Freedom And Unity: Uhuru Na Umoja ; A Selection From Writings And Speeches 1952 65

by Julius Nyerere

Genres: Africa, Politics, Nonfiction

380 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1966

About the author

Born in Tanganyika to Nyerere Burito (1860–1942), Chief of the Zanaki,[1] Nyerere was known by the Swahili name Mwalimu or 'teacher', his profession prior to politics.[2] He was also referred to as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation).[3] Nyerere received his higher education at Makerere University in Kampala and the University of Edinburgh. On returning to Tanganyika he worked as a teacher. In 1954 he helped form the Tanganyika African National Union.

In 1961 Nyerere became the first Prime Minister of Tanganyika and following independence in 1962, the country's first President. In 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar and was then renamed as Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power and two years later he issued the Arusha Declaration, outlining his socialist concept of Ujamaa, which came to dominate his policies.

Nyerere retired in 1985 and was succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi but remained the chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. He died of leukaemia in London in 1999. In October 2009, Nyerere was named "World Hero of Social Justice" by the United Nations General Assembly.[4]

Reviews

[John Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of three books that collected Julius Nyerere's speeches and writings from 1982-1972. Tanzania gained its Independence in late 1961, so this book begins almost ten years prior to when Nyerere became the first leader of the country. It is interesting to read the work that Nyerere was doing to unite the people through TANU in the years prior to Uhuru,how he worked with the Colonial British government through the transition, and how he pushed for certain new ideas in the country in the first three years as an independent nation. The book ends soon after the Tanzanian Army Mutiny and the unification with Zanzibar to make Tanzania. It is worth reading all three books to get a sense of Tanzania's early development as a nation and the part Julius Nyerere played in leading the nation in the direction it took in these years. Nyerere's writing and speeches make for interesting reading, even now.

[MLAPONI OMARI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book