I have recently come into contact and eventually read a book titled Hurdles and Prospects of African Integration: The Question of Western Sahara. Being a person who is fascinated with knowledge, a self-proclaimed avid reader and a social justice activist, I, on first sight, developed sheer interest on the book.

The respective book has been authored by two Tanzanian scholars from the department of history at the University of Dar es Salaam – Dr. Maxmillian Chuhila, a Senior Lecturer, and Dr. James Zotto, a Lecturer. 

Since the university is celebrated for its profound and critical scholars, even such is definitely arguably the case today; one can thus, from the very same historical background, expect that this particular book bares some critical aspects and arguments.

Fascinated, thrilled and excited as I was, this book has definitely reminded me of the old adage, “Do not judge a book by its cover.”  In a nutshell, the standard of this particular book has passionately disturbed and disappointed me.

My interest in reading the book was triggered by two main factors when I saw the cover. Foremost, as any rational mind can thus not talk about African Integration without upholding to the principles of Pan-Africanism; thus I developed interest on the book, as I subscribe myself to the concept of popular or what Professor Issa Shivji asserts as people-centered Pan Africanism, rather than the fetishism of neo-liberal and state centered Pan Africanism, as advocated for by the petty and proto bourgeoisies and modern day statesmen and women.

READ MORE: How Low Can the University of Dar es Salaam Go?

Secondly, I unashamedly conform to the ideals, principles and teachings of Ernesto Che Guevara, who stressed that, “If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine,” henceforth since I have long and always opted to tremble with indignation of the injustices facing the people of Western Sahara, then I was moved to engage with this book.

Even though I am not a direct UDSM alumni, in the spirit of blatant intellectual honesty and integrity, as advocated for by the university, I have thus altogether opted to provide a blatant critique of this particular book; of which I would not only recommend to anyone, but would definitely discourage it, in its entirety, to be referred to for any public or intellectual consumption.

Intellectual Dishonesty

Often the dons at the university would preach, sing and stress to their students the hymns of anti-plagiarism. Together with plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts is one another song in the album collection titled Intellectual Integrity. 

Misrepresentation is a serious crime in the intellectual code of conduct; it can actually be done through misquoting, misanalysing and misrepresenting the actual facts so presented. So fond and passionate of this crime, these two UDSM senior scholars have lived to all the ingredients of this particular crime without any pinch of remorse.

With sheer misdemeanor, the authors at page 62 and 63 make reference of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Mission Report to Western Sahara and the Refugee Camps in Tindouf. At the penultimate paragraph of page 62, the authors state and I quote, “Reporting on the freedom of expression in the refugee camps in Tindouf, the UN delegation noted silence on expressing freely.”

READ MORE: University of Dar es Salaam Is Stuck. It’s Time To Save It

For the sake of clarity and context, in 2006 a UN delegation was designated in a mission to gather information about the human rights situation in Western Sahara and in the refugee camps in Algeria, where the people of Western Sahara have been long displaced to, from their ancestral land, by Morocco.

Post their mission, the delegation issued a report of its findings. Unashamedly and wrongly so, the authors at page 62 and 63 suggest that the UN delegation, at page 13 of the report, accounted for “silence on expressing freely” and yet still the respective page 13 of the report does not make suggestion or note. Hereunder provided is an extract of page 13 of the respective report.

The fact that the authors state that, “the UN delegation noted silence on expressing freely” does not provide for the authors’ analysis or rather interpretation of facts, but rather presentation of the position of the UN delegation. This particular move insists that the basis of authors’ arguments and remarks are derived from and seconded by the UN delegation. Something of which is not true!

Elsewhere, so committed towards justifying Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara, the two UDSM scholars ill quoted and misrepresented the International Court of Justice ruling over the question of Western Sahara. At page 36 of their respective book, the authors note the following and I once again quote:

“Further, on the issue of Western Sahara, the International Court of Justice on the 16^th October 1975 ruled [out] there is much evidence to suggest that Western Sahara is Moroccan… The materials and information presented to the Court showed the existence, at the time of Spanish colonization, of legal ties of allegiance between the Sultan of Morocco and some of the tribes living in the territory of Western Sahara. They equally show the existence of rights, including some rights relating to the land, which constituted legal ties between the Mauritanian entity, as understood by the Court, and the territory of Western Sahara.”

For context and clarity once again, On 13 December 1974, the UN General Assembly requested an advisory opinion on, among other, to establish whether there were legal ties between Western Sahara, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Mauritanian entity. In 1975, the Advisory Opinion issued its findings and the authors, as aforementioned and quoted, suggest that the ICJ also confirms this narrative and argument.

READ MORE: Applaud Morocco But Forget Not Western Sahara

However, once again, the finding of the ICJ, which the authors make reference to at page 36 of the book suggests, provides and rules otherwise. Hereunder provided is an extract of the ruling, in which the part highlighted yellow, of which the authors opted to leave out, expressly states and concludes in negation over the existence of the ties between Western Sahara, Morocco and Mauritania.

Similar to the above incidence, the authors herein put the ICJ as its basis of argument to suggest that their respective analysis has some legal basis which is derived from the ICJ. The authors do so by maliciously partly quoting the court’s summary which accounts on the materials and information which it was presented with whilst silencing the full and long citation, as I have herein provided. This particular substantial omission further reveals the intellectual dishonesty of these two dons at the history department in the University of Dar es Salaam.

As for the sake of time, I would like to throw my last uppercut critique. Deriving from the discussion at page 14 of the book, which asserts on the richness of phosphate in Morocco, accounting for over 70% of the world total of phosphate deposit; at page 16 of the book, the authors present a table of the global phosphate production and reserves, an essential ingredient for agro-fertilizer, as provided for by the American Geological Survey.

Whereas the aforementioned tabled provided by the authors in their book assert that Morocco has 50,000,000 reserves out of the existing 71,000,000 reserves; the actual source however, taking note of the contested legal and factual issues of the status of phosphate [and other minerals], does not solely recognize the respective reserves to be under and in Morocco territory alone.

The actual data and table, cited by the authors in their book, of which its extract is provided hereunder, expressly, deliberately and rightly so notes that the 50,000,000 reserves of phosphate are to be found in the territory of Morocco and Western Sahara.

This is an extract of page 2 of the Report on Phosphate Production and Reserve

Out of nothing but sheer dishonesty, the authors have opted to solely recognize Morocco; and so improperly and with no any authorization, none whatsoever, erased Western Sahara from the table of World Mine Production and Reserves. 

Just like in the previous accounts, the authors seek to unashamedly propagate the peculiar tale about Morocco over Western Sahara. In doing so, the author engages in intellectual fraud by misrepresenting and altogether cooking up facts.

My Parting Shot

The flaws in the book are bizarrely countless. Together with the wrong factual presentation, as lightly argued for above; this book also hosts enormous silly factual issues, mistakes and grammatical and spelling errors, which I have not found important to scrutinize at this juncture. As all this is significantly evident throughout the book, one may definitely wonder and question the standards and integrity of the publisher of the book – Africa Proper Education Network.

Massive scrutiny however, so rightly so, ought to be directed towards the authors for producing such a poor and arguably unqualified book, and altogether placing it for public and intellectual consumption. 

READ MORE: ‘There Is Much More Than It Is Said’: The Political Economy of Knowledge Production at the Hill

Such scrutiny however not only needs to be placed on these two authors alone who have already launched the book at the Ruaha Catholic University and later on went on an intellectual expedition to promote their book in South Africa.

The University of Dar es Salaam also ought to be questioned in this particular matter; as when the two authors went ahead to promote and launch the book in South Africa, the two did so under the banner of the University of Dar es Salaam, as seen in the background in the picture below, retrieved from the internet archives. 

Unless the University of Dar es Salaam retracts or publicly condemns the actions and omissions of their two senior and celebrated employees, then the university too is complicit in this product of sheer intellectual dishonesty.

As all this unfolds and as the book downplays and vividly ridicules the argument of the Self-Determination of Western Sahara, a foreign policy position long held and promoted by Tanzania; two questions thus come to my mind: Is it that the University of Dar es Salaam and these two historians being the “intellectual mercenaries” are challenging our support and solidarity to the people of Western Sahara? Is it that Tanzania is silently revisiting its position on Western Sahara? 

As no one knows tomorrow and wonders never cease to exist, I remain hopeful that we shall not walk away from the path that offered our fond support and solidarity to the oppressed people around the world; a path that was so proudly walked on by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Mwalimu Nyerere and others.

READ MORE: Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Urges African Leaders to Tackle the Root Cause of Conflicts in Africa: ‘Global Competing Interests Over Its Resources’

Just like Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela; Western Sahara, now more than ever before, demands our utmost support and solidarity, as Morocco continues its brutal and illegal occupation over their soulful people, their rightful and ancestral land; and their natural wealth and resources.

As the image of the University of Dar es Salaam is herein in question and tarnished, I hope the alumni and scholars of this esteemed university and beyond would pick up the baton and rise to the task of condemning and critiquing this all sorts of traits of intellectual dishonesty cheap scholarly works, such as this. As you do this, I hope you’d chant with me #FreeWesternSahara.

Jasper “Kido” Sabuni is a social justice activist and author of a poetry book titled Love Chronicles. His e-mail address is kidojasper@gmail.com. He is also on Instagram as @Kido_Afrika and on Twitter as @JasperKido. These are the writer’s own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of The Chanzo Initiative. Do you want to publish in this space? Contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com for further inquiries.