My version of the year 2009 in review - December

December 16, 2009


I attended the funeral in Dar es Salaam of my friend Abdulhakim "Kim" Magomelo. After prayers at the Ngazija Mosque the funeral procession (on foot) turned into Sewa Street, then on to Zanaki Street past the Zanzibar Bar (where I frequently joined Kim and other friends in the days when beers flowed like the waters of the Nile), across the busy Bibi Titi road, and then on to Olympio Street and to the Kisutu Cemetery.

My version of the year 2009 in review - November

November 9, 2009
I discovered, after several years of making the 80-kilometre round trip to Musoma, that I can access the Internet from this room at Butiama. If I had found that out ten years ago I would have saved a lot of money in fuel expenses.

The view is breathtaking. On a clear day I can see Lake Victoria in the distance in front of me. On the right is Mt. Mtuzu where the phone company, Vodacom has its cell site. That is also where I hike to in preparation for the annual Mt. Kilimanjaro climb.

You may also like:
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2012/12/even-pope-has-twitter-account-maybe-its.html
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http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2010/03/tanzania-broadband-project.html

My version of the year 2009 in review - October

October 7, 2009
After 6 days of mountain trekking, I (left in photo, behind Allen, the mountain guide and harmonica player) reached the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak at 5,896m above sea level, with Gerald Hando of Clouds FM (right) on the 2nd annual Mwalimu Nyerere Charity Climb.
After about 19 hours of walking, I caught this image of Kilimanjaro after we passed through Barafu Camp on our way towards our night's rest at Mweka Camp. We still had about four hours of walking ahead of us. The ascent to Uhuru peak had begun at midnight and it was not until after 10 in the evening that we reached Mweka Camp. It is the longest trek in a day of the 8-day climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro through the Lemosho route.

October 14, 2009
I drove again through the Serengeti, this time in a small car and a pair of Giraffes stood and posed for my camera.
The Zebra were busy grazing.

October 17, 2009
I was back in the Moshi area at Rundugai where my host took me to visit a natural spring source. It is believed that the water originates several hundred miles away from Lake Victoria.

October 19, 2009
I drove again through the national parks and as I was descending from the Ngorongoro crater escarpment on my way towards the Serengeti I saw this lone vulture perched on a piece of rock and seemingly in ill health.

Related posts:
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-version-of-year-2009-in-review.html
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2012/04/having-completed-cross-learning-visit.html
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-version-of-year-2012-in-review-12.html

My version of the year 2009 in review - September

September 2, 2009
Each time I travel to Dar es Salaam I get the impression I am in a foreign country. Last time it was a Lamborghini, this time I saw this stretch limousine parked near St. Peter's Cathedral.

September 7, 2009

From snakes in my room to bugs in my shoes, the bugs keep following me everywhere. I woke up in my room in Dar es Salaam to find a centipede in my boot, an incident that I found unusual for Dar es Salaam. I had a similar experience at Butiama which I felt appropriate because there is less concrete and more natural habitat at Butiama. The number of legs of the various species of centipedes can range from 20 to 300; its sting is painful and can produce an anaphylactic shock, an experience I have suffered from a bee sting and one which you would not want to experience.

September 19, 2009

On my drive back to Butiama with the big truck, I stopped at Chalinze to fix a puncture on the Tanzania-Zambia Highway, 90 kilometres from Dar es Salaam. After I used the urinal, I caught this "peeping cat" quietly observing me.

September 21, 2009

On my drive through the Serengeti National Park I crossed the Hippo pool with several Hippos in view.

September 22, 2009

After driving past Fort Ikoma, a giraffe crossed my path. This area has a large concentration of giraffes.

My version of the year 2009 in review - August

August 17, 2009

At the famous Lango Moja area of Mwanza City, I bought a used pair of hiking boots for my next Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. The place has a wide selection of used shoes, some in near-perfect condition. But not this pair, which showed strains of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro by the time I descended in October.

August 21, 2009

At a cyber cafe' in Musoma, the regional capital of Mara region, I caught up with George Marato, the famous ITV reporter who frequently runs into controversies. In addition to his work as a TV reporter, he also regularly writes for several newspapers.

August 22, 2009

I began a 1,300 kilometre drive with a 5-ton truck to transport equipment from Butiama to Dar es Salaam. At Robanda, located 5 kilometres from the Ikoma Gate of the Serengeti National Park, I made my pit and overnight stop.

August 23, 2009

About an hour's drive into the Serengeti, I caught a glimpse of two hot air balloons rising above the Savannah, carrying tourists on a game viewing flight.

The truck developed some mechanical fault and I had to stop at the Ngorongoro Crater and search for a mechanic. While searching for the mechanic near the headquarters of the Ngorongoro Area Conservation Authority, I saw two Zebras standing motionlessly, one of them next to a sign reading "Reserved Parking".

My version of the year 2009 in review - July

July 13, 2009
Professor Ikaweba Bunting (right) watches the performance of the Egumba Cultural group at Butiama during the visit he led of students from California State University at Long Beach. Part of a three-unit course titled "The Cultures of African Peoples" that he teaches at the University brings students to Tanzania to get hands on experience of what they learn in class.

July 18, 2009




I visited the village of Mariwanda, less than two hours' drive from Butiama, with colleagues from an association invloved with promoting cultural tourism in the Lake Victoria area. At Mariwanda we documented the cultural attractions offered by members of the Taturu ethnic group.

Taturu culture has some resemblance to Masai culture. In the first photograph (above), a Taturu women places firewood into a specially-prepared surface; she later lit the firewood, and placed a huge pot on top to prepare tea.

The second photograph shows Taturu women skinning a cow they had slaughtered moments earlier, a task that is done only by women. One of the men told me, "Taturu men don't touch blood."

The two remaining photos show Taturu women in traditional wear.

My version of the year 2009 in review - June

June 13, 2009

Many of Mwanza's residents live on small plots on the surrounding hills of the city of Mwanza. These hillside houses do not have proper drainage or sewage systems, although there have been plans to improve Mwanza's sewage system. When it rains it is said that the residents flush their pit latrine sewage systems with the rainwater that carries the waste into Lake Victoria.

June 17, 2009

I attended the funeral of Mzee Tito Budodi, a veteran politician from Mwanza associated with Tanganyika's independence movement. He was buried at his birthplace at the outskirts of the Mwanza.

The colours of the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi, yellow, black, and green featured prominently at the funeral. At the funeral...

I met a someone who introduced himself as Mwalimu Katani (top, left) who insisted that I (top, centre) visit her mother (top, right) who he told me is the widow of an activist who was also involved in the independence struggle.

June 25, 2009

Just after driving past the small town of Ramadi on my way to Mwanza, I caught a glimpse on my rear-view mirror of an unusual phenomena for the area, haze. It gave an image of the industrial pollution that is common in large urban centres. The sunrise looked like a sunset.

My version of the year 2009 in review - May 2009

May 1, 2009

On International Workers' Day two velvet monkeys took turns to groom each other, picking ticks from their furs.

May 6, 2009

The recently-appointed District Commissioner for Musoma district paid a visit to Butiama. In the photo, above, Mr. Godfrey Ngatuni (second from right) with Mrs. Ngatuni to his right.

May 7, 2009

On her first day of a two-day visit, I took geologist Prof. Kazue Tazaki (photo above, 1st right) on a visit to a brick production site at the village of Magorombe, close to Butiama. Prof. Tazaki suggested to the youth to diversify production to clay figurines to sell as souvenirs to tourists.

May 8, 2009

On the second day of her visit we visited artisinal gold miners at Buhemba, about half an hour's drive from Butiama, where I heard for the first time the word 'garimpeiro' from Prof. Tazaki. It is a Portuguese word that means gold prospector and is normally found in English usage to describe Brazilian gold prospectors.

The photo, above, was taken at a mine shaft which the Buhemba garimpeiros told us extends about 200 metres below ground and another 100 metres horizontally. During our visit, they pulled up their colleague who was hoisted up while he sat on a bucket attached to the yellow nylon rope.

May 23, 2009

I attended the live music performance of Hisia Band at the Jolly Club in Dar es Salaam. Band leader and proprietor, the multi talented Abdul Salvador, normally plays the keyboard but he picked up the bass guitar for a few of the songs that evening.

My version of the year 2009 in review - April

April 5, 2009

In preparation for the visit of Idi Amin's son, Jaffar, to Butiama, a team of BBC reporters descended on Butiama and as Vicky Ntetema (above, left), Tanzania bureau chief for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) filed a report to London...

Eric Nampesya (above, middle), the BBC's Great Lakes correspondent and Charles Hilary (left) of the BBC Swahili Service exchanged arguments about which of their teams, Liverpool (Eric's) or Arsenal (Charles') was the better team.

April 7, 2009

Teaching students from Queens University in Kingston Canada laid out cash in neat rows to facilitate counting before I drove with the cash to Mwanza to handover to the tour operator whose driver drove them for a game viewing safari that included the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Teaching students from Queens University visit Butiama every year for their teacher's training practical assignment. They have taught at Machochwe Secondary School, and Butiama Secondary School.

Later that day, the BBC's Charles Hilary (left) interviewed Chief Japhet Wanzagi (right) as part of the BBC Swahili Service's radio programs to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tanzania - Uganda war.

April 8, 2009

I squeezed myself between the Canadian teaching students for a photograph just before they left for their game viewing tour of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro.

April 9, 2009

I hosted Jaffar Amin (left) at Butiama. Following some negative comments about his visit to Butiama, I defended my decision to host him at Butiama in this article.

April 12, 2009


A beautiful tree succumbed to the forces of nature after a rainstorm. I was disappointed; those who seek firewood were not. In a matter of days, the tree was gone and was fueling the cooking of meals.

April 18, 2009

I paid a visit to the Carmelite Missionary Sisters at Bunda, an hour's drive from Butiama, and after I left I contemplated one of two possibilities: that I am either exceptionally tall; or there is a height restriction in the entry requirements to the Carmelite order.

April 25, 2009

Students from Nyegina Secondary School in Mara region visited Butiama and Mwalimu Nyerere's library.

My version of the year 2009 in review - March

March 24, 2009.

I peeked into the cistern of an old toilet in need of repairs to find out if it was repairable. Fortunately it was. I bought the parts and fixed the toilet, but am yet to solve the persistent water shortage to supply the toilet.

March 25, 2009.
Under the cultural tourism initiative of Mara Region, I joined students from Queens University in Kingston, Canada, who visit Butiama every year for their teacher's training practical assignments, in climbing Mt. Chamuriyo - the mountain with the highest peak in Mara Region.

Before the climb, we visited the premises of the local medicine man and the visitors were kind to pose in front of my camera.

We later climbed to the peak, where the ruins of a German Fortress from the German Colonial period (pre-1918) still stand.

My version of the year 2009 in review - February

February 3, 2009

Sarah Kisolo from Uganda visited the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Library at Butiama, accompanied by colleagues from Kenya, and Tanzania. She said she plans to bring family members to visit Butiama.

My version of the year 2009 in review - January

In a series of posts beginning today, I share part of my collection of photographs taken during the year 2009.

January 10, 2009.

Elvis Ogina behind his camera at Butiama.

Elvis Ogina, a photographer from Drum Magazine in Nairobi visited Butiama. He was sent to photograph me after I was interviewed by Associate Editor Thomas Maneno for an interview featured on the magazine.

He hopes to work as an independent photographer one day, possibly as a fashion photographer. That, he said, is where the money is.

January 14, 2009.

L-R, Professor Sarungi, daughter Maria, and I at the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Library at Butiama. Standing behind is Benjamin Masatu, the library's curator.

Professor Philemon Sarungi, former surgeon at Tanzania's main hospital, Muhimbili, and also a former minister who has held various portfolios in the Tanzanian government, visited Butiama with his daughter, Maria. He is now member of parliament for Rorya constituency in Tarime District, close to Butiama.

January 30, 2009.

I stand sandwiched between the team of Chinese doctors and their guests, as I hold on to my gift of Chinese tea.

Members of the Chinese Medical contingent at Mara Regional Hospital at Musoma, visited Butiama with colleagues who work at Dodoma. They have a custom of bringing along presents, including Chinese herbal tea.