics. He served as a price inspector for the government for a brief time, before heading into stores to see what they were charged, but left the position after the authorities dismissed his warnings of false pricing. Magori Watiha, the woman who Nyerere was supposed to marry in Tabora, was sent to live with him to pursue her primary education, although he encouraged her to live with her mother. Rather, he began suing Maria Gabriel, a teacher at Nyegina Primary School in Musoma; despite being from the Simbiti tribe, she spoke with Nyerere as a devout Catholic. At Christmas 1948, he suggested marriage to her, but they became officially engaged.

He resurfaced his political interests in Tabora, joining the TAA's local branch and becoming the TAA's treasurer. The branch opened a co-operative shop that sold basic items such as sugar, flour, and soap. In April 1946, he attended the TAA's conference in Dar es Salaam, where the TAA officially stated its commitment to Tanganyika's autonomy. Tibandebage was working on rewriting the TAA's constitution and mobilizing opposition to Colonial Paper 210 in the district, who believed that the electoral reform was intended to glorify the white majority. Father Richard Walsh, an Irish priest who was the head of the school, encouraged Nyerere to consider additional education in the United Kingdom. Walsh persuaded Nyerere to take the University of London's matriculation examination, which he passed with second division in January 1948. He applied for grants from the Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme but was initially dissatisfied, but he made it to his second attempt in 1949. He decided to study abroad, but expressed reservations that doing so meant he would no longer be able to care for his mother and siblings.

Nyerere moved from Dar es Salaam to Southampton, England, in April 1949. He then went from London to Edinburgh by rail. Nyerere took lodging in a "colonial" home in The Grange suburb. He began his studies at the University of Edinburgh with a short course in chemistry and physics, as well as passing the Scottish Universities Preliminary Examination. He was accepted into study for a Master of Arts degree at the University of Edinburgh's Faculty of Arts in October 1949, but this was regarded as a undergraduate rather than postgraduate degree, compared to common uses of the term "Master of Arts."

Nyerere was one of only two black students from the British East African territories studying in Scotland in 1949. He took courses in English literature, political economy, and sociology in the first year of his MA studies; in the latter, Ralph Piddington tutored him. He selected courses in economic history and British history in the second degree, the former taught by Richard Pares, who later described him as "a wise man who taught me a great deal about what makes these British tick." He took the constitutional law course taught by Lawrence Saunders and moral philosophy in the third year. Although his grades were not outstanding, they did encourage him to take all of his classes. "A bright and vibrant student of the class and of the parties," his moral philosopher described him as a "benevolent and vibrant student of the class and of the parties."

Nyerere made many friends in Edinburgh and became friendly with Nigerians and West Indians who lived in the area. Nyerere is not reported to have suffered with racial mistrust while in Scotland; although it is likely he did encounter it, many black students in Britain at the time said that white British students were generally less prejudiced than other groups of the population. He was often regarded as the equal of his white peers in classes, giving him more confidence and helping with multi-racialism's propagation. During his stay in Edinburgh, he may have been involved in part-time jobs to assist himself and his family members in Tanganyika; he and other students went on a working holiday to a Welsh farm where they enjoyed potato picking. In 1951, he travelled to London to speak with other Tanganyikan students and attend the Festival of Britain. In the same year, he co-wrote an article for The Student magazine in which he criticized plans to integrate Tanganyika into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which he and co-author John Keto explained in the region's white minority rule. He attended a meeting on the topic of the Federation that was arranged by the World Church Group in February 1952; among those speaking at the conference was medical student—and potential Malawian leader—Hastings Banda. Nyerere obtained an Ordinary Degree in Master of Arts from the university in July 1952. He was given a short British Council Visitor's Scholarship to study educational institutions in England, leaving Edinburgh this week and based himself in London.

Personality and personal life

Nyerere was described as "a little, wiry man with a broad forehead and a toothbrush moustache," Smith described him as. He was described as a eloquent speaker and a skilled debater, with Bjerk referring to him as having "a scholar's mind." "I expressed his sometimes contradictory thoughts in a simple and logical style of speechwriting," Molony wrote. Nyerere, a modest man who was not aware of the fame cult that followers adored around him, was a little shy guy. For example, he denied suggestions that statues be constructed to him in defying the personality cult. He begged on colleagues to assist him in "stamping out the disease of pomposity" in Tanzanian society in a 1963 memorandum. For example, he did not want to be referred to as either "Your Excellency" or "Dr Nyerere." Most workers referred to him as "Mzee," a Swahili word that means "old man." Nyerere had a "respect for spartan life" and a "abhorrence of wealth," Smith said, and that he always traveled by economy class in his later years. To Nyerere, Bjerk described his "meandering speeches spiced with barbed humor."

Molony described Nyerere as "down-to-earth, principled, and with a strong sense of fairness" in his early life. He was modest and unpretentious. He was neither arrogant nor conscious in comparison to a large number of his peers at Tabora Boys. Some regarded him as "a touch precocious," or even as a swot or a bore, but in addition, Nyerere could be "manipulative at times, more shrewd with knowledge, and tenacious." Nyerere "delighted in wry irony" and "wears his emotions on his sleeve," Bjerk said. His joy, indignation, and sadness all crept outside public view.

Huddleston recalled Nyerere's talks as "exciting and encouraging," with the Tanzanian leader's focus on global issues rather than on himself. Nyerere was "a great human being who has always adored his humanity (humanity if you like) more deeply than his office," according to Huddleston. Nyere's humility in Huddleston demonstrated a great deal of humility, which was "rare indeed" among politicians and statesmen. "An unobtrue and remarkably unremarkable young man who held his ambitions to himself," Molony said in Edinburgh.

Joseph Namata, Nyerere's secretary, said the chief "jokes about everything" and that "he'll yell if he is angry." Nyerere turned down plans for his home province, not wanting to give the appearance of giving the green light to it. Nyerere has made it clear that his parents' resting places were maintained. Nyerere was described by Smith as "a scholar at heart." Nyerere is described as "a very shrewd politician, an emotionalist... he is not greedy, not corrupt; I believe he is a good man" in later life. Molony said there was "a very shrewd side to his character" in that he was able to sell himself as "the betrayed righteous figure," who was portrayed as "the betrayed righteous figure" in the sense that he was able to manipulate his audience by using melodrama and even extortion to get what he wanted.

Nyerere's suit was heavily copied in Tanzania, resulting in its being branded as a "Tanzanian suit." Many European and American observers found it similar to a Mao suit and interpreted it as confirmation of Nyerere's apparent desire for closer links with China's Marxist-Leninist government. Nyerere was referring to the trend in Western countries to see Africa through the prism of Cold War politics. Nyerere went back to wearing a kofia style before the creation of Tanzania. He carried a small ebony stick with a fimbo, which served as a symbol of his power in later life.

Nyerere's career as a writer spanned many decades. Julius Caesar and The Merchant of Venice were translated by William Shakespeare's plays into Swahili, which were published in 1961 and 1972 respectively. He was known to be an avid follower of the BBC World Service broadcasts in later life, as in the case of other Anglophone African statesmen. Nyerere had "a ardent desire for British culture and eccentricity," Smith wrote about.

Nyerere, who was born as a practitioner of Zanaki traditional faith, converted to Catholicism at the age of 20 and continued to be a practitioner throughout his life. Nyerere's life and his political convictions were greatly influenced by Christianity. Nyerere called Christianity a "liberation creed," but claimed that churches had often misinterpreted Christianity's messages. When in Edinburgh, he loved Mass in the early mornings and spent time in church quietly. While in Scotland, there are indications that he took his ordination as a Catholic priest. He avoided Christian sectarianism and was allies with Christians of other faiths. He attended Mass on a daily basis into his later years.

Nyerere, a young boy, had seven children with his partner Maria Gabriel. When Nyerere was president, he argued that his children attend state school and receive no special privileges. Both of his children were affected by mental illness. Nyerere's marriage with his wife became strained during the 1970s, and she and her sister stayed near to the Kenyan border for a while. He had 26 grandchildren.

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