by Peter Elborn

The Cessna landed on Kilwa’s grass airstrip, where two men were sitting in the deep shade of a big tree. There was no one else around. I stopped to talk to them. I knew I could walk to Kilwa Ruins Lodge, where I was going to stay for four nights; but – as they said – it would be hot work pulling a trolley case along a sandy road. One of the men had a car in the shade of another tree, and he took me on the short, bumpy ride to the Lodge.

Kilwa Kisiwani is an island just off the coast from the fishing village of Kilwa Masoko. Historically it was the southern point for sailing vessels going down the East African coast using the monsoon winds. They came to trade – most importantly gold and ivory from inland Africa. From the 11th to the 15th century Kilwa was a city-state with fine mosques and grand palaces. In their time, the Great Mosque was the largest mosque in Africa and Husuni Kubwa, the Great Palace, was the largest stone structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Kilwa had its ups and downs until the 19th century, when the slave trade ceased and it became a backwater. This once prosperous city-state fell into ruins.

The only guy around at the Lodge had no knowledge that I was coming, but cheerfully gave me a key to a thatched wooden hut. I was asked what I wanted for lunch. I thought it best to ask what they had. The reply, after some thought, and with some hesitation, was – fish. So I said fish would be very nice.

The next day I ambled around the town in search of the Antiquities Department to get the required permit to visit Kilwa Kisiwani, called ‘the ruins’ locally. Kilwa Masoko is a small place and I had expected to find the Antiquities Department by ambling. But I didn’t.

After lunch and an hour in the shade with a book, I guessed that I might find someone to talk to about getting to the ruins at the harbour, from where the dhows cross to Kilwa Kisiwani. There was not much there, other than an empty jetty and a few men under the shade of trees. One of them called over a young guy who had a dhow and could take me the next day. But today we would need to get the permit. We found the Antiquities Department in a compound behind a gate with a sign saying “Revenue Department”. After 10 or 15 minutes my name was entered in a ledger (including my passport number, but as I did not have my passport with me or any idea what the number was, I made it up). I paid a fee and that was that – a good day’s work.

As no one was around at the Lodge early next morning, I breakfasted on a honey crunch bar left over from the flight from London and walked to the harbour. There was a port fee, requiring another entry in a ledger, with another invented passport number. No boatman from the day before, so the man who had been helpful shouted to three people on a dhow, who agreed to take us. We waded out, climbed aboard and a patched triangular sail was hoisted. A gentle half hour later we got close enough to the island to jump over the side and slosh our way ashore.

A half an hour walk along the edge of a mangrove swamp brought us to the Husuni Kubwa perched on a low cliff by the sea. All very grand in its time, but now just enough left to see that it had indeed been a great palace. We weaved our way along sandy paths through lush tropical vegetation back to the main site, passing neat and tidy mud huts with people quietly drawing water from an ancient well.

The Great Mosque – 11th century in origin, and enlarged in the 14th century with money from the gold trade – is still impressive. Other smaller mosques are scattered around, as well as later buildings, including the fort built by the Portuguese during their short stay at the beginning of the 16th century. After they left the fort was enlarged, falling into disuse in the late 19th century.

Returning to the mainland we had to tack against a strong wind. The sail filled, the boat keeled over and waves flooded into the boat. One of the boatmen calmly bailed.

Over the next two days I explored Kilwa Masoko and adapted to the heat, humidity and the slow pace of life. I swam when the sun was low and less fierce, read in the shade, and enjoyed walking around the town and the market. And then it was time for a last stroll by the sea and a return to the airstrip. As we waited for the plane I watched the little ants crawl over my suitcase.

Two international aid workers arrived in a smart 4-wheel drive vehicle bearing the logo of a water project and talked on their mobile phones. Accompanying them were two Tanzanians. She was well-groomed in a tailored African print dress with puff sleeves. He wore a smart dark blue safari suit. They talked with confidence.

Then the plane arrived and I was off, back to Dar and on to London.

Thank you Jennifer Glentworth for putting us in touch with Peter – Editor

Peter Elborn spent four months in Dar es Salaam in 1991 and visited frequently from 2000 to 2004 when he was the British Council Regional Director East and Central Africa, based in Nairobi. However, it was only after retirement that he was able to get to Kilwa.

by Ben Taylor

A new exhibition of traditional Tanzanian art in New York, titled Shangaa is receiving positive reviews from art lovers and critics. It is “sensational” according to the New York Times reviewer, Holland Cotter.
“As was true of most East African art, Tanzanian mate­rial was overlooked by 19th and 20th century collectors, who had their sights on other parts of the continent,” wrote Cotter. “And because so lit­tle art from Tanzania was in museums, the assumption grew that there was none worth having. One look at the tiny, disc-shaped Makonde mask that opens the show tells you otherwise.”

Many of the pieces are on loan from German museums, where Tanzanian art has been relatively well-known. Yet the show makes it clear that the colonial history that pro­duced the German familiarity with Tanzanian art was not a happy one. Depictions of slavery, and of the indiffer­ence of slave masters, are among the exhibition’s most striking sculptures.

Traditional medicine and witchcraft are another recurring theme. Many of the objects were originally intended for use in healing and divination practices.

Shangaa: Art of Tanzania, was on show for three months at the QCC Art Gallery of the City University of New York, under the curation of Gary Van Wyk, and for three months at the Portland Museum of Art. (Daily News)

by John Sankey

As the centenary of the 1914 -18 War is being commemorated, several items relating to the East African campaign have recently appeared at auctions.

The most interesting is the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and other medals awarded to Lieutenant Arthur Dudley RNVR, who commanded the gunboat Toutou during the famous Lake Tanganyika expedition. This led to the sinking of two German warships and was the inspiration for the film African Queen.

Dudley had qualified as a Second Mate in the Merchant Navy before enlisting in the Army and serving in the Boer War. He settled in Northern Rhodesia and in 1915 he was ‘head-hunted’ for the Lake Tanganyika expedition. Commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and ordered to report to Cape Town, he was given the task of organising the transportation of the gunboats HMS Mimi and HMS Toutou over several thousand miles to Lake Tanganyika. The train journey, to Elisabethville (Lubumbashi) in the Belgian Congo, was relatively easy; but the final 150 miles to the lake were on jungle tracks, with the boats hauled by steam tractors, ox-trains or human labour. Dudley was mentioned in despatches as it was ‘due to his exer­tions that the transport of the boats was successfully accomplished’.

Mimi and Toutou reached the lake in December 1915 and went into action immediately. The German vessel Kingani was captured and re-named HMS Fifi, and in February 1916 the British flotilla sank the Hedwig von Wissman. The captain of the German flagship Graf von Goetzen decided to scuttle his vessel at Kigoma to avoid possible capture.

The success of the Lake Tanganyika expedition made headlines in England and raised morale at a time when the War was going badly elsewhere. George V sent his personal congratulations, the command­ing officer (Commander Spicer-Simson) was awarded the DSO and his two lieutenants (Dudley and Wainwright) were awarded the DSC. After the War, Dudley returned to Northern Rhodesia and died in Lusaka in 1942. His medals fetched £10,000.

The second group of medals includes the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) awarded to Yeoman of Signals Daniel Greenshields, serving on HMS Severn. In July 1915 the Severn entered the Rufiji Delta and engaged the Konigsberg, her gunfire being directed by a spotter aircraft – one of the first examples of ground/air cooperation in naval history. The German cruiser was set ablaze and put out of action.

The Severn then sailed to Tanga and sank the German blockade runner Markgraf. On returning to the Rufiji, the Severn was ordered to destroy a German observation post left behind by the Konigsberg at Simba Uranga. Greenshields was a member of the landing party and had a narrow escape when the German signaller fired at him at point-blank range – and missed. He was awarded the DSC in July 1916. His medals were sold for £5,200.

The third group of medals was awarded to Rear-Admiral Hector Boyes CMG. Boyes was in command of the gunboat HMS Thistle when Dar es Salaam was captured in 1916 and then took part in a combined operation at Lindi with HMS Severn to destroy a German strongpoint equipped with a 4.1” gun salvaged from the Konigsberg. A shell from this gun hit the Thistle, killing one sailor and setting fire to the magazine, fortunately extinguished by the bravery of the crew. Shortly afterwards the landing party occupied the German position and captured the gun. Boyes was awarded the CMG for this action.

In July 1918 the Thistle took part in a combined operation at Quelimane (Portuguese East Africa, now Mozambique) which forced von Lettow– Vorbeck back over the Ruvuma. For this Boyes was awarded the Portuguese Military Order of St Aviz. His fifteen medals were sold for £5,000.

Finally, an unusual hand-painted china plate was auctioned, depicting a Zeppelin airship flying over the Pyramids and inscribed ‘Afrika Schiff L 59 1917’. This commemorates an ingenious plan by the Germans to beat the British blockade by sending supplies to von Lettow by air, a novel idea in 1917. The amount of cargo carried was relatively small, but the plan was to dismantle the airship on its arrival at Mahenge (south of Morogoro), so that the canvas, metal struts etc could be used by von Lettow’s troops. The propaganda value would also be immense. In the event, the airship was over Sudan when it was ordered to return to Germany, as von Lettow had been forced to withdraw from Mahenge and the airship might be captured. The plate fetched £260.

John Sankey (with thanks to Dix Noonan Webb and Wallis & Wallis)

1952 9 million
1967 12 million
1988 23 million
2012 45 million
2020 (estimate) 60 million

The recently released figures from the 2012 census are giving Tanzanians much food for thought. By comparison, the population of England and Wales in 2011 was 56 million.

President Kikwete has been talking about the importance of family planning. “It may not be seen as a problem, especially for a vast country like ours, but it is a big burden economically and socially,” he said.

Dr Joseph Mshafi, a medical advisor with Population Services International (PSI) Tanzania, agreed. He was quoted in the media as saying: “Tanzania has a lot of children. The population increase corre­sponds with an increase in the number of people of child-bearing age. These will soon reach the age of child bearing and we will have a mas­sive reproduction rate. With such a big population growth there will be a big impact on the economy.”

The 2012 census figures support his view showing that 46% of the population are under 15 years old, compared to 18% in the UK.

Thirty six people lost their lives on Good Friday when a 16 storey build­ing under construction in central Dar es Salaam collapsed. The residen­tial building was at the junction of Indira Gandhi and Morogoro roads and near to a mosque. Emergency personnel were quickly on the scene and rescued 18 people from the rubble. President Kikwete also visited the site and sent his condolences to the bereaved. Subsequently eleven people including Assistant Registrar with Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board, Albert Munuo, Raza Hussein Ladha (the building owner), the construction company’s owner, Ibrahim Kisoki and AQSRB Principal Enforcement Officer, Joseph Ringo were charged with 24 counts including manslaughter.

The Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Professor Anna Tibaijuka, ordered the NHC and its partner Ladha to immediately demolish a nearby tower which was also under construc­tion by the same firm Lucky Construction Limited. She also announced moves to audit all high rise buildings under construction, following reports that the developer of the tower had been given a permit for ten floors but was in fact planning to build nineteen.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has banned the Morogoro-based radio station Imaan FM and the Mwanza­ based Neema FM Radio for six months for broadcasting inflamma­tory statements that “violated the law and broadcasting ethics”. The Authority also fined Clouds FM Radio TShs 5 million for holding a dis­cussion that “promoted and supported homosexuality” in the country through its morning programme, Power Breakfast.

Tanzanian Affairs co-editor Donovan McGrath was invited to Buckingham Palace on 11 March to receive a Butler Trust Award from Princess Anne in recognition of his work with Radio Wanno, Wandsworth Prison’s community radio station. Together with fellow radio tutor Simon Sujeewon and project manager Kevin Field, Donovan runs a Radio Production course for inmates. This course is oversub­scribed and has the best attendance record of any course at the prison.

The prisoners learn how to use sophisticated audio editing software and develop their literacy and IT skills while writing scripts for radio programmes. Many have barriers to learning, such as dyslexia, language problems and learning difficulties, or are tackling addiction, but at the project they find friendship and support as well as learning new skills. Students have credited the programme with giving them ‘endless opportunities’ and changing their mindset.

Britain Tanzania Society’s veteran Vice-President Prof Esther Mwaikambo has been awarded the 2013 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Drum Major for Justice award at a ceremony in the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam. She is a Senior Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Hubert Kariuki Memorial University in Dar es Salaam and was the first Tanzanian female medical doctor. Her career spans over 40 years in public service and car­ries with it a longstanding concern on health issues, worker-patient rela­tionships, ethical conduct of health personnel, promotion of human rights in the delivery of the services and most importantly; a good clinical prac­tice. She has published more than 100 research papers in the areas of medi­cine and maternal care and has the dis­tinction of having founded and served as the Chairperson of the Medical Women Association of Tanzania from 1997 until 2006.