As I had pointed out in my past discourses, the vice national chairperson of CCM, Steven Wasirra, was a manpower misallocation, and he has not disappointed this assessment.
Since being elected to that position he has been blowing hot and cold. On one hand, he is urging for reconciliation and on the other he is pushing for dictatorial rule.
This article investigates who is the real Steven Wasira? Is he a reformist or a non-reformist?
During his acceptance speech no sooner he was elected to be the vice chairperson of CCM, Wasira pitched a tent for reconciliation.
He said reconciliation is a way forward and unavoidable: “…..Maridhiano hayakwepeki.” He didn’t elaborate why there was a need to reconcile! Reconciliation kicks in when one side or a number of sides have been afflicted and their tormentors seek forgiveness and are willing to forgive anyone for the injustices committed.
There must be forgiving victims and their repentant abusers for the two sides to see a need to set aside their differences, and seek a reconciliatory way forward.
Wasira was cagey about why there was a need for reconciliation.
An important step in reconciliation is that the trespasser must concede wrongdoing and that side must be remorseful.
Those two conditions are the foundational imperatives to set a stage for reconciliation. Wasira is yet to admit any wrongdoing so he is in no position to seek reconciliation.
He is not even regretful for past injustices now the quest for reconciliation is a mockery of justice.
Wasira seems irresponsible to seek something that he has not laid a basis for. No wonder now he has changed tunes. He is now saying CCM has no plans to cede power but he is not linking that aspiration to the will of the electorate.
He has not shown fidelity to the power of the ballot box. During his acceptance speech, he had outlined reasons for CCM to exist.
He said the only reason CCM exist is to grab power! He didn’t not allude that CCM was there to serve citizens but just to usurp power for the sake of it!
How can he reconcile two hostile positions? On one hand, he is enticing for entente, on the other hand, he is negating it.
Grabbing power means committing electoral injustices while drooling for reconciliation means backpedalling from the said injustices.
Wasira cannot have both ways. Either he is a respecter of the law or he is its felon in chief.
Can the two diametrically positions be reconciled? Such a reconciliation requires a huge dose of hypocrisy.
Wasira may want reconciliation based on those he has wronged to condone the abuses.
That way electoral injustices should be accepted as a way of life.
That way, according to Wasira CCM will rule forever! In order to achieve that, CCM must be a serial lawbreaker while her victims wilful condoners.
Wasira has also been advocating for colonial reasons to justify CCM’s heist of power. This is what he said, in his own words;
“……wanaosema CCM imekaa sana madarakani walikuwa wapi wakati tunadai uhuru?……CCM haina mpango wa kutoka madarakani!”
Wasira fails to grasp that CCM did not seek or secure independence on our behalf. We did it on our own. He may be nursing historical amnesia that he does not remember CCM which was born in 1977 cannot have been involved in seeking and securing independence in 1961.
At that time in history CCM was not even born and therefore as day follows night cannot claim to have anything to do with gaining independence.
Wasira may be grandstanding for CCM is a child of TANU and ASP. Therefore, he may be claiming TANU & ASP did it on behalf of CCM.
There are glaring backslashes with this kind of retrogressive reasoning.
First, Tanganyika was not a colony but a protectorate and therefore had no ground to fight for independence.
What we needed was to convince the UN that we were ready for self governance. Tanganyika never fought for it, so Wasira claiming CCM fought for independence amounted to making up facts. That is not our history, at all.
ASP independence was led by the Ugandan General Okello. It wasn’t an internal uprising, at all despite efforts to spin the facts. Only the Ugandan Okello can make that claim of “…mlikuwa wapi nilpokuwa ninawapigania uhuru?” ASP didn’t fight for it, and cannot with a clean conscience claim to own it.
The second scisssor is advocacy of militaristic conquests. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni always barricade himself with the same perforated shield: “……mlikuwa wapi wakati tulipokuwa msituni tunapigana?” It is a feeble effort to disown all citizens of their right to choose leaders based on performance.
The third maelstrom is to delink public accountability with whoever governs. What Wasira is pushing down our throats CCM is not accountable to the electorate but to her upended historical roots.
Wasira is repealing our own constitution by eliminating the citizens from determining the destiny of the country.
What he is saying the constitution was wrong because the citizens do not matter since Tanzania is a patrimonial entitlement of CCM!
Wasira may need to change the constitution to have his way or he is conducting himself like a rebel mercenary hell-bent to rewrite the constitution singlehandedly!
Wasira is yet to make a case to voters why we should keep electing CCM in order to continue the de-indigenization of our economy by handing it over to aliens accursing us into abject poverty and landlessness.
He needs to tell us why we should accept perpetual hopelessness under CCM reign.
He ought also to expiate himself of why CCM now is abandoning even a few success stories under her watch and now is preaching usurpation of the voters as a WMD to prolong her illegal stay in office.
As I have noted earlier, Wasira was a wrong pick and his few strides till now have confirmed that beyond reasonable doubt.
He is a polarizing figure who has long outlived his purpose.
Politics have moved beneath his tiny feet and he is still obliviously enslaved in his concocted past. Tapping on colonial distorted narratives to justify CCM stay in power is archaic and counterproductive.
The majority of the electorate no longer peek the relevance of independence struggles unless linked to our nowadays collective well-being.
Wasira ought to redirect his rhetoric in narrating to Tanzanians why CCM is within her comfort zone when the three enemies of poverty, diseases and ignorance are not eradicated.
However, chugging or rewriting the historical folklore not tied to our economic well being only excel in reminding us CCM has lost her mojo, probably forever.
If there is any kevorkian euthanasia CCM is scouring for will be sending her home, and archive her there forever.
She belongs in historical museum more than in a bully pulpit.
