My version of the year 2010 in review - December

December 7, 2010
A day before the commencement of my annual charity event, the Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb, I held a press conference in Moshi to publiscize the event and, through the publicity, solicit donations from the general public.
 

At the press conference I, second left, was joined by Mary Kalikawe of Kiroyera Tours, Jaffar Amin, and William Rutta of Kiroyera Tours and BUDAP.

December 9, 2010
As Tanzanians elsewhere marked Tanzania's 49^th independence anniversary I
 

took a self portrait in my tent, enroute to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

December 12, 2010

On the way to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at Karanga camp, at 3,900m 

 

 above mean sea level I photographed what I consider to be one of my best shots of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

December 13, 2010
After a midnight to dawn trek we had reached Stella Point just before 6:00 AM on our way to the summit at that point about an hour's walk.

Freddie, on the right, guide to a Russian climber called Dmitry, posed with Kibo in the background as Solomon, my guide on the left, seemed to go into the Kilimanjaro shuffle.
 

At the summit, my guide Solomon, raised his hand in triumph. It was my third successful climb. It was his umptieth. The climber is always excited to get to the summit; the guides and porters are equally excited. Each successful climber tends to be generous with tipping the guides and porters.

December 15, 2011

It takes only a hot shower and a clean set of clothes to begin to forget the sometimes harsh conditions on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Back at Springlands Hotel in Moshi, the start and end point of the Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity

Climb, Jaffar Amin emerged with his clean set of clothes.
 

Later, I on the left and our guide Solomon, on the right, posed for a photograph with our sets of clean clothes.

December 25, 2010

On Christmas Day, at a gathering in Butiama, my jaw dropped when I saw this...
 

giant bottle of whiskey dwarf a bottle of beer. The whiskey did not last the day and I suspect one of the guests who seemed to speak louder than everyone else was responsible.

My version of the year 2010 in review - November

November 1, 2010

In the early hours of the first day of the month, at 06:24 AM, CHADEMA's candidate in the Musoma Urban parliamentary, Vincent Nyerere, race took to

the podium and and thanked his supporters after the returning officer announced he had won the parliamentary race and had become the new MP for Musoma Urban.

Less than an hour later a mob of his supporters thronged his residence on
 

Gandhi Street in Musoma to celebrate his win.

Mt. Kilimanjaro weather

There is a combination of light showers and fog at Butiama today, reminiscent of the weather on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

My version of the year 2010 in review: October

October 10, 2010

I attended Uganda's independence anniversary celebrations and had the
 

opportunity to meet, from left to right, Uganda's Inspector-General of Police, Maj.Gen. Kale Kayihura, and fellow invitees to the commemorations, Francois Lumumba, son of the late Patrice Lumumba, Samwel Muganda, retired officer with the United Nations, and Mabior de Garang, son of the late John Garang.

October 11, 2010
 

I was in Mwanza the next day where Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, presidential candidate for the Civic United Front (CUF) held a campaign meeting and told his
 

 

supporters what was wrong with the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), appealing to his supporters to vote for CUF.

October 13, 2010

Two days later in Musoma, a highly charged Zitto Kabwe of the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo(CHADEMA) and its parliamentary candidate for
 

(CHADEMA) and its candidate for Kigoma North constituency addressed a meeting with CHADEMA's candidate for the Musoma Urban constituency, Vincent Nyerere.

October 16, 2010

I attended a funeral in Kinesi, a village located on the shores of Lake Victoria, east of the regional centre, Musoma. I noticed some of the mourners seated on a hilltop overlooking the graveside. When the burial was delayed because the
 

coffin could not fit the length of the grave, and as the grave was widened, I rushed to the hilltop to take this photograph. The bees – or some unknown entity – did not like it.

As I descended I was chased downhill by a swarm of bees and had to seek refuge inside a parked car.

October 21, 2010

Mama Maria Nyerere hosted another guest. This time it was Dr. Gharib Bilal, the running mate of Chama cha Mapinduzi's presidential candidate, Jakaya

Mrisho Kikwete. In the photo, from left to right, Mama Maria Nyerere, Dr. Bilal, and Member of Parliament for Musoma Urban constituance, Nimrod Mkono.
 

After Dr. Bilal's departure, Mama Maria talked to some of Butiama's residents who had turned up for the visit. From left to right, Councilor Peter Wanzagi, Butiama village's chairman Zacharia Wambura, Chief Japhet Wanzagi, and Mwalimu Jack Nyamwaga.

October 23, 2010

I traveled to Muleba District in Kagera region in pursuit of campaign news and prior to a meeting that was addressed by the candidate for the Civic United
 

 

 Front (CUF), Hassan Millanga a traditional dance group entertained
 

Millanga's potential voters.

October 25, 2010
 

Two days later, still in Kagera region, I traveled to Misenyi District where I received a message on my mobile phone” “MTN welcomes you to Uganda...” I was about to reach for my passport when my host pointed to some hills in the distant horizon and told me: “Those hills are in Uganda.”

These mobile operators! Transgressing on each other's territory!

October 26, 2010
 

For yet another occasion I completed another voyage on MV Victoria between Bukoba and Mwanza on M.V. Victoria a vessel that has been plying the waters of Lake Victoria for more than a century. 

October 29, 2010

On the first of the two remaining days of the election campaigns in Tanzania's general elections, I went to Musoma to find out what the main contenders for the Musoma Urban race were saying to potential voters in their last campaign
 

meetings.

The CCM candidate for Musoma Urban constituency, Vedasto Mathayo Manyinyi, held his meeting on Uhuru Street, above...
 

while CHADEMA's candidate, Vincent Nyerere, held his meeting near Musoma harbour.

October 30, 2010
 

A day before the general elections, CCM's Nimrod Mkono, the sole candidate who sailed through unopposed in the Musoma Rural constituency, smiled down at passersby from one of his campaign posters at the junction of the Mwanza-Musoma road, next to his party's presidential candidate, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, right.
 

In Musoma, as CCM's supporters rode on a hired truck to their final campaign meeting of the 2010 general elections, CHADEMA's supporters walked to theirs.

October 31, 2010
 

Elections officer, Flora Kamanzi, applies indelible ink on Dr. Bwire of Butiama hospital, moments after he cast his vote at the Butiama Hospital voting centre.

The Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb 2011 (post 2 of 15)

Thursday 15 September 2011

I am in “standing mode”, busy to the core, hovering over my office desk rather than sitting down as most people do. And as always, I am also in apprehension that I have several important tasks I should complete before my departure for the annual Kilimanjaro climb, but there appears to be little time to complete these tasks.

As I wondered how I would travel to Moshi this time around I recalled that someone I know mentioned he was driving to Arusha tomorrow. I called him to find out whether I could hitch a ride and he reassured me I could. 

Later, he came up with what I suspected was a monumental work of fiction about having to suddenly change plans and drive through the Serengeti during the night to rescue another colleague who had been involved in a road accident.

Later in Musoma I found out that the Extra Musica Band was playing tonight and I suspected my ride to Arusha had been compromised by their presence.

Having being assured of a possible ride through the Serengeti tomorrow I left in the evening and spent the night at Bunda.

Next: Another disappointment

Posts related to this one:
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2011/10/mwalimu-nyereremt-kilimanjaro-charity.html
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2011/12/mwalimu-nyereremt-kilimanjaro-charity.html