2013-08-13 Letter from a Tanzanian inmate in a Hong Kong prison
in Swahili and English (Comments welcome here)
President Kikwete's anti-narcotic campaign just for appearances
President
K is not serious about fighting the drugs trade and it corruption.
He is more intent on polishing his public image than curing the country's
"sickness".
I can only see one thing: he has continued with the same policies left by ex-president "Mkapa", who has left the country in the chaos of corruption
Besides that, I can't see what else he has done. So I think he probably just wants to do one thing: maintain his public image. President K's credibility and integrity have always been in doubt. He has never been serious and tough on any of his policies, from his first tenure to his second tenure, most of his policies have failed due to the fact that he always puts friends closer than the voters who had trusted him, and most of the time his friends have betrayed him and let him down
The drug trafficking trend is on the rise and is so severe and could threaten the country's stability. The government needs to take drastic measures to address the issue and also it needs radical implementation of counternarcotic policies
The Tanzania Drug Control Commission and all law enforcement agencies need to put more muscle into their enforcement as well as try to climb up the top rank of drug supply chain importers and suppliers - the "Drug Barons"
The law enforcement target should be "Big Fish" only, the importers, suppliers, distributors and big traffickers. Their fight should spare no one - whether a famous politician, a businessman or religious leader - they should act in an impartial manner.
I'm really skeptical if the government and law enforcement agencies really are prepared and want to fight and eliminate the drug trafficking problem in Tanzania. Anti-narcotic efforts are just for appearances and to fool the ordinary people
If President K really wants to fight the drug trade, why doesn't he dare to disclose the names of the top 100 Big traffickers which has been submitted by intelligence agencies?
Why doesn't he dare shed light publicly about the allegations that his own son "Ridhiwani" also is involved in the illicit trade?
I believe he's not prepared and has no political will to solve the drug trafficking problem in Tanzania. All he wants to do is apply some make-up. He does not want to fight the sickness
Our country needs able and tough people to meet the challenges that lie ahead
Our
government has for a long time been broken, and the question is how can we fix
it?
Is it possible to fix it? and what is our role in all this?
This can only be achieved by having clean government servants "the kind of Sokoine", this can only be achieved if all politicians will disclose their financial details and their family members' details before taking office
We all have the responsibility to take action against crook politicians. We all know the crooks. We have to put our final say in the ballot box. Don't vote for drug barons.
- name withheld - Tanzanian prisoner in Hong Kong, August 13, 2013