Issue of Late Mohamed Ali Kibao in Perspective

News:

The issue of Mohamed Ali Kibao (69), who was abducted on September 6, 2024, found dead on the morning of September 7, 2024 at Ununio area, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania needs to be highlighted fairly to convey proper ideological focus.

Comment:

The abduction and later killing of Mr Kibao has further revealed reality of the capitalism ideology in terms of not caring for the people’s welfare especially in this context, the security issue.

According to Tanganyika Law Society’s (TLS) statement issued on 09th August 2024, more than 20 people have been abducted or disappeared in 2024 only, yet Inspector General of Police on 12th September 2024 made public statements that the security situation in the country is calm and stable. This is a truth of capitalism where lives or anything else only matter where interests are available, since everything in democratic capitalist is revolving on that particular angle.

Issues of double standard vividly come forward. Human rights activists, some oppositions as well as some church leaders raised uproars and protests following this brutal atrocious killing of Kibao which are obviously appreciated, yet their selectivity is plainly observed on facing issues of this similar type.

Abductions and killings of innocent people are not new in Tanzania. However, when the biggest victims are Muslims because of their Islam, activists, oppositions and church leaders hide their heads in oblivious world or making if any, smoke-screening negligible actions. For instance, there are more than 380 Muslims victims whose whereabouts are unknown in the districts of Mkuranga, Kibiti and Rufiji in Coast region following the government crackdown accompanied by torture and arbitrary killings in 2017 (The East African, May 05, 2018) leading many innocents to suffer deaths, tortures and disappearance. We have never seen any tangible measures neither from human right activists, oppositions or churches.

It has also to be remembered that during the previous regime of the late president John Magufuli while many people were killed, tortured, jailed and falsely detained, not only church leaders were tightlipped, but they were staunch supporters of Magufuli’s regime to the extent that Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, was wondering why people called him (Magufuli) a dictator (Mwananchi 18/11/2019).

Regarding the call of oppositions and others of demanding a thorough investigation following Kibao’s abduction and subsequent brutal killing, two dangerous concepts are being highlighted:

a. Neo colonialism is being further promoted via a call of foreign investigation from capitalist nations or their institutions. It is an undeniable fact that internal institutions cannot relied to conduct such investigation independently, but it has to be clear that, the similar case apply to capitalist nations and their institutions that lack moral authority to conduct such investigation. Issue of the genocide in Gaza has further exposed them, they are not independent either.

Capitalist nations have their exploitative agenda in developing nations including Tanzania, and in all cases only would support regimes regardless of its action, provided it guarantees their interests. How would you rely on such countries or institutions for thoroughly and extensive investigation?

b. Demanding investigation solely on this particular issue ignoring hundred if not thousands victims who had faced a similar fate following government crackdown in Mkuranga, Kibiti and Rufiji in Coast imply that their lives are worthless, and again the issue of selectivity arises.

What we are witnessing in terms of violence and instability at an internal and global scale are products of capitalist colonialist nations, and deriving solutions from a capitalist viewpoint, relying on their nations and their institutions is an open deceit to the masses, extending problems instead of solving them. It is high time for enlightened thinkers among opposition and others to deeply ponder that the world needs a radical ideological change, to totally eliminate the capitalist ideology replacing it with Islam to serve and protect humanity fairly.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Said Bitomwa
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Tanzania