Zipigwe Mahakamani

And now let’s rumble!

I had lovely week-end. Fights. Philippino Manny Pacquiano silenced a noisy British light welterweight, Ricky Hatton with a left hook in the second round in Las Vegas. Pacqiano simply switched off the lights for Ricky Hatton and that was it.

Then at home there was another fight – the shark versus the whale. After withstanding a withering attack from IPP boss, Reggie ‘the Whale’ Mengi, Igunga MP Rostam ‘the Shark’ Aziz went on a widely expected counter-attack.

He hit back by describing Mengi as a ‘corruption whale”. According to the shark, the whale has been very good at getting all those loans and not very good at paying them back.

But one would have thought that the whole idea of business is to get access to loans, do your gig, and repay the money. The whale’s legal reps were on Monday facing the media and swearing that the loans have been repaid.

According to the ‘Shark’, the ‘Whale’ played an active role in corrupt activities that contributed to bankruptcy of the National Bank of Commerce, which was owned by Tanzanians, and led to the its privatization at a throw–away price.

I hardly can re-call hearing a word of protest on the NBC scandal, from members of the CCM’s Central Committee at that time. This really opens the Pandora’s box.

The ‘Whale’ has brushed aside the ‘Shark’s allegations and told him to go to court: “I would like to give Rostam Aziz some free advice. He should go to court if he was wants to clear his name and defend himself against the corruption allegations leveled against him.”

Rostam has been adamant: “I’d like to make it clear that all the allegations against me are lies and rubbish.”

Lies and rubbish, eh? I think Rostam and other five business sharks should go to court. It seems like the Kagoda robbery was a pipe-dream. It never happened and the government can testify to that. EPA never happened, they say.

Curious thing – why was Rostam concentrating on damning down Mengi, instead of telling Tanzanians how squeaky clean he, the shark, is? Because the widely perceived conclusion is that the two fisadi fish, the shark and the whale, have been up to no good. Both are crooks. Allegedly! So why not go to the courts?

The Speaker of the Bunge Sam Six, has said that he doesn’t like the ‘Shark and the Whale show’, at all. That’s just too bad. But for the rest of us Tanzanians, who have seen our country being prostituted by financial pimps for the last three years, who would like to know – who is fooling whom?

This is a continuing match. Let the accused go to the courts and I am sure it will come out as to who is the real shark and who is the whale. The people of Tanzania will be the refs. It’s time to rumble now!