Dar es Salaam.The late Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States who passed away on December 29, 2024, was one of the prominent figures who visited Tanzania and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro during a trip in 1988 with his family.

As is customary when high-profile visitors travel to another country, although he may have his personal security detail, usually local security officers join the guest’s detail to ensure his protection.

One of the officers from Tanzania’s security forces assigned to join the protection team of President Carter was retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Abdallah Mssika. At that time, Mssika was an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), heading the fraud investigation unit at the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) of Tanzania Police Force in Kilimanjaro Region.

Speaking to The Chanzo from his home in Dar es Salaam, ACP Mssika shared that a few days before Carter’s arrival, in early August 1988, he was called to the office of the Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander (RPC) and informed about the visit. 

He was told that he was one of the officers selected to join the team of local officers tasked with ensuring the security of President Carter, who was planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

“I was accompanied by two other police detectives in a team which included another officer who later  headed a protection team of the third president of the United Republic of Tanzania, the late Benjamin William Mkapa,” Mssika recalled.

Mssika described how the climb began from Marangu, where retired General Mirisho Hagai Sarakikya, an experienced mountaineer, led Jimmy Carter, as he was familiar with the mountain terrain for a long period.

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“When we first met Jimmy Carter before the climb, we exchanged handshakes, and he appeared to be a well-mannered and organized individual,” Mssika continued. “As we started the journey, he was eager to understand everything being discussed, and he frequently asked questions, particularly to his local guides, including Sarakikya and Sammy Mdee, a writer from Daily News.”

During the expedition, President Carter successfully reached Gilman’s Point, which stands at 18,652 feet above sea level, just below the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at Uhuru Point, which is 19,341 feet.

Christopher Mitchell, the former Director of Correspondence to President Carter from 1985 to 1994, who also accompanied him on the Kilimanjaro trip, explained that Carter didn’t reach Uhuru Peak because one of his grandchildren fell ill, which required him to return back to the nearest camp.

By reaching that altitude, Carter set the record as the only U.S. president to reach the highest elevation in Africa. That is not only the records held by Carter, he was also the longest-living U.S. president. He celebrated his 100th birthday on October 1, 2024.

Carter is widely admired around the world for his humble demeanor and his commitment to social issues even after leaving the presidency. In 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of tireless efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.

Retired ACP Mssika, who also served as the regional police commander in various regions across Tanzania, said it was a great experience to accompany President Carter on the climb, which took about five days.

“There was a moment when Jimmy Carter asked to take a photo with his Tanzanian bodyguards. When you look at that photo, you can see that we were standing next to him while his US bodyguards were far away,” Mssika shared.

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He explained that this moment reflected the trust they had, and the most significant lesson he learned from Carter and his family was humility. “From his wife to his grandchildren, they were all very kind and treated us the same way they treated Carter himself,” Mssika noted. “They never acted superior when interacting with others, especially the local people.”

Retired ACP Mssika served in the Tanzania Police Forces for forty years, from 1970 until his retirement in 2010 as the spokesperson for the Tanzanian Police Force. 

He is now working on completing a book about his life journey, where he also reflects on various memorable experiences, including this one with Jimmy Carter. He also discusses his participation in the operation to arrest Tanzania’s first person charged with espionage, Juma Thomas Zangira, in 1977. 

Other memories include the 1998 attack on the U.S. Embassy, where he was the Officer Commanding District (OCD) for the Kinondoni District in Dar es Salaam, where the embassy was located, along with other notable events from his services at the Muhimbili Hospital before joining Tanzania Police Forces, and in the private sector after retirement in 2010.