I HAVE a binding policy of not commending politicians when they do well given the unpredictable nature of some, or should I say most of them? The outgoing Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe’s demeanour soon after the announcement of the outfit’s intraparty election results last Wednesday, compelled me to amend this code.

The gruesome electoral process that pitted him against his then deputy Tundu Lissu would have drained energy out of a 30-year-old man. At 60-plus, Mbowe came out calm, composed, articulate and even wise. 

Those who have contested anything serious with Lissu in a free and transparent manner will tell you that it is never a walk in the park. The man can put up a fight that forces his opponents to burn midnight oil, spend some sleepless nights, hence visible exhaustion.

One is safe to say that he fantastically lived up to his first name Freeman: no visible signs of grudges, no that sad look election losers normally wear and last but not least, no frown. Wow!

Split, weak Chadema

It should be recalled that when the campaign reached fever pitch, the talk on the streets was that this election would culminate in rejection of results, defections and finally end of Chadema as the biggest opposition party in the country. This eventuality was bound to materialise whether Mbowe won or lost and one man to blame for it was none other than Freeman Mbowe for his confident decision to seek re-election for a position he held for 20 or so years. 

His brief speech shocked naysayers and prophets of doom. First, he was very quick to concede defeat and congratulate Lissu. Only mature and wise politicians do this kind of thing in this part of the world. 

Second, Mbowe said that the polls took the party through uncharted waters, leaving it badly wounded hence an urgent need for reconciliation and healing. If he won, he would have started with that, he said, looking Lissu in the eye, for emphasis I presume. Anecdotally declaring himself ‘the father of Chadema’, Mbowe ‘directed’ that this should be a priority for the new leadership.

Pragmatism vs hard-line

Freeman Aikaeli Mbowe comes across as a good student of Chinese statesman Deng Xiaoping who once said: “It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.” This is a classical definition of pragmatism. 

Mbowe proved this in the lead up to 2015 pols when he warmly welcomed then CCM heavyweight the late Edward Lowassa who sought refuge there after being controversially eliminated from his party’s presidential candidate nomination race.  Mbowe’s move was strongly opposed within Chadema, loudly so by then secretary general Dr Willibrod Slaa. But strong cat Lowassa did catch the mice. For the first time, the number of Chadema’s elected MPs jumped from 23 in the 2010 polls to 70, qualifying as official opposition camp in the National Assembly. Its candidate Lowassa also garnered the unprecedented number of votes: 6,072,848 vs John Magufuli’s 8,882,935. In the 2010 polls, Chadema candidate Dr Wilbrod Slaa received 2,271,491 votes against Jakaya Kikwete’s 5,276,827.        

Tundu Antipas Lissu is one of the brightest people in this country; you can’t take that away from him. But as a politician, he comes across as combative hardliner. Lissu hails from Singida region and his deputy John Heche is my homeboy from Mara but when it comes to politics, the two are cut from the same cloth. Their difference is the same. 

Diplomacy, negotiation skills

After taking over following the demise of her predecessor John Magufuli, President Samia Suluhu Hassan sought to right some wrongs of her departed boss through recondition with the opposition. Both Mbowe and Lissu had things they wanted to be sorted out. In September 2017, during a parliamentary session break, Lissu, whilst in his car, was shot 16 times and seriously injured by unknown assailants in the parking lot of his parliamentary residence in Area D, Dodoma. He was later removed from his parliamentary seat whilst receiving medical treatment in Belgium. On the other hand, Mbowe lost businesses and cash. He was accused of financing acts of terrorism in the Economic Sabotage Case Number 16 of 2021 and spent quite some time at Segerea Remand Prison.

While Mbowe accepted the olive branch extended by the president, Lissu saw some sinister and took it with a pinch of salt. He later accused Mbowe of a serious malpractice. In his words, he said Mbowe amelamba asali. In plain Kiswahili, kulamba asali simply means eating honey. But it was Mbowe who told us that the new idiom means being bribed. In one of his interviews, he said he is not easy to bribe because he found wealth in his family the day he was born.

Successful leaders must be good at horse-trading and behind-the-scenes negotiations. In the negotiation process, details are tightly kept under wraps. In the lead up to the election, we did not know that some religious leaders had secretly called Lissu and sought to reconcile him with Mbowe. Lissu told us!  

Hidden secret to victory

People who truly love Lissu must remind him that he got a certain support that he did not have before. After declaring his intention to vie for the seat, some CCM bigwigs started commenting in support of Mbowe. This led to a strong impression that Mbowe candidature was a ruling party’s project. Therefore, Lissu got votes of those who genuinely love him is as well as those who do not like CCM and the establishment.  

Throwing uppercuts after the fight

In the combat sport of boxing, it is considered a foul and illegal to hit an opponent who is already on the floor. Yet, Lissu’s lieutenants led by Godbless Lema were busy throwing verbal punches only a day after their “historic election and golden standard.” This defies Mbowe’s call for reconciliation and healing.

Lost election, not influence

Given the margin of victory, difference of 31 votes, keen and honest observers will tell you that Mbowe only lost the election but not influence within Chadema. He still wields immense power and permanent member of the central committee. Plus, he is quite wealthy which helps in matters politics. 

 My assessment is that Lissu and his team now need Mbowe more than Mbowe needs them. The chairman and his deputy should take some online or physical courses that can help tone down their combative nature.

Importantly, if Lissu still harbours ambitions of becoming a tenant at No. 1 Barrack Obama Drive and State House in Chamwino, he should surround himself with competent ladies and gentlemen as advisors. If he fails this test, after his first term at the helm of Chadema, party members and supporters will remember Mbowe with nostalgia. Cheers!   

Songa wa Songa is a senior journalist with The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected]