Tanzanians marked the 23rd anniversary of the death of their founding leader and first President, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, who died on 14 October 1999 aged 77.
President Nyerere affectionately known as Baba wa Taifa is remembered as an iconic Pan-Africanist and a leading figure in Africa’s struggle for independence who strongly advocated for political and economic emancipation.
President Nyerere was known for his sharp intellect, accompanied by moral, political, and economic integrity. He is credited for uniting Tanzania and also assisting in liberation struggles of Southern African nations by providing political, material, and moral support.
About Julius Nyerere
Born Kambarage Nyerere, on 13th April 1922 in the village of Butiama, near the east coast of Lake Victoria, the son of Chief Nyerere Burito grew up like all the other boys in basic rural equality. Butiama in northwest Tanzania didn’t have much European presence during Nyerere’s boyhood and he would do small jobs in the fields and tend to the animals. This is believed to have influenced his character as a leader.
His first name was changed from Kambarage to Julius Nyerere upon baptism into the Catholic Church. He received his primary education in his homeland Tanganyika, before he proceeded to Makerere College (University) in Uganda and later attended Edinburg University on a government scholarship where he was the first Tanganyikan to study at a British University.
He graduated in 1952 with an MA in history and economics. Nyerere became a teacher upon return to Tanganyika, teaching in different schools where he picked up his lifetime title ‘Mwalimu‘, which is the Swahili name for a teacher.
Nyerere joined politics while continuing teaching and presided over the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), the organization which fought for the independence of Tanganyika. It is said that it was difficult for him to be involved in politics while continuing to work as a teacher for the colonial government, Nyerere left his teaching job and fully involved himself in the struggle for independence.
Tanganyika gained independence on December 9, 1961, with Nyerere as its first prime minister. In 1962, Tanganyika became a republic after unification with the island of Zanzibar becoming Tanzania with Julius Nyerere as the president.
As a son of a chief, Neyerere was a unifier who rejected tribalism and all forms of racial and ethnic discrimination. He articulated and stood for this position both as the president of TANU and as the president of the country. Nyerere used and promoted the Kiswahili language both to tone down ethnicity and to unite the country which has 120 tribes.
