IRINGA 1958 -1962

 

Francis Kitime and family 1959, me sitting on the right

I do remember some of the things that were happening around me from 1958. I remember faces, incidents, even names, that's when I started seeing my father Francis Kitime playing music instruments the guitar, the accordion,  trumpet and saxophone. But mostly it was the guitar. He would go to school with the guitar and play some songs for the students.  Some of his students even remember  some of the songs that he performed in front of them. But he was very strict, as was the custom in those days, canning was quite common, students were canned for almost every mistake they made. Another punishment was running around the flagpole that was in front of the school. I remember the Union Jack flying in the sun while a student would be running round and round the flag. It must have been terrible.
The school started enrolling girls. I will not forget  a girl who was called Lidya, I do not remember her face, but I remember vowing that, ‘When I grow up I will marry Lidya’. It must have been the joke of the schoolboys then, I still remember them asking me again and again who would I marry when I grow older, my answer would always be Lidya.  One of the schoolgirls found out she was pregnant, that was the worst news a school girl could get then, the poor girl hanged her self on a tree behind the school not very far from our house, I was playing in the bushes behind the school when I saw someone hanging from a tree, it was so scary, I ran home and hid myself under the bed for a long time.  Apart from teaching the his students, Francis was also teaching Kiswahili the European teachers from St George and St Michael School  later to be changed to Mkwawa High School, this school was built specially for children of the British colonials who were working in Tanganyika then. It was at this time that my father got into politics, he was one of the members of  United Tanganyika Party, a party that was formed in 1956 by  Edward Twining who was the Governor of Tanganyika then. Many civil servants became members of this party to save their professions. 

After the 1959 elections, TANU won by a vast majority  of almost 75% , I remember the second time hiding under the bed, this time youths from TANU Youth League, danced around our house shouting and singing. Of course at the time I didn't know why so many people were singing and shouting around our house. During the elections my father was one of the returning officers who supervised Kilolo and Kalenga Wards. Many years later when political multiparty politics were re introduced, He joined the NCCR. My mother was astaunch TANU member and later a CCM member who rose to be a ward secretary and a  member of the National Congress. It was beautiful to see these two people debate politics from two different angles and still remain the best of friends. 
My father started smoking in 1953, he began with Crown Bird brand,  and in 1962 changed to Sportsman. And by 1959, I had started being sent to buy cigarettes, this task continued for almost the next 15 years, and the worst part was when later we moved to an area that was far from shops, and being woken up at six and sent to buy cigarettes made me hate them for the rest of my life.

One day in July 1962, a white man and his wife came to the school looking for Francis Kitime. The man introduced himself as Mr Voigt, he said he was a Tea farmer from Mufindi, he was offering a scholarship to six teachers to go and study in German and he wanted Francis to be one of them, my father agreed and he was told a letter would follow as soon as he could get the other five teachers, it was exciting news.

Life was about to change forever