By Jerome Ogola
MAGUFULI is a tyrant, in the same league with Iddi Amin Dada, save for the fact that his appetite for stolen wealth, typical of such despots is at an all time low
In fact he abhors corruption. Graft is the hallmark all dictatorial regimes. What qualifies him to be a Jean Bedel Bokassa reincarnate, is his modus operandi
Is is either his way, or no way, at all
His absolutism is now spilling beyond Tanzania’s territorial frontiers, into neighbouring countries, like Kenya
We are yet to forgive him for incinerating some 6400 Kenyan hatched chicks, on transit to his country and here he is compelling Citizen TV, to publish an apology, at intervals of ten minutes for airing an article titled “ukaidi wa Magufuli” which basically criticized his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
We aren’t amused at all. Royal Media Services, the owners Citizen is a professional organisation and even if this legal trap escaped it’s editors attention, this kind of redress is too punitive, and will go a long way in muzzling the freedom of the press in the region
The only unprofessionalsm we see in them, is when they bring us, in prime time news, a wedding of neighbour of very distant relative of SK Macharia or that Inoro FM had a road show in Chogoria. How that qualifies to be news, is only taught in Royal Media School of Journalism
It is an established fact the public gatherings in this era of coronavirus is akin to a mass suicide and world over authorities are advising against such, but here is a defiant Magufuli advocating church gatherings and crusades to pray for the epidemic
This beats all known logic and I am sure even insiders in his government have advised him against it, only that the totalitarian in him will not accommodate any voice of reason
The surge in confirmed Tanzanian figures is an indictment of Magufuli’s pproach. In the last 24 hours, the country confirmed 53 new cases, bringing their tally to 147, meaning they are now officially playing in the same league with Kenya, in the East Africa’s corona super league
Kenya appears very vigorous and rigorous, in it’s handling of he epidemic, but we are yet to forget how reluctant the authorities were, in preventing it from landing in the country
They couldn’t prevent the planes from Europe and China from landing in Nairobi, for the same reason that a poor man cannot block any visitor from his home
The visitor could be carrying alms. The planes could be flying in, some kind of aid. With a begging bowl at hand, no one will ever be principled
In fact we are criticising the approach of Tanzanian because our own is too tattered to withstand any more patches!
