TANZANIA: RULING PARTY SACKS FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER FOR MISCONDUCT

By Osoro Nyawangah, Dar es Salaam. TANZANIA

Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has this Friday, February 28 expelled the former Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister and the party’s senior cadre, Bernard Membe, and stern warning to its former General Secretary, Abdulrahman Kinana.

File: Former Tanzania's Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister, Dr. Bernard Membe (R) shaking hands with the Chairman of ruling party (ccm) and President of Tanzania, John Magufuli (Courtesy)

The decisions were reached during the Central Committee’s meeting that among other things received and discussed a report submitted by its Ethics and Security committee.

The committee was ordered to summon and question the former Minister together with other former Secretary Generals of the party, Abdulrahman Kinana and Yusuph Makamba for an alleged misconduct indicating serious diversion from party ethics and traditions.

Reading the committee’s resolutions to journalists at the Dar es Salaam offices in the city, party’s Secretary of Ideology and Publicity, Humphrey Polepole, said the decision to strip Membe of his membership was reached after following the trend of his unethical political behaviour since 2014.

“He has been committing ethical violations since 2014 and received various warnings that intended to give him opportunity to change his behaviours something he has not. Therefore, the committee has resolved to strip off his party membership with immediate effect,” said Polepole.

He said the Central Committee has also given stern warning to Kinana shall be under close observation for the coming 18 months.

“During this period he is not allowed to vie for any position in the party, except that he is retains his right to vote,” Polepole said.

Regarding the other former Secretary General, Makamba, he said the party’s committee has collectively resolved to forgive him after displaying a high level of remorsefulness.

“During the whole investigation period, Makamba has been a gentlemen, obedient and humble to the party. Therefore, the CC has collectively resolved to forgive him,” said Polepole.

Former CCM Secretary General, Abdulrahman Kinana (L) and Membe building a water tank (Courtesy)

Membe appeared before the party’s Ethics Committee in Dodoma on February 7, where he was interrogated for five hours while Kinana and Makamba appered before the committee on February 10 this year at the CCM offices in Dar es Salaam.

He vied for presidential nominations within his party in the 2015 general election, He had shown the intention of challenging President John Magufuli in presidential nomination within CCM for this year’s general elections

Dr. Membe served as a national security analyst at the President's Office from 1978 to 1989. He thereafter attended Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. where he studied international relations from 1990 to 1992.

In 1992, he was assigned to serve as an Advisor of the Tanzanian High Commissioner in Ottawa, Canada, where he served until 2000.

In 2000, he was elected as a CCM Member of Parliament representing Mtama constituency in the general election. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2010.

The 4^th President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, appointed him as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs after the 2005 general election then appointed as Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals following a cabinet reshuffle in October 2006.

In January 2007, Dr. Membe was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation after his predecessor Asha-Rose Migiro was appointed as the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General by the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

He has also served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party since 2007; having been re-elected in 2012 at the 8th CCM Congress in Dodoma.