10 Years Anniversary of the Death of The Late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere

Nyerere was born on April 13^th 1922 in Butiama in the North- Western part of Tanganyika and died at Saint Thomas Hospital in London on October 13, 1999 where he was recovered . Butiama lies along the Eastern shores of Lake Victoria. Reports indicate that his father was a Chief of the small Zanaki tribe. The young Nyerere obtained his primary school education in Musoma, some 26 miles from his home. After successful completion of his primary school education, he joined the Tabora Government Secondary School, where he got his teaching from Roman Catholic teachers. His secondary school teachers must have made quite an impression on the young Nyerere because not only did he become a staunch Catholic, but also chose to train as a teacher when he later joined the prestigious Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. After obtaining his teaching cerificate from Makerere, he came back to Tanganyika where he taught for a few years, before securing a government scholarship to pursue an M.A. in History and Political Economy at the University of Edinburgh. This made him the first Tanzanian to study at a British University abroad. It was during his studies at Edinburgh that Nyerere became politically active.
On his return to Tanganyika, Nyerere became more of a politician than a teacher and in 1954, established a political party TANU(The Tanganyika African National Union), with himself as President. In 1958, he became a member of the Legislative Council(LEGCO) and in 1961, when Tanganyika was granted internal self-government by the British, he ascended to the position of Prime Minister. Tanganyika gained full independence in December 1961, paving the way for Nyerere to become President in 1962. In 1964, Nyerere convinced leaders of the neighbouring Island of Zanzibar to join him in forming a unified government. The result was the creation of the Republic of Tanzania. The highlight of Nyerere's Presidency came in 1967 when he introduced the socialist Ujamaa system. Needless to say, this move alienated him from the U.S, the British and other Western Capitalist countries while at the same time endearing him to China and the then Soviet Union.
Nyerere is remembered for all these things and will always be remembered not only in Africa but also in the whole world.