Butiku dares Mkapa once again
mcha...@googlemail.com
DAMAS MWITA
Dar es Salaam
ONE of the closest aides of the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Joseph
Butiku, yesterday reiterated his criticism of former president
Benjamin Mkapa's private business dealings at State House and once
again publicly challenged the retired leader to stand up and be
counted.
Speaking at a news conference in Dar es Salaam, Butiku declared that
Nyerere had literally ''carried Mkapa on his back'' and campaigned
countrywide for his presidency in 1995 believing that he (Mkapa) was
the so-called 'Mr Clean' of Tanzania's politics.
According to Butiku, Mwalimu went out of his way to secure Mkapa's
presidential nomination in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and
thereafter vigorously campaigned for him in the country's first multi-
party elections.
Contrary to Mwalimu's belief, Mkapa now seems to have betrayed the
legacy of the Father of the Nation, by conducting private business
activities while at State House, he said.
''The late Mwalimu was obliged to carry Mkapa on his back and went
around with him across the country to ask Tanzanians to vote him in
office. This showed the level of trust Mwalimu had in him,'' said
Butiku, who served as Nyerere's personal secretary at State House and
later as regional commissioner.
He told reporters that Mkapa's continued silence against the backdrop
of mounting allegations of corruption and abuse of office facing him
was bewildering.
''Silence sometimes means acceptance. But if Mkapa is really innocent
of these allegations and wants to clear his name, he must break his
silence now,'' said Butiku, who is now executive director of the
Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation.
He said the allegations of a sitting president and his spouse and
children registering a company then engaging in private business
dealings for personal financial gain was a very serious matter.
Butiku said since Mkapa stands accused of abusing State House to run
his own private business affairs, he should come out in the open and
clear his name.
Speaking generally about the state of corruption in Tanzania, Butiku
noted that there was a growing problem of declining public leadership
ethics.
He said many leaders had today lost credibility and moral authority to
lead the fight against corruption because they were themselves not
beyond suspicion.
''The problem of corruption in Tanzania is now like a chronic terminal
illness that is slowly eroding the moral fibre of society,'' he said.
He added: ''People have no self control anymore ... Even some members
of the public are now actually demanding bribes from those who aspire
for leadership posts as a condition for voting them in office.''