AFRICAN EYE

By Rawlings Magede   When former Tanzanian President John “Pombe” Magufuli passed away earlier this year in March, Tanzanian pop artists led the country in the mourning process by composing songs that celebrated some of his achievements. What was shocking for outsiders like me was how Magufuli was popular among young people in Tanzania who seemed to have paid a blind eye to his authoritarian tendencies during his reign. His famous clarion call “Tuliwekewa mawazo” which means we have been labeled as poor was one of his strategies to rally young people and allow themselves to contribute to the recovery of the country. This tactic seemed to have paid dividends given that about two thirds of Tanzania’s 58 million population is under the age of 25. The use of youths to spearhead political campaigns is not new. In Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections, the late President, Robert Mugabe conducted countrywide Youth Interface meetings to garner election support. In all his faults, he was cog