JUDGING by the look of things, it’s obvious that the Chama cha Maulaji (CcM) is hell-bent to impose its will on Tanzanians. Refer to the recent sideshow whereby CcM was able to ‘pass’ the so-called new Constitution through the CcM-packed Constituent Assembly!
How can the said document be referred to as the ‘people’s Constitution’ while the views of the people as collected by the statutorily-constituted ‘Warioba Constitution Review Commission’ were snubbed and sidelined?
Who are these ‘people’ in the first place, anyway? Do ‘people’ mean a gang of self-seekers who doctored the Commission’s Constitutional Draft to protect and foster their vested interests?
When those in the CA on that fateful date started voting to ‘pass the thing,’ we’re told, ‘they’ fell shy of the required two-third votes, and the Draft hanged in the balance!
Then, suddenly, ‘they’ manoeuvers this way and that – and, presto: the requisite two-thirds votes were ‘found’…!
Elation, self-flattery and whatnot were evidence as the dying horse managed to legalize its hocus-pocus. Caught between a rock and a hard place, CcM applied every trick in the book to ensure that its project succeeded even if it meant rigging [a.k.a. ‘chakachua!]
Will ‘they’ get away with that kinf of murder, so to speak? Will Tanzanians swallow this bitter pill that’s aimed at allowing a kit and caboodle of virtual swindlers to fleece them wantonly?
Now we’re told that the ‘thing’ is waiting for a presidential go-ahead – which it will surely get! – ready to be rolled over to a referendum! Will the voters consent to a thing they know is the product of deceit and self-preservation for people grappling with accusations of alleged corruption?
Will the hoi polloi watch from the sidelnes as they did during the haggling to ‘pass’ the doctored document – thereby finally getting a raw deal? Or will they say ‘enough is enough?’ Verily, time will tell!
Those who keenly followed what was going in the ‘Bunge Maalum la Kuula’ (BMK) in Dodoma will agree that the goings-on were a sham. After the ‘Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi’ (UKaWa) initially staged a good fight in the Assembly, CcM showed signs of losing the battle – and had to resort to maneouvres in the eleventh hour that ‘enabled’ them to ‘pass’ the Draft!
It’s on record that 25 per cent of the Warioba Commission Draft was tampered with. Andrew Chenge, the chair of the CA Drafting Committee, was quoted as saying that they ‘improved’ the Commission document by 25 per cent Ironically, Chenge didn’t point out any weakness of the document – which warranted betterment of same! Did they better it or BATTER it?
Questions arise… Why was it doctored – with some articles removed or changed? Who authorized such tampering? Who empowered self-styled BMK after it lost legality following UKaWa’s boycot of the proceedings?
‘They’ may go on with this pipedream, believing that the battle has been won… My foot, the battle is yet to commence!
Some bigwigs – championed by Commission Chairman Joseph Warioba and UKaWa – vow to continue with the fight to ensure that the ‘thing’ doesn’t go far!
Again – looking at how the thing was arrogantly ‘passed’ – we’d urge them not to allow people to participate in the process they know won’t be free and fair.
The same ‘tricks of the jungle’ that were employed in this monkey business in Dodoma will be deployed to see that ‘they’ get off the hook. What, then, should wananchi do? Simple, boycott the potpourri of deceits and scams so that ‘those’ plotting to hoodwink them again learn the lesson that Tanzanians not the boobs ‘they’ think they’re!
In sum, if ‘they’ think ‘they’ can get away with murder, ‘they’ must think again!