Arusha
—  City  —
Central Arusha with Mount Meru in the background
Location of Arusha City in Arusha Region
Arusha Location of Arusha City in Arusha Region
Coordinates: 3°22′S 36°41′E / 3.367°S 36.683°E / -3.367; 36.683
Country	Tanzania
Region	Arusha Region
District	Arusha District
Incorporated Town	1948
Incorporated City	July 2010
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Mayor
Population (2002)
• Arusha District	281,608
• Density	93/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
• Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Area code(s)	027

This article refers to the city of Arusha. For other uses, see Arusha (disambiguation).

Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District (2002 census). Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks. Situated below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, it has a mild climate and is close to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as having its own Arusha National Park on Mount Meru.

Arusha is a major international diplomatic hub. The city hosts and is regarded^[who?] as the de facto capital of the East African Community. Since 1994, the city has also hosted the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. It is a multicultural city with a majority African population, large Arab and Indian minorities, and many European and American ex-pats, engaged in diplomatic affairs and the fast-growing local tourist industry. Religions and denominations of Arusha's population are Catholic, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu.

History[link]

Arusha clock tower area, 1953.

The town was founded by German colonialists when the territory was part of German East Africa in 1900. A garrison town, it was named after the local tribe Wa-Arusha, who are known as Larusa by the Maasai.

The German military fortress, called a "Boma", armed with a mounted Maxim machine gun, was completed in 1901. The first commander was First Lieutenant Georg Kuster - derogatorily referred to in Swahili as "Bwana Fisi" meaning "Mr. Hyena". After 1903 Arusha quickly developed into a significant trading and administrative centre, with about two dozen Indian and Arab shops clustered along what is today Boma Road.^[1]

In 1904 the German Imperial authorities established a European colony here with the sponsored settlement of Boer refugee families, mostly of German descent, in the aftermath of South Africa's divisive Anglo-Boer War. The Germans arranged for the Boers to be taken by boat to Tanga, from where they travelled to Arusha by ox-wagon. When the oxen all succumbed to tsetse-borne disease, the Germans provided the Boers with teams of (forced) local labourers. In August 1905 they reached the Arusha district and met the Pieter Joubert trek, which had just arrived. For their immediate sojourn they set up camp on the farm of Mr. Nelie von Landsberg.^[1]

After 1906 the government sponsored German peasants to develop small-holdings at Leganga on southeastern Meru between Usa River and Maji ya Chai. Several Evangelical Lutheran settlers had already become established west of Arusha town when the government decided to settle German refugees from southern Russia. Forty people were recruited at a cost of 7000 marks each, and each family was given fifty hectares to grow wheat, maize, and vegetables.^[2]

In 1907 Margaret Trappe - great-grandmother of Ohio industrialist Kenyon Painter - made her home in German East Africa. An accomplished horse woman she was the first female professional hunter ever listed. The Trappe family built their home on the slopes of Mount Meru with their farm “Momella” eventually becoming part of Arusha National Park. Kenyon Painter later became one of the town's most significant investors, having invested over a million dollars in the area. He built Arusha's first post office, church and other landmarks.^[1]

In March 1916 the British occupied Arusha. The British expelled the German settlers, reallocated the German estates to British settlers and alienated vast new tracts themselves.

In the 1960s parts of the movie Hatari! with John Wayne were filmed at Momella.

Princess Margaret visited Arusha in 1956. Official documents ceding independence to Tanganyika were signed by the United Kingdom at Arusha in 1961. The Arusha Declarations for Self Reliance in Tanzania were signed in 1967 in Arusha.

The Arusha Accords were signed at Arusha on August 4, 1993, by representatives of competing factions in the Rwandan civil war.

Uhuru Monument in Arusha

In 1994 the UN Security Council decided by its Resolution 955 of 8 November 1994 that Arusha should host the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The establishment of the tribunal with its employees has influenced the local economy of Arusha. The tribunal is about to downsize due to its closure in 2014, but its legal successor, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1966, will continue entertaining a branch in Arusha, opening on 1 July 2012.

Arusha officially became a city on 1 July 2006.^[3]

Industry and economy[link]

The primary industry of the region is agriculture, with large vegetable and flower producers sending high-quality produce to Europe. Small-scale agriculture was badly hit by the coffee crisis of recent years and is now largely subsistence farming. Arusha has several factories including a brewery, tyre and fibreboard plant, and a large pharmaceuticals maker.

The region around Arusha is the sole source of a gem-quality mineral called Tanzanite, currently produced in large quantities by corporate mining concerns.

Tourism is also a major contributor to the economy in Arusha, being the second largest contributor of income in Tanzania. Given the town's location near some of the most popular national parks and game reserves in Africa including Selous National Park (one of the largest national parks in the world), Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area among others, Arusha has become a popular staging point for tourists visiting Tanzania and East Africa for photo safaris and hiking treks to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Many documentary and feature-length films have been set in and around Arusha, including the 1962 Howard Hawks film Hatari with John Wayne.

Arusha is home to the offices of the East African Community, and plays host to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, all of which contributes to the local economy.

The famous Arusha International Conference Center, host to many international meetings, is located here.

Districts[link]

Bishop's Cathedral of Arusha.

Arusha Clock Tower.

Among Arusha's notable districts are the Central Business Area, located by the Clocktower, Sekei in the North-West which is largely residential with a vibrant nightlife, Njiro, a posh rapidly-growing suburb in the South, and Tengeru, a lively market-town in the East.

North of Arusha is a district called Karatu, Ngorongoro, Monduli, Arumeru and Longido. It is about 90 minutes north of Arusha by daladala along the Arusha-Nairobi Road. Robanda Safari Camp is one of the favorite Safari Camp. Robanda Safari Camp is located just outside Serengeti Ikoma Gate. This location was carefully chosen so as to be right in the path of the wildebeest migration. The best time to witness this spectacular migration is from May to August and from October to December. There is a high animal concentration year round though, with big herds of wildebeest and zebra, elephant and giraffe. Other animal species include lion, hyena, gazelle, topi, and buffalo.

Arusha's clock tower 03°22′20.5″S 036°41′40.1″E / 3.372361°S 36.694472°E / -3.372361; 36.694472 (Arusha Clocktower) is popularly supposed to be situated at the midpoint between Cairo and Cape Town, therefore representing the halfway point between the two termini of the old British Empire in Africa. However, the actual great circle midpoint between these two cities lies in central Congo. The clock tower is currently adorned by the logo of the Coca-Cola Company.

Transport[link]

Arusha is mostly served by Kilimanjaro International Airport for international travellers, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) east, approximately halfway to Moshi. The airport provides international and domestic flights. Arusha Airport is a smaller domestic airport in the west of the city, currently undergoing expansion. It serves more than 87,000 passengers yearly, amazingly for its size. It is surrounded by hills to the north and east; the local habitat is a mix of savanna woodlands, agriculture and remnant forest. There are no passenger train services to or from Arusha, but there are regular coaches (buses) to Nairobi, Dodoma and Dar Es Salaam, plus other local towns.

Culture[link]

Arusha has moderate weather, a location near scenic countryside and a lively music scene. Tanzanian hip-hop is currently popular with the youth market. It is mostly performed in Swahili, with various genres influenced by African American music, locally known as Bongo Flava. Some examples of this genre are the band, X Plastaz, singers Nakaaya, Nako 2 Nako, Watengwa and Waturutumbi.

Arusha hosts many of Tanzania's festivals, and the yearly festival is hosted by a few Tanzanian corporate sponsors that attract various artists from around the world. Artists like Shaggy and Ja Rule have performed in Arusha.

Arusha also hosts the annual Arusha Nane Nane Agricultural show. Nane Nane is one of the many vibrant public holidays in Tanzania, held on August 8 (the 8th of the 8th month, nane nane means "eight eight" in Swahili). Farmers and other stakeholders exchange knowledge and business. It attracts up to a half million people every year.

Arusha is also known for its vibrant night life, with popular local night clubs like the Velocity, Colobus Club and the Blue Triple 'A'.

The National Natural History Museum is located in Arusha at the Old German Boma. The museum is small and contains three exhibits on early man, plants and animals of the Arusha region, and culture history of the colonial period of Arusha.^[4]

Education[link]

There are four international schools in and around Arusha: International School Moshi (Arusha Campus), Arusha International school, Braeburn School, and St Constantine's International School.

The School of St Jude provides free education to children from the poorest families.

International School Moshi was founded in 1969 and now has 460 students from 46 nationalities on two campuses in Moshi and Arusha. The Arusha campus was established in 1986 and now has 200 day students, and offers courses from pre-kindergarten to grade 10. Grades K-10 follow the International Baccalaureate Primary years programme (PYP) and Middle Years programme (MYP) curriculum with an African and international perspective. It has been an IB World school since 2007.^[5]

Also there is several higher learning Institutions including National College of Tourism - Arusha Campus, Arusha Technical college, Tengeru Institute of community Development, The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute, MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS-TCDC), The Institute of Accountancy Arusha, Forestry Training Institute, Olmotonyi, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Makumira University College, The Arusha University and The Mount Meru University. Whereas plan for Aga Khan University-Arusha Campus is in the initial stages.

Geography and climate[link]

Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha's elevation of 1,400 m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures relatively low and alleviates humidity. Cool dry air is prevalent for much of the year. The temperature ranges between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles east. Almost within the entire city; if you go north you will be going up hill, and going south is always down hill.

Sports[link]

Arusha is Tanzania's rugby home with the national team playing its international matches there. Joshua Pieterson who played for the national team was the second youngest international rugby player ever behind Johnny Wilkinson. Southern Pool A of the 2007 Castel Beer Trophy was hosted here as well.

Arusha FC, playing in Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium, represents the city in Tanzanian league football.

The Mount Meru Marathon was held from 1985 to 2004 in Arusha.^[7] The "all-comers" record for the fastest marathon performance in Tanzania, 2:13:46, was set at the event by former long-distance runner Benedict Ako on August 1, 1993.^[8]

On May 21, 2011, the Drake University Bulldogs beat the CONADEIP All-Stars 17-7 in the first ever American Football Game in Tanzania.

In popular culture[link]

Arusha was the setting for the 1962 film Hatari! directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. In the video game Halo 3, a highway sign is seen that says "Arusha", though it is crossed out, suggesting that the city was destroyed by the Covenant or the Flood.

Sister cities[link]

• Durham, North Carolina, USA
• Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• Mürzzuschlag, Austria
• Tifariti, Western Sahara

See also[link]

• Arusha Accords
• Arusha Cultural Heritage Centre
• Arusha Declaration
• Arusha National Park
• Arusha Region
• Lake Manyara
• Longido
• Mount Meru (Tanzania)
• Selian
• Tanzania
• Tarangire National Park
• United Nations Security Council resolution

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arusha

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arusha

• The Arusha Times
• The University of Arusha
• Arusha Volunteers-affordable volunteer opportunities in Tanzania
• Mount Meru University
• Makumira University College
• Institute of Accountancy Arusha
• Arusha Technical College
• The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology
• Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute
• Forestry Training Insitute Olmotonyi (FTI)
• MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS-TCDC)
• Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute
• National College of Tourism - Arusha Campus
• Arusha NGO Network
• Website of the Arusha Times
• AroundArusha.com
• International School Moshi (Arusha Campus)
• The Umoja Centre
• Kisongo Academic college
• No Limits Foundation
• St. Constantine's international school
• School of St Jude
• Mambo Arusha
• David Marsh's Childhood Map of European Area of Arusha, ca. 1956
• MSN Map - elevation = 1254m
• Penn Museum Archival Video

Coordinates: 03°22′S 36°41′E / 3.367°S 36.683°E / -3.367; 36.683

His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete
4th President of Tanzania
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 December 2005
Prime Minister	Edward Lowassa (2005-2008) Mizengo Pinda
Vice President	Ali Mohamed Shein (2005-2010) Mohamed Gharib Bilal
Preceded by	Benjamin Mkapa
Chairperson of the African Union
In office 31 January 2008 – 2 February 2009
Preceded by	John Kufuor
Succeeded by	Muammar al-Gaddafi
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
In office December 1995 – 21 December 2005
President	Benjamin Mkapa
Succeeded by	Asha-Rose Migiro
Minister of Finance
In office 1994–1995
President	Ali Hassan Mwinyi
Preceded by	Steven Kabona
Succeeded by	Simon Mbilinyi
Personal details
Born	Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (1950-10-07) 7 October 1950 (age 61) Msoga, Bagamoyo, Tanganyika Territory
Nationality	Tanzanian
Political party	CCM
Spouse(s)	Salma Kikwete
Children	Ridhiwani Kikwete
Residence	State House (Ikulu), Dar es Salaam
Alma mater	University of Dar es Salaam (B.A.)
Religion	Islam
Website	Kikwete 2010

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born October 7, 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who has been the 4th President of Tanzania since December 2005. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005. Kikwete was also the Chairperson of the African Union from 31 January 2008 to 2 February 2009.

Leadership and political career[link]

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)

George W. Bush welcomes Jakaya Kikwete in New York City.

Kikwete was born at Msoga, located in the Bagamoyo District of Tanganyika, in 1950. Graduating with a degree in economics in 1975, he opted for a low-paying job as an executive functionary/officer of the ruling Party (TANU later CCM). This gave him the opportunity to work at the grassroots in rural regions and districts of Tanzania.

Kikwete sharpened his leadership acumen in the military. He first had basic military training at Ruvu National Service Camp (1972) and later underwent a basic officers course at the famous Tanzania Military Academy at Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania's top military training institution. On successful completion of the course, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1976. He also undertook the Company Commander's Course in 1983 at the same academy. In his military career, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. From 1984 to 1986, Kikwete was Chief Political Instructor and Political Commissar at the Military Academy. He retired from the military as a lieutenant-colonel when political pluralism was reintroduced to Tanzania in 1992 when he chose to become a full time politician. Prior to that, he was permitted to be both in the military and political leadership.

In party politics, Kikwete started shining in 1982, when he was overwhelmingly elected by the party (CCM) national congress to be a Member of the National Executive Committee, the highest policy and decision-making body of the party. He has been re-elected every five years since. Also, in 1997, he was elected a member of the party's powerful 31-member Central Committee (CC). He is still a member of the Central Committee since he was reelected in 2002 for another term of 5 years.

As a party cadre, Kikwete moved from one position to another in the party ranks and from one location to another in the service of the party. When TANU and the Zanzibar’s Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) merged to form CCM in 1977, Kikwete was moved to Zanzibar and assigned the task of setting-up the new party’s organisation and administration in the Islands. In 1980, he was moved to the headquarters as administrator of the Dar es Salaam Head Office and Head of the Defence and Security Department before moving again up-country to the regional and district party offices in Tabora Region (1981–84) and Nachingwea (1986–88) and Masasi District (1988) in the country's southern regions of Lindi and Mtwara respectively. Kikwete throve in the military and grassroots party political organisation, mobilisation and administration until 1988 when he was appointed to join the Central Government. President Ally Hassan Mwinyi appointed him Member of Parliament and, simultaneously, Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals on November 7, 1988. In 1990, he was promoted to full Minister responsible for the Ministry of Water, Energy and Minerals. Later the same year, he successfully contested for a parliamentary seat in his home constituency of Bagamoyo. He was reappointed Minister for Water, Energy and Minerals in the government formed after the elections.

In 1994, at 44, he became one of the youngest Finance Ministers in the history of Tanzania. At the Treasury, he established discipline in public finance management and accountability and, until today, he is still remembered for establishing cash budget system and revamping of revenue collection structures, methods and institutions, including preparations for the formation and eventual establishment of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

In December 1995, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, being appointed by President Benjamin William Mkapaa of the third phase government. He held this post for ten years, until he was elected President of the United Republic of Tanzania in December 2005, hence becoming the country's longest serving foreign minister. During his tenure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanzania played a significant role in bringing about peace in the Great Lakes region, particularly in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kikwete was also deeply involved in the process of rebuilding regional integration in East Africa. Specifically, several times, he was involved in a delicate process of establishing a Customs Union between the three countries of the East African Community (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), where, for quite some time, he was a Chairman of East Africa Community’s Council of Ministers.

Introducing candidate Kikwete at a campaign rally in Dar es Salaam on 21 August 2005, President Mkapa described him as a super-diplomat, in recognition of his role in the search for peace in neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kikwete also participated in the initiation, and became a Co-Chair, of the Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy. On May 4, 2005, Kikwete emerged victorious among 11 CCM members who had sought the party's nomination for Presidential candidacy in the general election. After a 14 December 2005 multiparty general election, he was declared a winner by the Electoral Commission on December 17, 2005 and was sworn-in as the Fourth President of the United Republic of Tanzania on 21 December 2005.

President Kikwete's governing philosophy and political views are influenced by those of Julius Nyerere whom the President was close to. So far Kikwete's government has received accolades across the country and in the donor community for fighting corruption, investing in people, particularly in education, and push for new investments.

However, President Kikwete's Government has proved failure in dealing with many issues affecting the people; he is now facing mass protests and demonstrations amid the price rise of the major commodities in the country together with the power shortage problem. The use of force to intimidate people has become the means of preventing protest in the country. In Arusha region at least two people were killed when the main opposition party's followers went to the streets to boycott the mayoral election that kept in power the candidate from the ruling party. It blamed the ruling party for violating the electoral rules.

Corruption and other controversies[link]

Kikwete's presidency has been marked with wide range of corruption, some of which happened during the presidencies of his predecessors. Some of his supporters claim that to be a sign of transparency that was brought in by Mr Kikwete. Other cases, like deaths, have also been brought up such as Tanzanian police killing people on Tanzanian streets and getting away with it. Some of the leading known corruption scandals are:

Also, President Kikwete has been blamed for choosing his friends to the cabinet, a result of which he has no power to condemn them for their irresponsibility. The example of two consecutive bomb blasts at Mbagala and Gongo la Mboto arm base respectively in 2009 and 2011 where General Mwamunyange as well as the defense minister, Mwinyi, were in charge, but they insisted that it was not their fault for the blast and denied to brief the country about the reason for the blasts. The President himself kept praising to the two officials that they are working to secure a country something that raised anger among the victims of blasts.

Although in the past two years of Kikwete's presidency, a remarkable 1,500 new secondary schools have been built and a new 40,000-student science university has started being built in Dodoma, central Tanzania, the quality of these new schools are very poor, (no teachers, no desks, etc.), and there is still a lot that needs to be done. But these successes have led the United States government to grant Tanzania US $698 million under the Millennium Challenge Account assistance program, the UK government US $500 million for education, and the New York based Africa-America Institute (AAI) to award Tanzania the Africa National Achievement Award in September 2007 in New York.

President Kikwete launched a national campaign for voluntary HIV/AIDS testing in Dar es Salaam. He and his wife Mama Salma Kikwete were the first to be tested.^[6]

He was elected as Chairman of the African Union on January 31, 2008 at an AU summit in Addis Ababa.^[7] His first notable success as AU Chairman was to help bring a two month political crisis in Kenya to an end by brokering a power-sharing deal between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. He was also one of the first to criticise Robert Mugabe's regime at the most recent summit.

Honours[link]

See also[link]

• Tanzanian elections, 2005
• Tanzania People's Defence Force
• Tanzania
• Zanzibar
• History of Tanzania
• Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jakaya Kikwete

• Government of Tanzania
• Ippmedia Interview with Col Kikwete
• BBC Profile
• Jakaya Kikwete Swearing-In Ceremony

v t e Presidents of Tanzania Julius Nyerere Ali Hassan Mwinyi Benjamin Mkapa Jakaya Kikwete