TANZANIA: FORMER PRESIDENT JULIUS NYERERE DIES

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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English/Nat Former Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, has died in the London hospital where he was receiving treatment for leukaemia. Nyerere died at 0730gmt on Wednesday at St. Thomas' Hospital where he had been receiving treatment since early September for the condition he had been diagnosed with in August 1998. Once described as a "symbol of African hopes, African dignity, and African successes" Nyerere was among the most respected and influential leaders in Africa. After 24 years in power, Nyerere voluntarily gave up the Tanzanian presidency in 1985 and built up a reputation as an elder statesman. One of Nyerere's last major diplomatic ventures was to try and mediate political and ethnic conflict in Tanzania's western neighbour, Burundi, where more than 200-thousand people had been slain since 1993. Although frustrated by the intransigency of all parties, Nyerere remained determined to end the conflict. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Who will decorate you for killing your own people in a civil war? Burundi has had enough, I believe both the Army and armed groups should now say: "We have killed enough people. Let's sit down and talk." SUPERCAPTION: Julius Nyerere, former Tanzanian President Nyerere was elected to the Tanzanian Legislative Assembly in 1958, becoming leader of the opposition. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 1st, 1961, his primary demand being independence, which was granted in December 1961. On January 22, 1962 he resigned as Prime Minister and bestowed the office on his own nominee, former Minister without Portfolio Rashidi Kawawa. A few months later Nyerere was elected president, and the Republic of Tanganyika was officially proclaimed on December 9, 1962 - the first anniversary of national independence. Two years later, Nyerere merged the former Sultanate of the Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba with Tanganyika and the following year became president of the United Republic of Tanzania. Nyerere's vision of Tanzania became clear in 1967 when TANU and Zanzibar's Afro-Shiranzi parties merged into the revolutionary party of Tanzania. A party conference formally adopted socialism as the country's ideology, but with an African twist. All rural development was centred on villages. Private banks and many industries were nationalized. Long after retirement, Nyerere conceded socialism was a failure, but he never apologized. Nyerere never shied away from unpopular causes when he believed he had a conviction. A supporter of liberation movements in southern Africa, Nyerere broke diplomatic ties with Britain in 1965 for its failure to stymie the unilateral declaration of independence in its colony, Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. In 1979 Nyerere defied the Organisation of African Unity and sent troops into Uganda. His excuse was that Amin had annexed the Kagera region in northwestern Tanzania in late 1978. Nyerere's aim was to rid Africa of dictator Idi Amin Dada and he succeeded. During the Cold War, Nyerere maintained good relations with both capitalist and socialist countries. Although he was harsh with his critics and detained some of them indefinitely without trial, Nyerere never acquired notoriety for human rights abuses. In a continent known for corrupt leaders who live lavishly off state coffers, Nyerere lived modestly and when he quit politics parliament had to hastily pass a law granting him a pension. Nyerere was among a handful of African presidents to voluntarily step down. He also foresaw the futility of single-party rule in Tanzania as the clamor for democracy swept the continent following the collapse of Communist rules in eastern Europe and Russia. A Roman Catholic, Nyerere was married and had eight children. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/14dde3a24fb60490cf3ee0fc64854fe6 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork