The following excerpt is from a presentation delivered by the outgoing Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa, reflecting on his ten-year leadership journey. The event took place on April 10, 2025, at the Protea Courtyard Hotel in Upanga.
Aidan Eyakuze: When you look around, it’s very hard to deny that there’s been a significant democratic backsliding or recession, deterioration when you look around the world. A picture can look really, really very grim. I think part of the challenge has been, we had a forward momentum after the fall of the Berlin Wall and, you know, an expansion of citizen participation in the choice of government. That forward momentum has slowed down.
Some have said it’s even stopped. In some countries, it has reversed. I think one of the big challenges, and maybe also for us to think about in our countries, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, has been us as citizens, I think, [we have] just let the train go. We took it for granted that this forward momentum of expanding freedoms was the natural order of things, that all we had to do was sit back or ride the train.
And there were very, very, very few of us, and I’m glad to say, some are in this very room, who actually stood up and made sure to drive that train forward. But I have a feeling that the burden grew heavier and heavier. Zitto will tell you, Mzee Utouh will tell you. These are the people here who were driving that train of expanding freedoms, expanding accountability of governments to citizens. But it got heavier because we, ordinary citizens, took it for granted that that was going to be the order of things going forward.
So I think the backsliding, the deterioration, is something that we have to recognize for what it is, that we have to stand up and defend actively in our daily lives, in our relationships with one another, to begin there, but certainly in our relationship with our governments. We should not accept that we’re mere subjects to obey, to accept, to be grateful for the little that we’re given by our governments.
We should step up and become citizens. And that’s why so much of what we’ve been doing in Twaweza in the last 10 years has put the citizen, the idea of a citizen, at the center of the work that we do. The voice, the engagement, the Uraghbishi, it is about citizens themselves. To make sure they bring development to themselves, justice and better life, it is our responsibility.
“We should not accept that we’re mere subjects to obey, to accept, to be grateful for the little that we’re given by our governments.”
So, you said, there’s been backsliding. But I think there are seeds of an awakening to that reality. And I’m so, so, so proud of what Twaweza has been doing. Sometimes, it can seem invisible. But that uraghbishi at the village level, at the district level, is, for me, those are the really powerful seeds of creating, generating citizens and citizenship. And when you look at the final point, when you look at what’s going on around the world, and especially in the United States, I think Americans are finding out that citizenship is not something you take for granted.
So that only this Sunday, Saturday, they got out and declared their American citizenship. And they’re finding out that they’re going to have to keep doing this over and over and over and over again. So, it is something that I’m proud of. It’s planting that seed alongside others, its about the absolutely vital work that we have to do as individual citizens.
Baruani (Moderator): Thank you very much, Aidan. That is very insightful. It’s like you’re prepared. I gave you the questions this morning; let me declare that. I didn’t give him a year ago. Now, the next question, building on what you have just said, reflecting on your 10 years of leadership at Twaweza and the work that you have been leading, tell us one or two of your proudest moments and one or two of your lowest moments. You can decide whichever you want to start with.
Aidan: I’ll start with my lowest because my friend who helped see me through this particular lowest moment is here. The lowest moment was in August 2019, when, on June 30th, the government had changed the laws in Tanzania, and all NGOs had to become NGOs. And Twaweza had been a company limited by guarantees, which made it hard for the government to just pull the plug and throw you on the heap.
But, June 30th, 2019, the law was changed, and we had to register as an NGO. Let me tell you, I didn’t think we would survive that process. I really did. Risha is nodding. We thought, wait, how are we going to survive this? They’re using this transfer period of six weeks. Six weeks to register. To, basically, de-register some of the troublesome activist. Remember that?
So, with Richard, Richard, where are you, Richard? Where is he? We tried to register, another company is limited by guarantee. It got to the last minute and they saw Twaweza and stop it.
At the same time, Ben Ishabakaki and I were scheming, how do we make sure that these passes. You know, Twaweza with new constitution and set up pass and doesn’t get striked off, and suddenly you don’t exist. I was terrified for those six weeks. I really was worried that come August 20th, whatever the date was, we would no longer exist. But Ben went everywhere.
And finally, I think you were in Mbeya, weren’t you? Following the registrar, he was in Mbeya, and one morning, he woke up and said, Aidan, we have it. I said, again, what? We have the registration. I said, Okay, at least Twaweza can continue. At least under trying different circumstances, but we are not de-registered. That was a low moment, but Ben, Richard, we schemed, and we were able to make sure that Twaweza survived.
My high moment. I have so many, but there’s one that continues to live each and every day, and I’m going to be quite mundane about it. Every time you guys send money, that thing that says levy, zero. Zero. That is my perpetual high moment. That showed the power of the Sauti za Wananchi. The power of the Sauti za Wananchi.
Because in this very space downstairs, on August 22, 2022, we were visited by FFU [Police Field Force Unit]. Well, you guys don’t know. We were launching a Sauti za Wananchi survey on Tozo [Mobile money Levy]. And the FFU came. And these three [Anastazia, Risha, Baruani] people, and Entesh had to go downstairs and stand down the FFU.
I’m serious. But that’s the drama. But that drama for us in Twaweza, which we tried to keep well hidden, led to, six weeks later, the Tozo [mobile money levies] being removed. And now you can do transactions, you know, with zero levy. We were asked by our board a couple of years ago, two years ago, yeah, when you’re doing your strategy, think about the people-level outcomes of your activities. What does this matter to ordinary citizens? For me, that is a very great example of the impact of Twaweza’s work, working with citizens and the media to turn around a government policy that now, and for many, many years to come, hopefully, really improves the lives of ordinary Tanzanians.
Baruani: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. So, I am going to add a little bit to that story of that experience on that particular day, when we were here, launching the Sauti za Wananchi on mobile money transaction levies.
And this connects to our incoming Executive Director, Anna [Bwana], in the following way. So, Aidan was to present, I was moderating. And then one of our colleagues, Jane, who is sitting there, if you can wave. Jane walked all the way from there, came here to the high table, and just told me that there are police who want to talk to one of the organizers.
And then I thought, I reacted in a very calm manner, like stepping down and walking out with Jane and getting out. Then I met the police. Risha came, joined, and Richard Mordest and others, and we were talking to the police. And then I checked on my phone. I saw Zitto’s message, saying that, Anna, Anna Bwana, that is, Ana, has said you have step out but it looks like things are not wel,l is everything okay there?
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Before I could respond to his message, I think he decided to walk out. He joined us. He continued to negotiate with the police. And I remember one moment when he told me and Risha, wait, wait, wait. He started telling the police, do you see that? The picture of President Samia up there at the reception. You are operating as you are in the previous phase he told the police; you will mess up if you continue to operate like you are in the previous government. So, thank you for that. And the connection to Anna is your situational awareness. Your situational awareness. We appreciate that. Welcome to Twaweza. We need your situational awareness.
Now, to your last question, before we go to our next speakers. What would you say have been surprises? You know, as Steve Jobs once said, in hindsight, all dots connect. But in the moment, maybe there were moments where you felt, I didn’t expect this could have happened in the context, in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and all of those. It could be positive; it could be negative. What are some of the surprises when you’re looking back in hindsight, and you really feel this is something that we never anticipated, but it happened, and we responded so that we remain cognizant of the fact that there could be surprises moving forward?
Aidan Eyakuze: Thank you. Let’s talk a bit about leadership and country leadership. I think we should never underestimate the lust for power that is around us. We should never underestimate. People will do anything to grab and to hold on to power. And that, for me, I think was a surprise, partly because maybe I’m just naïve. Maybe I’m just naïve in my default position of thinking good of people. But I was surprised by the incredible lust for power. And, you know, we had an election in 2015, and we were promised many things. And then the lust for power took over. And the extent to which it was manifested, and the extent to which it hurt so many people, I think was, for me, a surprise.
“We should never underestimate the lust for power that is around us. We should never underestimate. People will do anything to grab and to hold on to power.”
And it was a wake-up as to the importance of both the individual courage, which I was so happy to witness from so many, some in this room, some not in this room, some, let me name this young man, Abdul Nondo, who continues to display true citizenship. You know, that was the other, I suppose, the other surprise, that there will be individuals in the face of tremendous odds and threats will still stand up and fight for and say the truth.
So that, for me, was a negative surprise and a positive surprise. I’ll end it as a positive surprise. I didn’t know how much fun it would be to work in civil society, you know, honestly. You know, for various reasons. I think, number one, I used to be a banker, you see. And nobody wakes up to go to a bank filled with passion. Well, at least I didn’t, and I don’t. But I woke up every day filled with passion for the work of civil society. Because it’s so meaningful.
Baruani: Even when they took your passport?
Aidan: Ah!!!! It’s just a lot of fun. And so, part of the fun is the people you interact with, the networks you build, the good trouble that you make together. You know, that’s good stuff, you know. But I think the most important surprise was how much I have grown with this family of civil society, you know, fellow travellers. I have really, really, I’ve changed, transformed from when I was, you know, 10 years ago to now. And it has been, as I said to many, many people, and I’ll say it again, the most meaningful professional engagement I’ve had in my life. And so that was a fantastic surprise and lots of fun.
