Pan-African Freedom Movement for East and Central Africa

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The Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA), later renamed the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East, Central and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA) was a political and Pan-Africanist organisation that was formed to campaign for the independence of the countries of East and Central Africa (and later Southern Africa [1] [2] ) from colonial and white minority rule. [3] The organisation was formed at a conference held in Mwanza, Tanganyika, from 16 to 18 September 1958. [4] [5] Julius Nyerere (later President of Tanzania) and Tom Mboya the Kenyan Pan-Africanist and trade unionist were among the founders. Nyerere came up with the idea for the conference. [6] [1]

History

PAFMECA was formed in the town of Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria in northern Tanganyika under the leadership of Julius Nyerere. Nyerere was the leader of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), the party that campaigned for the independence of Tanganyika. [4] [6]

He called a meeting of the representatives of the nationalist parties in the region which was held in Mwanza from 16 – 18 September 1958. It was attended by representatives of political parties from Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar, Nyasaland and Tanganyika to mobilise forces and coordinate their efforts in pursuit of independence and PAFMECA was born. [1] [4]

One of the main subjects discussed was the existence of the colonial Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (composed of Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia), in the context of the African liberation struggle. [1] [4]

The leaders feared that the continued existence of the white-dominated federation would perpetuate imperial domination of the region and lead to the creation of another South Africa which during that time and until the early nineties was under absolute white control.

PAFMECA was Pan-Africanist in outlook and played a major role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May 1963. [2]

Related Research Articles

The modern-day African Great Lakes state of Tanzania dates formally from 1964, when it was formed out of the union of the much larger mainland territory of Tanganyika and the coastal archipelago of Zanzibar. The former was a colony and part of German East Africa from the 1880s to 1919’s when, under the League of Nations, it became a British mandate. It served as a British military outpost during World War II, providing financial help, munitions, and soldiers. In 1947, Tanganyika became a United Nations Trust Territory under British administration, a status it kept until its independence in 1961. The island of Zanzibar thrived as a trading hub, successively controlled by the Portuguese, the Sultanate of Oman, and then as a British protectorate by the end of the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanganyika (1961–1964)</span> Country in East Africa from 1961 to 1964

Tanganyika was a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania, that existed from 1961 until 1964. It first gained independence from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 as a Commonwealth realm headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations a year later. After signing the Articles of Union on 22 April 1964 and passing an Act of Union on 25 April, Tanganyika officially joined with the People's Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on Union Day, 26 April 1964. The new state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania within a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Nyerere</span> President of Tanzania from 1964 to 1985

Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, after which he led its successor state, Tanzania, as president from 1964 to 1985. He was a founding member and chair of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) party, and of its successor Chama Cha Mapinduzi, from 1954 to 1990. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he promoted a political philosophy known as Ujamaa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African socialism</span> Form of socialism in Africa after the 1950s

African socialism or Afrosocialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied considerably. These politicians include Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Modibo Keita of Mali, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Mboya</span> Kenyan politician that played a major role in the founding The Sovereign Kenyan State

Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya. He led the negotiations for independence at the Lancaster House Conferences and was instrumental in the formation of Kenya's independence party – the Kenya African National Union (KANU) – where he served as its first Secretary-General. He laid the foundation for Kenya's capitalist and mixed economy policies at the height of the Cold War and set up several of the country's key labour institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanyama Chiume</span>

Kanyama Chiume, born Murray William Kanyama Chiume, was a leading nationalist in the struggle for Malawi's independence in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also one of the leaders of the Nyasaland African Congress and served as the Minister of Education and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the 1960s before fleeing the country after the 1964 Cabinet Crisis.

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Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu was a Zanzibar-born Marxist and pan-Africanist nationalist who played an important role in the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution and served as a minister under Julius Nyerere after the island was merged with mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania. He was jailed by Nyerere from 1972 and, after his release following an international campaign, remained a vocal critic of imperialism, authoritarian states and excessively statist development models.

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Paul Lazaro Bomani was a Tanzanian politician and ambassador to the United States and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Kambona</span> Former foreign affairs minister

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Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 until 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a League of Nations mandate under British rule. From 1946, it was administered by the UK as a United Nations trust territory.

The Articles of Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar of 1964 is the main foundation of the Constitutions of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 and the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government of 1984. The Articles of the Union were signed on April 22, 1964, by the Founders of the Union, Julius Nyerere and Abeid Amani Karume and agreed in 11 matters which later increased to over 22 and are the source of tension and dispute between mainland Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. See Uamsho movement. The original Articles of Union which contain both Signatures from Nyerere and Karume are yet to be found.

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John Mwakangale was one of the main leaders in the struggle for independence in Tanganyika during British colonial rule. When the country gained independence, Mwakangale joined the first cabinet of Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania as Minister of Labour. Mwakangale is also regarded as a Pan-Africanist and a staunch African nationalist. He was also the first leader whom Nelson Mandela met in 1962 when he escaped from prison seeking assistance from other African leaders. Mandela gave a detailed account about that encounter in his book Long Walk to Freedom.

Malangali Secondary School was one of the leading academic institutions in colonial Tanganyika. It retained its reputation for academic excellence after Tanganyika won independence from Britain in December 1961.

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Bibi Titi Mohammed was a Tanzanian politician and activist. She was born in June 1926 in Dar es Salaam, at the time the capital of former Tanganyika. She first was considered a freedom fighter and supported the first president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. Bibi Titi Mohammed was a member of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), the party that fought for the independence of Tanzania, and held various ministerial positions. In October 1969, she was sentenced for treason, and, after two years in prison, received a presidential pardon.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Biswaro, Joram Mukama, The Quest for Regional Integration in the Twenty First Century: Rhetoric Versus Reality: a Comparative Study, African Books Collective (2012), p. 302, ISBN   9789987081561 (retrieved 6 December 2018).
  2. 1 2 Mwakikagile, Godfrey, The Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar: Formation of Tanzania and its Challenges, Intercontinental Books (2016), p. 23, ISBN   9789987160464 (retrieved 6 December 2018).
  3. Vaughan, Chris (2019). "The Politics of Regionalism and Federation in East Africa, 1958-1946" (PDF). The Historical Journal. 62 (2): 519–540. doi:10.1017/S0018246X18000407. ISSN   0018-246X. S2CID   158221888.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA)". International Organization. 16 (2): 446–448. 1962. doi:10.1017/S002081830001122X. ISSN   1531-5088. S2CID   249407191.
  5. Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA), International Organization, Vol. 16, No. 2, Africa and International Organization (Spring, 1962), pp. 446–448, University of Wisconsin Press in JSTOR (retrieved 6 December 2018).
  6. 1 2 Boyce Davies, Carole, Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture Volume 2, ABC-CLIO (2008), p. 408, ISBN   9781851097005 (retrieved 6 December 2018).