Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Tanzania mourns the passing of veteran politician Augustine Mrema
Tanzania is mourning the death of veteran politician and national chairperson of the opposition Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) Augustine Lyatonga Mrema who died in the early hours of Sunday at 77.
Mr Mrema, also serving as the chairperson of the Prisons Parole Board, died while receiving treatments at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), according to the hospital’s spokesperson Aminiel Aligaesha.
Mourners on Sunday recounted Mr Mrema’s contribution to building pluralistic and competitive politics in Tanzania, pointing out his candidacy against former President Benjamin Mkapa as a milestone in the history of multiparty democracy in the country.
It was 1995, the first election since the multiparty system was reintroduced in Tanzania in 1992, where Mr Mrema, through the ticket of NCCR-Mageuzi, challenged the late Mkapa of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in the presidential election.
Mrema lost the election but convinced many that CCM could be challenged despite its hegemony.
In a tweet, President Samia Suluhu said she was saddened by Mr Mrema’s death, saying she will remember the man “for his contribution to political reform, patriotism and love for Tanzanians.”
Opposition ACT-Wazalendo party said in its condolences message that Mr Mrema will be remembered as someone who played a significant role in cementing political pluralism in Tanzania, calling his candidacy in 1995 “a memory that will never die in the minds of Tanzanians.”
Veteran journalist Ezekiel Kamwaga said in a Twitter post that there is no doubt that Mrema’s legacy will leave on, citing his decision to step down as a minister to join the opposition movement as “unprecedented, especially during that time.”
“If reforms were a house, everyone would have their own stone,” Mr Kamwaga wrote on Twitter. “Mrema has got his own stone in the reforms that took place here in Tanzania.”
Born in Vunjo, Mrema held several political posts including a Member of Parliament and Minister of Home Affairs and in 1995 he vied for the presidency under the NCCR-Mageuzi party.
About 30 Egyptian firms set to tour Tanzania
About 30 Egyptian firms will embark on a trade mission to Tanzania from September 26 to September 30, 2022, as the North African nation explores available avenues for improved economic relations with Tanzania, Egyptian media reported Sunday.
The visit will take place under the auspices of Banque Misr (BM), Egypt’s Chemical and Fertilisers Export Council, in cooperation with the Egyptian Furniture Export Council, the Egyptian Commercial Service Office in Tanzania, and the Egyptian Exporters Association (Expolink).
Egyptian press quoted Khaled Abu Al-Makarem, the Chairperson of the Chemical and Fertilisers Export Council, as saying that the mission will include an introductory meeting for participating companies on the needs of the Tanzanian market and laws related to investment and trade in Tanzania.
This is in addition to arranging field visits for companies to markets in Tanzania to determine product prices and market needs.
Furthermore, it will include bilateral meetings between businessmen and companies on both sides and field visits by Egyptian companies to their Tanzanian counterparts and to the industrial areas in which these companies are located.
Abu Al-Makarem added that a similar trade mission to Kenya is being planned from 4 to 8 October.
Police seize firearms used in poaching
Police in Simiyu have seized locally made firearms used in poaching in the Serengeti National Park and Maswa Game Reserve, the region’s police commander Blasius Chatanda told journalists on Saturday.
Chatanda said police are holding six suspects in connection with making the firearms and selling them to poachers.
He said that police have launched a special crackdown on locally made firearms and have seized an unspecified number of muzzleloaders and rounds of ammunition that were reportedly made by the six suspects.
He said some of the locally made firearms were used in armed robberies.
Chatanda said the crackdown on the illegal production of firearms and their usage in criminal acts was continuous.
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