Veteran politician BRIG. GENERAL MOSES NNAUYE (64) who was, until his retirement this year political adviser to President Mkapa, died in December. He had led an active life starting as a leader of port workers in 1958 during the struggle for independence and, according to the Guardian, was in the front line in the 1978 war against Uganda’s Idi Amin. He held many top positions in the CCM party and government and was also an artist, composer and sportsman.

Two well known settler-ranchers in Iringa in the 1950’s died within days of each other in October. They were DAVID RICARDO (85) who was described by some as later having ‘gone native’ and TONY MARKHAM, his partner on the farm who was a Veterinary Surgeon. David Ricardo was described in The Times on November 16 as soldier, rancher, aid worker and beachcomber who had started life as a young man of wealth and fashion who played tennis regularly with the Prince of Wales. He arrived in Tanganyika in 1943 and later became a Tanzanian citizen and active supporter of Julius Nyerere’s drive for independence; a tireless worker for African advancement through work on many development projects and finally, a much loved sage. He spoke fluent Hehe and Maasai, converted to Islam and eventually handed his estate back to the Hehe and moved to a spartan beach hut in Dar es Salaam. Tony Markham later became Principal of the Tengeru Agricultural Training Institute and subsequently worked for several years with the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN. He died in southern France.

PROFESSOR CUTHBERT OMARI of Dar es Salaam University’s Department of Sociology died on October 28 at the Hindu Mandal Hospital in Dar es Salaam.

IAN WOODROFFE, OBE, FRHSV (76) died on October 4 in Australia after what the ‘Melbourne Age’ described as ‘an outstanding and distinguished public service career’. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many years. His fist job after university was as a District Officer in Tanzania. He served in many different areas of the country before and after independence. He became Acting Governor of the Seychelles at the age of 36 following the sudden death of the then Governor, Sir John Thorp.