The transcript below is an excerpt from President Samia’s speech delivered today, September 17, 2024, during the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Tanzania Police at the Police academy in Moshi, Kilimanjaro.
A few days ago, my fellow citizens, our country faced a tragedy with the killing of one of the political leaders of the CHADEMA party. This death shocked the minds and bodies of us, the people of Tanzania, and stirred strong emotions, especially among the followers of the party. Surprisingly, this death has also evoked strong reactions from representatives of some foreign nations who represent their countries here with us.
I want to join them and say that, for any reason, these killings are unacceptable. That is why the government condemned it and called for a swift investigation, as is done globally in such cases, the government comes out, condemns it, and demands that its security agencies investigate to understand what happened.
I believe you can bear witness that even to our colleagues in some developed countries, an attempt to assassinate a politician has been made twice, but what we heard was the government calling for an investigation, which they have begun. So, it is not surprising that we, too, called for an investigation following this incident, and I have been informed that the work is progressing well.
My fellow Tanzanians, the life of any human being is invaluable. You cannot place a price on a human life. You cannot compare the life of a person based on their social status, tribe, origin, gender, age, or which group they belong to, or where they participate. There is no such transactional value when it comes to human life
In any circumstance, the life of a human being is something very precious, and that is why the life of a Tanzanian is protected by the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, as stated in Article 14, which says that everyone has the right to life and to receive protection for their life from society according to the law.
Therefore, for all of us who serve the public in various positions in the government, we are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the country in fulfilling our duties. Now, I urge each one of us to be accountable for the oaths we have taken.
Let me say that after that incident, I have been following the opinions of various political and religious leaders, some of whom asked me to condemn those acts. Prominent elders have shared their views, as you have heard from our elder, Mr. Butiku. Representatives of foreign nations here have also issued statements, and civil society organizations and citizens at large have expressed their concerns.
All these groups’ emotions have been stirred by the single death of our brother Kibao. But deaths are being reported over and over again. Albino children are having their hands cut off and being killed. Young children are being abducted, their private parts mutilated and then discarded. Fathers are killing their children, children are killing their fathers, and some elderly people accused of witchcraft are being killed.
Even this morning, the IGP gave me a report from Dodoma where three people were found murdered in a room. Three people! These incidents happen in our communities, but there’s silence until the police report them. Others don’t speak out.
However, it is surprising that the death of our brother Kibao has stirred up such a huge outcry of condemnation, grief, and accusations of calling the government murderers. This is not right. Death is death. What we Tanzanians must do is stand together and condemn these acts, to stand firm against such behavior. The blood of a Tanzanian should weigh on us; we should not shed blood without cause.
But I was listening carefully to the statement by the Secretary General of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). I was sent and listened very carefully to the clip by Honorable Slaa of CHADEMA, as well as the clip from that brother Joseph Yona from Chalinze, both giving a perspective on the plans for disruption of peace being planned by some political parties.
I link this to the decisions made at a meeting on September 11th of this year, held by a certain political party in Ngulelo, Arusha Region. The meeting resolved to use and incite the youth by making accusations against the Police Force, engaging in divisive politics at various funeral ceremonies, and demoralizing the Police Force so that they fail to carry out their duty of protecting the safety of citizens and their property.
However, I am grateful that in that very same meeting, it was realized and acknowledged that this country of Tanzania has a strong intelligence network. They even warned each other that when making their evil plans, they should take advantage of the opportunity provided by the philosophy of 4R, so that they can say, oh, we are allowed, the philosophy of 4R permits us, and thus proceed with their evil plans.
But I thank them for recognizing that this country has great intelligence, and the proof of that is I have all the evidence of what was said there. That is the strength of our intelligence. So, I want to tell them, all the meetings that will go on to plan these evil acts, the evil that is being planned—we will find out about it.
There is talk, I don’t know, of bringing such heat until Samia says, ‘Fine, I surrender, I’m leaving.’ Is that a government of fish? That is a government of fish, my brothers and sisters. Meaning, that the bigger the fish gets, what happens to its brain? … That is a government of fish, but this government of the United Republic of Tanzania is not removed in such a manner, it can not removed.
Now, using the hat of Commander-in-Chief of this country, let me say that we have sworn to protect and defend the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and that we will do everything possible to strengthen the protection of the lives and well-being of Tanzanians because it is our duty.
In this responsibility, we do not need to be directed by anyone on what to do because our Constitution provides all the guidance on how to run our government. No one suffers from these incidents as we Tanzanians do; we do not agree with what is happening and we are deeply pained to see these events. Any loss of life affects us; it is our blood as Tanzanians.
When others wish to show their compassion, we urge them to do so by adhering to the agreements of international diplomatic relations as outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. The statements that have been made, instructing us to do one, two, three, we know what to do as Tanzanians and as a country.
And I believe that the statement made is not the directive of the heads of state from where they came. Because I have a way to check with my fellow Presidents to confirm whether those instructions were indeed given. If it was not their instruction, then I will take my complaints to my colleagues, and they will know what to do. We are not here to be directed on what to do within our own country
We have a Constitution, our laws, guidelines, and our customs and traditions. All of these guide us on what to do in our country.
These incidents happen in all countries not just Tanzania. If they were happening only in Tanzania, it would have been a big shock, but they are happening in every country. Over there, you will hear of a child carrying a gun and going to shoot at a school where several people have died. Somewhere else, someone took something and went and shot people, and they died. Elsewhere, people went to something and died. So, death is there, it happens differently in every country. When these things happen, we have never told our ambassador to tell that country to do this or that, we have never done so.
We are using that international diplomatic convention as we are required to do. Now, others should not become experts in directing us on what to do. Our government is guided by the philosophy of reconciliation, resilience, reform, and building our nation. This philosophy emerged after seeing the nation is divided due to our political and ideological differences. This philosophy came so that we can prioritize nationality and Tanzanian identity above everything else.
As a country and nation, we are comforted to see that this philosophy has largely been able to unify our nation. However, as we implement the philosophy of the Four R’s, it does not mean we have discarded our country’s laws or allowed indiscipline to occur, absolutely not. The laws remain in place, our customs and traditions remain, and the guidelines for holding meetings and everything else remain intact.
Therefore, the Four R’s is a philosophy that came to unite the nation and not to allow indiscipline among certain people. Thus, after the good work done by this philosophy in uniting our nation, we will not tolerate any acts of causing chaos and division in the country, we will not tolerate it.
Now, it is important not to forget, or for those preparing for chaos not to forget, the hardships they have gone through. It is this very philosophy that permitted them to return to the country, and we turned a blind eye to everything else and welcomed them to help build our nation. Now, if they think they have grown tails, the same laws are still in place.
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In my home, there are people called Mahulukhutabu, people who have a nature of living only in hardship; peace and comfort are not for them. Now, God created people of this kind, and I think we have some Mahulukhutabu in Tanzania. For them, when there is peace and calm, and everything is in order, they don’t feel satisfied, they must stir things up. Well, the laws for the Mahulukhutabu are also there, and we will deal with them. 4R’s is not an excuse for indiscipline or for violating the country’s laws; the laws of the country remain in place. Therefore, it is important they do not forget the challenges they have gone through.
The government has worked very hard to restore the freedom of political parties, the freedom of the media, and the freedom of citizens in general. Those who were in exile returned to the country, as I mentioned; those who had criminal cases we turned a blind eye to. Those who were in prison, we released them. Now they are free and are continuing with their activities, including political activities. Our goal was to bring people together to build our country.
Now, when those same people forget all this and engage in actions or statements that harm or set us back, we will not be willing to allow it, we will not allow it. We will protect the peace and stability of our country at any cost. Just as other countries protect theirs, we Tanzanians will protect our country at any cost.
I have said before, and I want to repeat it with emphasis: My silence is not ignorance, and speaking too much, for those who do so, is not wisdom at all. Speaking too much is like an empty drum; it makes noise, and it will always make noise. And the one who remains silent is not a fool but someone who is reflecting on things, it is not ignorance. So, my silence is not ignorance, and their outbursts are not being clever.
When you entrusted me with this responsibility, I swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, and my duty, together with the security forces, is to safeguard the peace of our country. Therefore, I will show no leniency toward anyone who seeks to disrupt the peace of our nation.
We have been tolerant on many issues, but when it comes to protecting this nation’s peace, I will show no leniency to anyone involved in such matters, whether they are coordinating, participating in, or executing these evil plans.
Honorable Minister, IGP, and senior officers of the Police Force, before I conclude my speech, I have the following instructions for you: First, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Police Force should continue implementing the recommendations of the commission to strengthen criminal justice institutions in their entirety. You should continue to implement all recommendations that do not require changes in the law or a significant increase in the budget.
Secondly, as protectors of citizens and their property, the Police Force is the custodian of justice and the law. Therefore, it should not be involved in or suspected of violating the very laws and rights it is meant to uphold.
This morning, I saw a clip from Mwanza. A criminal was arrested, and when the police were about to leave with the suspect, the citizens blocked the vehicle, saying it would not leave until the OCS (Officer Commanding Station) arrived; they insisted the vehicle would not leave with the suspect alone. Now, address that issue properly, we should not be associated with violating the laws that we are responsible for upholding.
Therefore, continue to closely monitor the conduct of police officers to ensure that the Police Force provides appropriate services and increases the public’s trust in this institution.
Thirdly, the Police Force operates in a digital era, so its embrace of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) must be even faster. As I have mentioned, I urge you to work on this, and I have said I am awaiting the budget to see how we can provide support. Doing so will not only enhance the effectiveness of operations but also enable the police to combat crime and criminals more efficiently.
