You Have No One To Blame, Not Even Yourself
Take a deep breath
Baffled we were, with your performance as a Minister, in several Ministries, for several years
An exemplary public official, we saw in you!
By far, you outperformed your peers, so we believed
Enchanted, we became!
You bedazzled us with your mastery of statistics in your sectors
Readily regurgitating numbers of all fishes by species in all the seas, lakes, and rivers
Easily spewed up, to the nearest decimal points, kilometers of paved roads country wide
Freely disgorged numbers of cattle by geography, type and even pregnancy status
We swear! We believed all that!
A celebrity Minister, you were!
Who else deserved being your party’s flag bearer? We wondered!
The President of the United Republic, you became, eventually, naturally!
“Jembe, tumepata” we chanted spiritedly
“Chuma”, “Tinga Tinga”… It was a thrilling and surreal moment
“Hapa Kazi tu” such an enthralling and captivating slogan
You set the bar very high!
Expectations were sky high!
Before we continue
Kindly remember,
You Have No One to Blame, Not Even Yourself
Now that … our eyes have seen the effects of your Government’s policies, actions, and words
Now that … our ears have heard the outcomes of your Government’s policies, actions, and words
Now that … our noses have smelled the stench of your Government policies, actions, and words
Now that … our bodies are devastated as we try to articulate what is going on
It is only logical that … our hearts are bleeding
It is only logical that … our heads are exploding
Perhaps, we are not the only ones suffering?
We have heard you, incessantly begging for our prayers
That is good, but we wonder…
What happened to the Kiranja wa Malaika?
And who are we to pray for him? We, his ungrateful subjects?
Why should we pray for him? Him, our Master, Mr. Perfect?
We trusted you!
We (unwillingly) agreed with you to push politics aside
We believed that you genuinely wanted to collaborate with us on the development agenda
Little did we know you would conjure some tricks up your sleeve
Swiftly uttered public statements to set the tone of the regime
Ushered in new laws to bolster your throne
Boldly took several actions to demonstrate that you meant business, not just mere words!
No more live broadcasting of the National Assembly proceedings
No more political rallies until next election season
No more unnecessary noise on (sic) imported human rights and democracy agenda
No more this, no more that…
…You and your subordinates would spit as you traversed the contours of this endowed land
Single handedly suffocated mafisadi … some of them are still in jail
Arguably, instilled a sense of discipline, efficiency, and effectiveness in the public sector
Disputably, also instilled a sense of job insecurity, fear, cowardice, hypocrisy. No?
The initial tinder has extinguished
Bad outcomes have masked the supposedly good intentions?
Perhaps a few anecdotes are worth recounting:
CAG reports methodically raise issues on management of public funds in every corner
The Judiciary is grappling with heaps of lawsuits filed against actions by the State and its organs and agents
The opposition emphatically criticized the regime’s policies, actions, and performance
The activists consistently interrogated the regime’s leadership style, priorities, strategies, and tactics
The development partners justly wondered about the blatant disregard of human rights and democratic principles
The media aptly amplified and widely circulated the dissenting voices before they were expeditiously quashed
The orchestrated exodus of opposition politicians joining the ruling party, fueled further internal party factions
Even the dissidents from within the ruling party and government were not left behind in venting their discontentment
Whoa!!
Such tenacious onslaught from all sides, it must have felt
Despair must have lingered in the air, everywhere
Feelings of betrayal, anger and being overwhelmed would be natural reactions
But, you – Jembe letu – never gave up
Fiercely marched forward
Alas! Decisions with worse consequences have been made
There exists an expansive and paralyzing list of bad laws enacted since
Very bad ones: the mere thought of them, makes one’s guts shudder
Laws that undeniably contravene the Constitution of the United Republic
People have been abducted and attacked, by the unknowns who remain unknown for years now
People have disappeared, some reappeared, and others are yet to reappear
People have complained of unlawful arrests, detaining, and torture, so we have heard and seen
People have mysteriously died, dead bodies in viroba, dead bodies washing ashore - dead bodies galore!
Selectivity, the guiding principle, in deciding on when and how to intervene. So it seems!
Should you have done something, anything, everything as the custodian of people’s safety and security?
Sad…sad…sad!
A national moment of silence is in order
But what would it help anyway?
Should we remind you that your wananchi are no longer feeling safe in their own country?
Should we remind you that your country is no longer that idealized island of peace?
And do you need to be reminded that your country’s reputation and image locally and internationally, is tainted?
And remember that,
You Have No One to Blame, Not Even Yourself
Can you attempt some damage control?
We believe you have the reason, time, and resources to do so
We do not believe that you have the right team to control the damage
Maybe some are hypocrites? Maybe some are genuinely cowards?
And maybe some have the competencies but stifled and paralyzed by the culture of hypocrisy (majungu na fitna) engulfing them?![]()
Unquestionably, you have deliberately thwarted virtually any critical and constructive feedback
Erroneously, you have apparently pushed away all actors with constitutional rights and strategic competences to help you
Disappointingly, you have hired and fired many but more often than not to no good results
Unsurprisingly, you have boxed in yourself with your few loyal advisors, again with unconvincing results![]()
Do not blame them when they let you down
They are simply trying to impress or emulate you
Remember, they are paralyzed to inaction by the culture of hypocrisy that seems to thrive effortlessly![]()
Finally,
You have told us that if you knew what the presidency entailed, you would have thought twice about it
You have told us that you do not sleep well at night because the job is overwhelming
But we truly believe you knew what you were getting yourself into![]()
We are not going to attempt to pretend to offer you some advice
We know you will do exactly the opposite of what we would advise
You have no one to blame, not even yourself!
Please remember that!
We believe you have the reason, time, and resources to do so
We do not believe that you have the right team to control the damage
Maybe some are hypocrites? Maybe some are genuinely cowards?
And maybe some have the competencies but stifled and paralyzed by the culture of hypocrisy (majungu na fitna) engulfing them?
Unquestionably, you have deliberately thwarted virtually any critical and constructive feedback
Erroneously, you have apparently pushed away all actors with constitutional rights and strategic competences to help you
Disappointingly, you have hired and fired many but more often than not to no good results
Unsurprisingly, you have boxed in yourself with your few loyal advisors, again with unconvincing results
Do not blame them when they let you down
They are simply trying to impress or emulate you
Remember, they are paralyzed to inaction by the culture of hypocrisy that seems to thrive effortlessly
Finally,
You have told us that if you knew what the presidency entailed, you would have thought twice about it
You have told us that you do not sleep well at night because the job is overwhelming
But we truly believe you knew what you were getting yourself into
We are not going to attempt to pretend to offer you some advice
We know you will do exactly the opposite of what we would advise
You have no one to blame, not even yourself!
Please remember that!
@Concerned Citizen, 22 August 2019