The state of Tanzania was born from a union between Zanzibar and Tanganyika, in 1964, when President Julius Nyerere of Tanganyika became alarmed that Zanzibar was at risk of being sucked into the sphere of the Cold War. Tanganyika had gained a relatively peaceful independence in 1961, while Zanzibar attained it during 1963, immediately after which a Leftist revolution overthrew the ruling Sultan.
The revolution of Zanzibar was instigated by a relatively unknown "Field Marshall" and loonie, by the name of John Okello, and gave power to Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. Some hundred black Africans took control of Zanzibar in a few hours and then proceeded with an act of genocide, killing up to 12 000 Arabs and Asians while raping women of other ethnic origins and throwing others into the sea in dhows with little to no provisions.
The revolution took place after the uneducated Karume's AZP party won a majority of 54% in votes, yet, received a minority in council chairs. This intensified the prevalent deeply rooted racial animosities and eventually lead into the coup.
Karume immediately established a bizarre and vindictive regime where the Revolutionary Council ordered arrests of Zanzibar Arabs without trial, tortured, killed and raped at will, and confiscated plantations. The 20k strong Asian community was left intact but suffered greatly, as civil servants were sacked, schools closed and people flogged publicly for minor offenses.
Karume took as concubines Persian girls and arrested, tortured and flogged relatives of those who resisted. Despite apparent attempts, Julius Nyerere, unfortunately, was utterly unable to control him.
Under Karume's dictatorship a one-party system was established. An African socialist, he abolished private business and trade. Distrustful of education and intellectuals he quickly fell foul with the Marxists members of the Revolutionary Council: they were executed for plotting. His East-Germany trained secret police was free to kidnap, kill and torture.
Karume banned contraceptives. He sent off all WHO workers. Despite gaining a sizeable foreign reserves from cloves, he hoarded the wealth, while hospitals ran without medicine and food had to be rationed.
Karume died in -72 after an officer shot him on account of a personal grudge. Karume was relaxing with friends at the party HQ, playing checkers, when he received a bullet.
Karume was succeeded by Aboud Jumbe, an ASP party member, and later the president of Tanzania Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
We return to larger Tanzania. Now, in most African countries, political leaders were forced to spend time with the "Ethnic Arithmetic", working out alliances with different ethnic groups and rival tribes to remain in control, however, Nyerere lucked out, as his domain constituted of more than 120 tribes, all too small to gain dominance and all of which shared a common language, Swahili (spread by Arab traders).
So it would appear Julius Nyerere was off to a good start. In the next post let us examine how Nyerere performs and in which manner Tanzania proceeds towards a better tomorrow.
