Culture
In Tanzania, popular culture has a strong
foundation in society. Oral stories, fairy tales, myths,
sayings and riddles are important sources of human
history and they help to transfer knowledge between
generations. Music, dance and crafts are also important
cultural expressions.
Dance and music are important elements in everyday
life as well as at parties and solemn ceremonies. On the
mainland, drums of various kinds are often used. At
Zanzibar, tarab is played , a form of music
that originated in the meeting between Arabic and
African music and where rhythm, string and keyboard
instruments are used.
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Countryaah:
Latest population statistics of Tanzania, including religious profiles and major languages spoken as well as population growth rates in next three decades.
Tanzania is also known for handicraft in the form of
decorated utility items and jewelery. Wood sculptures,
originally derived from the Makonde people of southern
Tanzania and northern Mozambique, are popular tourist
souvenirs.
The poet Shaaban Robert (1909-1962) is usually
regarded as the foremost writer in Swahili. He dealt
with subjects such as nationalism and colonialism. His
verse novels are called Kufikirika and
Kusadikika, which are the names of fictional
countries. Haji Gora Haji (1933–) is a poet from
Zanzibar who also writes in Swahili.
Bible translator Aniceti Kitereza (1896-1981) wrote
an epic tale of three generations in her native
language, Chikwewe, and translated it herself into
Swahili before it was published. The novel has been
published in several European languages and has the
Swedish title Rainmaker's children.
The female publisher Elieshi Lema has written several
children's books as well as the noted love novel
Bränd jord, which has also been published in
Swedish.
 2019
December
Mass amnesty on National Day
December 9
On Tanzania National Day, President Magufuli orders about 5,500 prisoners to
be released from the country's overcrowded prisons. It is a way to reduce the
pressure on prisons where around 36,000 people are locked up before the current
mass aggression is implemented. Those released are interns convicted of petty
crimes, or prisoners who could not afford a defender or who were forced to face
a fine because they could not afford to pay the fine. Tanzania's National Day is
being held to mark the country's liberation from colonial rule.
Tanzania leaves African court
December 4th
Human rights organizations sharply criticize the Tanzanian government for
deciding to withdraw from the agreement that gives the African Court of Human
Rights the right to investigate the government. Of 70 judgments sent to
September 2019, 28 relate to Tanzania. However, to date, only eight countries
have ratified the agreement on which the court operates.
November
Local elections without opposition
November 24
The CCM government wins over 99 percent of the approximately 16,000 seats at
stake in local elections. Chadema and five smaller opposition parties boycott
the elections to protect their candidates who say they are scared after being
subjected to violence and harassment. In addition, many opposition candidates
have been disqualified by the authorities. Local representatives in city
councils and neighborhood councils have a great influence on daily life. For
example, an elderly person must have the approval of the local leader to get
free medication prescribed. In the 2014 local elections, Chadema ran for 15
percent of the seats. CCM received about 75 percent.
October
Child marriage for girls is prohibited
October 24th
The age limit for when girls get married is increased from 15 years to 18.
Already in 2016, the country's highest court ruled that child marriage for girls
was sex discrimination since the age limit for men was already 18 years. The
state appealed against the verdict but the appeal has now been rejected. Two out
of five Tanzanian girls get married before the age of 18, according to official
statistics.
Around 600 refugees are sent home to Burundi
October 3
Nearly 600 Burundian refugees are sent back to their homeland, Tanzanian
authorities say. According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, this group is
relocated on a voluntary basis. It represents the start of a comprehensive
repatriation of a total of about 184,000 burundians that will be ready by the
end of the year. The Tanzanian government has said that the refugees who left
Burundi because of political violence should be sent home, voluntarily or by
force. UNHCR has helped bring back nearly 75,000 Burundian refugees since
September 2017, in accordance with an agreement between Tanzania and Burundi.
The UN agency estimates that around 225,000 Burundian refugees are still living
in three camps in Tanzania.
July
Regime-critical journalist is arrested
July 30
Journalist Erick Kabendera, an outspoken critic of President Magufuli and his
government, is arrested in his home in Dar es Salaam. According to his wife,
Kabendera is taken away in a vehicle by six men who claim to be police but
refuse to show their police badges. The journalist has disappeared for almost a
day before police hear and says that Kabendera is being questioned about his
citizenship. According to press freedom organizations, the arrest of Kabendera
follows a pattern of harassment against media workers that has been going on
since Magufuli came to power in 2015. Kabendera has previously told of how he
was persecuted and harassed by the police and that his mother was arrested by
the police at one point and interrogated for ten hours. citizenship.
March
The Chema conductor free to the castle
March 7
Freeman Mbowe, leader of the opposition party Chadema, is being released on
bail after sitting in police custody for over three months. Party colleague
Esther Matiko, who was arrested at the same time, is also released. The two
opposition politicians were arrested for failing to appear at court hearings
after being accused of participating in an illegal demonstration in February
2018.
Lowassa returns to CCM
March 5th
Chadas presidential candidate in the 2015 election, Edward Lowassa, leaves
the party and returns to CCM where he was previously a high ranking member. He
has also been Prime Minister of a CCM government. Lowassa and his son-in-law are
subject to financial crime investigations, which assessors say may be CCM's way
of getting Lowassa to re-enter CCM.
February
The leader of Chadma's women's union is arrested
February 24th
Halima Mdee, chair of the Chadama Women's Association, has been arrested for
"stirring up" speech, according to her party colleagues. Mdee, who is a lawyer
and MP, is arrested in Dar es Salaam, where she held a party meeting. Mdee is an
outspoken critic of President Magufuli and was arrested several times in 2018
accused of defaming the president. She was released the following day against
the bail. Chadas chairman Freeman Mbowe is in custody, as well as Esther Matiko,
MP for Chadema, after being arrested for court-martial (see November
2018).
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