Amani na Utulivu?

Adieu peace and tranquility!

On the front pages of some paper last week I saw pictures of some young CCM toughs, called commandos, wearing ninja-like baraclavas and shades.

They are throwing their weight around in the Busanda constituency in Geita District in Mwanza. Forced to the ground was a Chadema supporter. Now we know pictures usually don’t lie. There is a nauseating lie about the much-parroted peace and tranquility in our country.

Now we know where the stolen billions are channeled to. Some guys are using the money to run illegal private armies.

If the CCM shows the example of an outright hiring of thugs to force people to love the party, then other parties will follow suit! Then we will need just a spark to have an explosion.

It’s clear that the young thugs are being used as cannon fodder by the politicians who usually have nothing to say. They are an incompetent lot, politically bankrupt and even have yet to master the art of lying decently to the people. Frankly they should just get out and stop boring the people of the United Republic of Tanzania.

On Thursday CCM rulers, led deputy Secretary-General, Braza George Mkuchika were roundly booed and heckled by angry constituents. This was after the people politely listened to a CCM MP, Anne Kilango. The MP is widely respected for her stand against grand corruption and jealously hated by her own enemies in the party who think she is gunning for cheap popularity.

Enter Braza George Mkuchika and the heckling started. Understandably so. I am afraid of the game of playing ‘ostrich’ is being overdone by the ruling party. It is now looking so brazenly crude, for a CCM politician to stand up and yell: “Long live CCM!” to a people who have been so traumatized by various disasters in the party and government.

Now, when faced with a collective ‘No” from the people the ruling party has started to play dirty. Now you can’t rule by bullying using thugs wearing balaclavas and shades. They are just a step away from carrying guns.

You also cannot rule by using battalions of FFU, who swear that they are impartial and their allegeance to the people of Bongo. But everybody knows that the majority of them are just uniformed CCM party zealots. Do you remember former Dar es Salaam police boss, Alfredo Tibaigana. Well, now he wants to be an MP on a CCM ticket in next year’s general election. Impartial, eh?

You wonder what the bullying is for. Power, I guess. Basically politicians love powe - which is understandable. But what if, once you achieve power, you fail to utilize that power? Then one could safely assume that most politicos in Bongo want power, not for the higher ideal, but to guarantee their 'eating'. Msosi!

The people concerned (voters) realize that you cannot deliver. What then? You resort to crude bullying. Hired thugs, euphemistically called Green Guards belonging to the mighty CCM are now reportedly running sway in Busanda.

We all know that those tactics have a limit. Sooner or later the people get used to strong-arm tactics. Then they will fight back. They fought back in Kenya, didn’t they? One thing CCM should know is that they cannot force the people of Tanzania to love them, even by brandishing clubs at them and beating them up!