By FREDDY MACHA 

Tanzania and films. Films and Tanzania. It is not what we are famous for. What about Kenya? Uganda? Rwanda? East African film industry is not as well- known as say, our athletics or our tourist haven.  So every now and then we hear an actor (or actress) has been awarded some international prize. 

We think of Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya or may be Steven Kanumba. Nyong'o is currently the most well- known Kenyan film star outside Africa, followed by Kaluuya- the 2021 Oscar for best supporting actor (playing Black Panther slain leader Fred Hampton).  If you Google,  Kaluuya , however, he is listed as a British actor. We know his parents were born in Uganda. So... 

What about Stephen Kanumba? His 2012 funeral attracted at least 30,000 film fans in Tanzania. He was only 28. And he starred in a few Nollywood (i.e. Nigerian) movies.  What does that say about our East African film business?  Like the Swahili proverb goes ...Kwenu ni Kwenu Hata Ikiwa Chini ya Mti. (Your home is the best place even if  under a tree.)

Home offers the best pie. 

In May 1963, more than 30 African leaders met in Addis Ababa and created the Organisation of African Unity (nowadays African Union).  Ardent Pan-Africanists – Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah differed on how the continent should unite. Ghana's Nkrumah wanted an African state while Tanzania's Mwalimu preferred a more inter-regional approach. 

And that prevailed and beside things like ECOWAS we had the East African Community. And that is where we are at with films. I gather it is apt for this article to check out individual efforts. In Tanzania we have had the success of Bongo-land one and two (twenty years ago) by Josiah Kibira. Kibira dealt with African migrants t overseas; failing and returning home to face even more challenges and struggles. Prior to that Fimbo ya Mnyonge was the well- known feature film. Funded by the state-run Tanzania Film Company, it was a massive hit in mid 1970s. 

Several individual film makers have ejected feature films. None of them made a major international impact. The best thing is they tried though. Out of this straggle and struggle....

Wetengere Kitojo arrived in the UK study film in mid 2000s and by 2010 he was shooting short films. It is always said start small. And that is Nyerere (as opposed to Nkrumah's) vision. Manageable projects are a taste and perfume of accomplishment. 

Wetengere invited me to a viewing of his first serious attempt in Reading a city with a large number of of UK based Tanzanian students.   “Coactum” was about a young lady being coerced to perform an abortion. This is a problem of African females.  The second endeavour was writing scripts and striving to get funding. Kitojo was(and is) always interested in true stories. Film Freeway, an international cinema forum describes him as such:

 “Wetengere's passion is to educate society by using film medium, tackling most critical political and social issues whilst entertaining audiences...” 

 So, in 2020 Asking God was completed. In Swahili with English subtitles the 139 minutes thriller steers three main themes.  Family of three.  Abusive husband, Moses (played by Saidi Kitanji) who quite early on is seen pointing a gun at his wife Rosemary (Rene Joseph). Then their child, Regina (Ester Said Ndalu) knocked down by car and is in a life supporting machine. The pressures and tensions to have her survive, unfold deep rooted emotions plus religious beliefs. 

This is the second theme.  Christianity and the role of religion in contemporary Africa.

Third theme is the corrupt, husband, Moses' dodgy deals shedding light on institutional financial dishonesty. At the end of the film there is redemption and Wetengere puts his stamp on the importance of family and community cohesion. 

The new director was born in Suji, not far from Mount Kilimanjaro, North East Tanzania in the 1970s. After graduating with a Masters degree in Sound design for Film at Bournemouth University he settled at Basingstoke with his family. Asking God was a low budget of £7,000 which in film economics is meagre but expensive for him. 

Wetengere speaks of self- sacrifice. Doing odd jobs to maintain his family and keep this creative dream buzzing.  He says it is very hard to get funding as our East African businesses do not yet bother invest in cinema. So far Asking God has been accepted at two international film festivals in Canada (Motion Pictures International Festival- MOPIFF) and Boden in Sweden. 

Meantime the determined writer is working on his second long feature; aiming to highlight illegal poaching and destruction of our wildlife. Asking God can be seen by logging into NUELLA TV – a site for African and International films.

Contact Wetengere Tel +44- 7886 902558. 

Freddy Macha is a London based Tanzanian writer and musician.

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NAIROBI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's quest to realize climate resilient growth is facing headwinds as widespread flooding experienced in the March-May season of long rains is damaging livelihoods and vital ecosystems in the country.

A number of civilians have lost their lives and property of unknown value destroyed in the recent past as storm water swept across Kenyan lowlands and densely-populated urban slums following a heavy downpour.

Local media reported Friday that four people were killed in Nairobi's Kibera slum Thursday night after they were swept away by raging waters as they attempted to cross a swollen river in the country's biggest slum.

The heavy rains that pounded the capital Thursday night caused flooding in other informal settlements, marooning local residents and worsening the risk of disease outbreaks.

Kenya Metrological Department said Friday that the heavy rains are expected to subside this weekend, but due to already saturated soils, it is likely to trigger landslides in hilly parts of the country.

The weathermen said that light showers could become a regular phenomenon in many parts of the country until the end of May, hence signaling improved agricultural productivity.

Massive flooding that accompanied torrential rains in western Kenyan lowlands and the coast region in the past week has displaced hundreds of families, destroying farms, roads and critical amenities such as schools.

Cyrus Oguna, spokesman for the Government of Kenya, said at a briefing early this week that the state was working on a long-term plan to help communities cope with recurrent floods.

"In the interim, we will be providing humanitarian assistance to flood victims in different parts of the country. These assistance include food, life-saving medicine and shelter," said Oguna.

He said the government had prioritized early warning, renovation of urban drainage infrastructure and tree planting to cushion local communities from negative impacts of flooding.

Kenya has been experiencing widespread flooding in the past several years during rainy seasons worsened by human encroachment on natural buffers like forests, wetlands and mangrove swamps.

The recurrent floods, that are also linked to climate change and unplanned settlements in urban areas, have jeopardized the country's ability to realize low-carbon development.

Keriako Tobiko, the cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said that Kenya's ability to tame climatic shocks including severe droughts and floods, is key to boosting green and inclusive growth.

"We aspire to attain green growth through strengthening the capacity of communities to withstand negative impacts of climate change," Tobiko said at a virtual Kenya-European Union green diplomacy conference held Tuesday.

He said the government will increase funding, promote uptake of clean technologies and regeneration of ecosystems to boost resilience of communities amid climatic stresses.

Tobiko said that some climate change adaptation projects under implementation including construction of large dams, restoration of degraded landscapes and household-based water harvesting initiatives, are aimed at containing floods.

He said that Kenya is leveraging on domestic resource mobilization, partnership and technology adoption to realize climate resilient and sustainable growth as part of the pandemic recovery.

Chris Kiptoo, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said the government is focusing on community-led interventions to minimize the impact of flooding, drought and habitat loss on livelihoods.

"Ultimately, local-led actions will strengthen resilience of our communities and the natural habitats whenever they experience climate change-related impacts like acute drought and flooding," said Kiptoo, adding that climatic stresses will be inevitable in the future hence the need to boost coping mechanism for local communities as part of Kenya's green aspirations. - Xinhua

Photo VCG

The Tanzanian government has teamed up with a national non-governmental organization in efforts to eradicate domestic and gender violence as well as early marriages.

The C-Sema NGO, also supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has set up a toll-free National Child Helpline, in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam to protect children and women from abuse.

The #116 toll-free service, available across all mobile networks, is open to people in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

The helpline responds to around 3,500 calls a day from women and children who are at risk of violence, and from family and community members who report abuses.

A recent visit to the National Child Helpline by UNFPA's Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem showed just how vital the facility is in Tanzania's efforts to eradicate domestic violence and early marriages.

Dr. Kanem expressed gratitude to C-Sema and counsellors for their dedication to advancing gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and young people, including through the use of digital platforms and new technologies.

The UNFPA reports a recent case of a 13-year-old girl who was saved from getting married to a 35-year-old man. The girl's parents had accepted to give her up for marriage in exchange for a dowry payment.

Despite the occurrence of such incidents, the Tanzanian government has rolled out various efforts to end the vices, including the institution of a Five-year National Plans of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children.

The current administration has also pledged to continue efforts to eradicate such vices from the East African country.

During her visit to Tanzania, Dr. Kanem met with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who expressed Tanzania's commitment to eliminate preventable maternal and child deaths, gender-based violence and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation.

The UNFPA's Executive Director commended the government's leadership and reaffirmed her organization's support to Tanzania to realize development targets and stronger, more inclusive socioeconomic growth with the goal of leaving no one behind. - CGTN

President Museveni and Burundian president Evariste Ndayishimiye wave to officials at State House, Entebbe. Photo PPU

President Museveni and his Burundian counterpart, Mr Evariste Ndayishimiye, have agreed to strengthen cooperation on agriculture, energy, trade, health, finance, tourism, and investment.

State House last evening said the two leaders after meeting at State House to commemorate Mr Ndayishimiye’s two-day state visit, which ended yesterday, committed to work together on transport and communication, defence and security, education, culture, and sports.

“In this regard, they directed their respective ministers to ensure that implementation of existing agreements, memoranda of understanding and other frameworks of cooperation, is fast-tracked,” a joint communique signed by Uganda’s Foreign Minister Sam Kuteesa and his Burundian counterpart Ambassador Albert Shingiro, read in part.  

The two leaders congratulated each other for winning elections last and this year and President Ndayishimiye commended Mr Museveni for his efforts as a guarantor of the Arusha Peace Accord and a mediator on Burundi dialogue.

President Museveni and his guest, who attended the former’s inauguration for a sixth elective term on Wednesday, promised to boost the relationship between the two countries by canvassing respective private sectors to lead identification of opportunities for trade and investment.

They committed to upgrade inter-linking roads to improve connectivity and reduce transportation costs.

Uganda Airlines, which started operations last year, has already started direct flights between Entebbe and Bujumbura, cutting travel time and boosting trade, tourism and investment.

The two presidents, according to the joint communique, directed their respective Foreign Affairs to convene a meeting of the third session of the Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) and a Joint Business Forum within the next six months.

In addition, the presidents agreed to deepen integration in the East African Community, currently challenged by frosty relations between some member states, and the wider African Union. 

They welcomed the January 1 entry into force of the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), which they hope will help boost African trade, development of value chains and integration.

They also commended the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) for its role in pacifying the country, including the fight against terrorist groups. They called upon the international community to continue supporting the Somalia in building its institutions, especially the national army, to ensure that the progress and gains made are consolidated.

The leaders also asked Africa to always speak with one voice on international matters such as climate change, fight against terrorism, the reform of the United Nations Security Council, international migration and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the communique, the two leaders exhorted Burundi’s partners to lift sanctions imposed since 2015 in order to boost the country’s socio-economic development. - Daily Monitor