Kenyan Chief Justice defends Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union

By Athuman Mtulya
The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam. Tanzanians have been urged to use the opportunity of writing a new Constitution to iron out problems facing the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar for the agenda of East African Federation to make sense and materialise.

 

Addressing the fifth Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) in the city yesterday, the Chief Justice of Kenya, Dr Willy Mutunga, said it wouldn’t make sense to speak of federations or African unity if the first union in Africa which gave birth of Tanzania collapses.

 

“I urge my Tanzanian brothers and sisters to uphold the Union and you can do that by choosing a fair Union format that will take on board good politics for common benefits to all citizens,” he said.

Dr Mutunga, an alumnus of the university’s Faculty of Law (now School of Law), was presenting a paper on how “viruses” of the 1967 Arusha Declaration have impacted his life to this point.

 

He arrived at the UDSM for his bachelor studies in 1968, only 15 months after the adoption of the declaration.

 

“During that time, we used to debate a lot about the declaration regardless of our nationalities, and from it, I still hold up to this day that all human beings are equal and Africa is one,” said the Kenyan CJ. Dr Mutunga said, he drew a number of useful lessons from the declaration and he is still living them, as a true “Nyerereist.” The declaration was founded by Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere, who borrowed ideas and concepts from the Marxist school of thought.

 

“I was impressed on how the declaration talked about equality and social justice, something which is now expressed in our (Kenya) Constitution which I fought for it nearly four decades,” he said.

 

Dr Mutunga said he vied for the post of CJ of Kenya to ensure the foundation of social justice he learned from the Arusha Declaration was preserved his country’s justice corridors.

 

“We should now focus our attention on spreading the ‘viruses’ of Arusha Declaration to youths. The principles set by the declaration are of essence up to date,” he said.

 

In her vote of thanks, the director of Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Dr Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, said Justice Mutunga during initial stages of the formation of her centre.

 

Dr Mutunga was elected CJ in 2011. He did both his bachelor and master degrees in law at the UDSM.

 

Just two weeks ago he delivered historic ruling over presidential elections in Kenya, which upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in a petition filled in the Supreme Court by the first runner up in the March polls, Mr Raila Odinga, who contested results of the elections.

 

Source - Citizen