Okello suspected Zanzibaris were plotting against him – book review

Okello suspected Zanzibaris were plotting against him – book review

Born on October 6, 1937, John Gideon Okello left home in then Lango District in northern Uganda in December 1952 aged 15 and travelled towards eastern Uganda where he worked briefly. He crossed into Kenya in July 1954.

And on June 21, 1959, Okello set off from Mombasa to Pemba where he immediately got involved in the island politics. Four years later, Okello, then 26, led the masses of Zanzibar in a revolution that overthrew the sultanate regime that had ruled the country with an iron fist since 1858. He ruled the island until March 1964 when he was expelled from the country.

Forming government

According to Okello’s book Revolution in Zanzibar, after overthrowing the Sultan, Okello immediately formed the government and invited Sheikh Abeid Karume, the leader of Afro Shiraz Party, and appointed him president.

He also invited the leader of the Umma Party, Abdullaraham Muhamad Babu, and appointed him minister of External Affairs. The two had been exiled to Dar es Salaam by the sultan regime. The two returned on a government plane and were escorted to Okello’s office by soldiers singing ‘Uhuru na Jamhuri”.

Okello, together with the two, went to the broadcasting station where he introduced Karume as the president of the republic and requested that all attention be given to his words.

Mr Karume began by saying: “I am pleased and delighted to have this opportunity to speak to you publically in our newly freed island. As president of the republic, I promise to serve you faithfully and to the full extent of your need…”

“I want you to work in unity and to obey Field Marshal as we would to any person born on this island without any form of discrimination. Without his wisdom and courage, none of us would be where we are at present. Field Marshal John Okello’s activities show that he is a man born with African liberation in his heart and we on the island are lucky to have had him achieve our freedom quicker.”

Okello says following Karume’s broadcast, he (Karume) asked to meet him privately. The cabinet ministers retired, leaving Okello and Karume behind the closed doors. Karume started by thanking Okello and asked him the kind of salary he expected.

“I must tell you that my main concern has always been for the welfare of my brother Africans. My intention on this island has already been achieved – freedom. And I don’t think I want anything other than that. My salary as I see it, is freedom for the oppressed,” Okello writes in his self-published book.

Okello adds that following this meeting, they became like twins and they met frequently for discussions. He never suspected any difference to come between them, and anyone who saw the events on the island at the time would not have expected it either.

The government functioned smoothly for the next few days and Okello says he was of the opinion that his colleagues shared his views and harboured nothing against him since he treated the power he had respectfully.

However, he says he soon sensed that certain politicians were planning to remove him from power. He says he suspected a number of reasons for this.

First, he was not an indigenous Zanzibari and he was a Christian. The people, according to Okello, were jealous of his fame and popularity and feared he would remain the most powerful person on the island.

The plot begins

On January 24, 1964, Okello says he received an unsigned letter written in Swahili:

“Field Marshal John Okello, your behaviour is inconsistent with the requirements of the indigenous people. You are the only person boasting of having all the power in the revolutionary government. You must realise that you do not belong to the Muslim religion and you are leading Muslims even though you are a Christian,” the letter read.

“Also, your activities led to the death of so many people on this island, most of whom were Muslims. So start counting your days, for time will come when Muslims will unite against you to expel you from this island. We still have Babu, our hopes are not yet ended. Even Karume in the form of a Black man is nothing.”

Okello says in his book that this letter did not upset him since he suspected it to have come from the Zanzibar National Party Arabs.

On February 8, Okello says another letter was sent stating: “Field Marshal John Okello, we are telling you that you will not last forever on this island. You will soon find yourself outside and will not be able to return. Remember Karume himself is a Muslim and you may be certain he loved the Muslims killed during the revolution more than he loves you.”

“So long as Babu is still alive, you must know that the seats and positions you are now denying the Arabs are well reserved. In future, Arabs will man all key posts in the army, police, prison, customs and other departments. You may think you are strong but those whom you now trust will turn against you. We shall defeat you and your followers and you shall be expelled and not even those of the calibre of [Ugandan Prime Minister Milton] Obote, [Kenyan president Jomo] Kenyatta and [Tanzanian president Julius] Nyerere will accept you or your slogan about freedom.”

Okello says the next ominous sign came on February 16 in the Revolutionary Council meeting when one of the youth wingers whom he had appointed in the council made some disparaging remarks about him in particular and Africans who were born on the mainland. He says he immediately concluded that secret meetings of Zanzibari Africans had been held.

In spite of having power to imprison anyone without question, Okello says he did not care for the “tit for tat” policy and allowed his opponents to speak their minds freely.

After this meeting, Okello says he went to Pemba Island for a routine inspection but when he returned, he discovered that one of his close associates, a Kenyan-born policeman who held the rank of captain, had been expelled without consulting him.

Amid growing hostilities to the mainland Africans on the Island, he says a Kenyan-born policeman informed him that his (Okello’s) future in the island was not promising.

The man alleged that he had heard a revolutionary council member telling an Arab girl one evening while on patrol that, “Field Marshal John Okello is a strange and clever man and it won’t be easy to kill him. But we shall use other means to at least drive him from the island. If our president’s plans works out well, there won’t be any resistance at all.”

Following this, Okello writes that he engaged a number of people to investigate the extent of hostilities directed towards him. It turned out that a powerful group, led by president Karume, was conspiring to drive him from the island.

Although he still had all the power to arrest and imprison anyone on the island, including president Karume himself, such an act would have contradicted his aim in organising and leading the revolution.

He instead opted to go to the mainland to meet the East African heads of government and to inform them of Karume’s intrigues and possible negative outcome of the events in Zanzibar.

Trip to mainland

When Field Marshal Okello led the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution that overthrew sultan’s government, he was welcomed as a hero by the masses not only in Zanzibar but throughout East Africa.

However, leaders of East Africa at the time – Milton Obote, Jomo Kenyatta and Julius Nyerere – perhaps viewed him differently.

He was seen as a potential problem to their newly established governments in the region. He was a new threat whom the East African leaders could tolerate at their own peril.

Tomorrow, read about Field Marshal Okello’s meeting with Milton Obote, Jomo Kenyatta and Julius Nyerere.

Original Media Source

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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns
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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns

Several airports have since locked Air Tanzania, dealing a severe blow to the Tanzanian national carrier that must now work overtime to regain its certification or go the wet lease way

The European Commission has announced the inclusion of Air Tanzania on the EU Air Safety List, effectively banning the airline from operating in European airspace.

The decision, made public on December 16, 2024, is based on safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which also led to the denial of Air Tanzania’s application for a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.

The Commission did not go into the specifics of the safety infringement but industry experts suggest it is possible that the airline could have flown its Airbus A220 well past its scheduled major checks, thus violating the airworthiness directives.

“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.

“We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards.”

Air Tanzania has a mixed fleet of modern aircraft types including Boeing 787s, 737 Max jets, and Airbus A220s.

It has been flying the B787 Dreamliner to European destinations like Frankfurt in Germany and Athens in Greece and was looking to add London to its growing list with the A220.

But the ban not only scuppers the London dream but also has seen immediate ripple effect, with several airports – including regional like Kigali and continental – locking out Air Tanzania.

Tanzania operates KLM alongside the national carrier.

The European Commission said Air Tanzania may be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.

A wet lease is where an airline pays to use an aircraft with a crew, fuel, and insurance all provided by the leasing company at a fee.

Two more to the list

The EU Air Safety List, maintained to ensure passenger safety, is updated periodically based on recommendations from the EU Air Safety Committee.

The latest revision, which followed a meeting of aviation safety experts in Brussels from November 19 to 21, 2024, now includes 129 airlines.

Of these, 100 are certified in 15 states where aviation oversight is deemed insufficient, and 29 are individual airlines with significant safety deficiencies.

Alongside Air Tanzania, other banned carriers include Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), and Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran).

Commenting on the broader implications of the list, Tzitzikostas stated, “Our priority remains the safety of every traveler who relies on air transport. We urge all affected airlines to take these bans seriously and work collaboratively with international bodies to resolve the identified issues.”

In a positive development, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been cleared to resume operations in the EU following a four-year suspension. The ban, which began in 2020, was lifted after substantial improvements in safety performance and oversight by PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).

“Since the TCO Authorisation was suspended, PIA and PCAA have made remarkable progress in enhancing safety standards,” noted Tzitzikostas. “This demonstrates that safety issues can be resolved through determination and cooperation.”

Another Pakistani airline, Airblue Limited, has also received EASA’s TCO authorisation.

Decisions to include or exclude airlines from the EU Air Safety List are based on rigorous evaluations of international safety standards, particularly those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The process involves thorough review and consultation among EU Member State aviation safety experts, with oversight from the European Commission and support from EASA.

“Where an airline currently on the list believes it complies with the required safety standards, it can request a reassessment,” explained Tzitzikostas. “Our goal is not to penalize but to ensure safety compliance globally.”

Airlines listed on the EU Air Safety List face significant challenges to their international operations, as the bans highlight shortcomings in safety oversight by their home regulatory authorities.

For Air Tanzania, this inclusion signals an urgent need for reform within Tanzania’s aviation sector to address these deficiencies and align with global standards.

The path forward will require immediate and sustained efforts to rectify safety concerns and regain access to one of the world’s most critical aviation markets.

Source: allafrica.com

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