Elsie Eyakuze

Dar es Salaam

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Articles

Trump 2.0? It was right there in ‘Simpsons’ and science fiction

Nov 16, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

The first Trump presidency was so improbable that it had been joked about in The Simpsons. Sadly, The Simpsons is an unusually prophetic animated series. This might help to explain how, despite being the butt of many superficial jokes, and the serious topic of dystopian warning humour, Donald Trump prevailed. Nobody cracked jokes about the possibility of a second Trump presidency.
I’ll take this any day: That, we are a republic and a democracy

Nov 13, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

I come from a generation that takes it for granted that Tanzania is an independent nation that governs itself. This is our reality, which is distinct from that of our parents for whom Tanzania is their fabrication that they have run with a mix of intentions — some patriotic, some horrendously corrupt. Which is again different from what our grandparents experienced, which was a world in which Tanganyika was a colonial overlay and Zanzibar was... well, Zanzibar. So, yeah.
Don’t give in to cynicism or even detachment; register then vote

Nov 2, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

When the numbers of citizens who registered to vote was revealed, The Chanzo did a very nice article that alerted us all — with evidence — to the improbability of said numbers being correct. Was this unexpected? Not at all, frankly I would have been nervous if shenanigans on the part of the state did not show up bright and early in our electoral process. But, did the government expect us to figure it out so fast and make a big deal out of it? Also no.
What if Dar es Salaam was not meant to grow into this city?

Oct 26, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

What is it like to live in one of the fastest growing cities in the world, you ask? Well, it is many things, one of which is ‘unexpected.’ Nobody would have predicted this for Tanzania in the past. I like to imagine that for newcomers from the hinterlands, Dar es Salaam is an exhilarating adventure.
Go on, register and vote; we may just get leaders who deserve us

Oct 19, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

Over the long weekend, I went on a trip to visit a part of the country just because it is there, and it is beautiful, and I can. Also, I went because I needed to shake off The City for a bit. Dar es salaam is the quintessential Primate City — everywhere else in the country is our hinterland, with no disrespect meant to the other notable urban centres. Dar is growing at an astonishing pace and you can feel it even if you live here. Sometimes a break from the exhilaration is necessary.
25 years after his death, here are 25 thoughts on Julius Nyerere

Oct 13, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

On the occasion of celebrating Mwalimu Nyerere 25 years after his passing, here are 25 thoughts on and questions about him, in no particular order. How long did it take him to translate those Shakespeare plays into Kiswahili, and what resources did he have on hand as he did the work? Because I am pretty sure that it was a difficult task with few dictionaries lying around. I wonder if I would have enjoyed having him as a teacher in school.
Read a book and make the world a better place for the human race

Oct 5, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

I was minding my business when a friend sent me a link to a Tweet that was quoting an article in The Atlantic Magazine: “The elite students who can’t read books” by Rose Horowitch. Apparently, students coming into a number of elite American colleges have been confounding their professors of late. Many of them have never been asked to read an entire book and then grapple with it while in middle and high-school, so they were struggling.
It is time for us to sit down and talk about democracy in Africa

Sep 28, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

Is there an arc, a trajectory that societies travel over time? Like, they start out in an infancy and then aggregate into a society big enough to need specialised leadership and that gives rise to politics. And as the society grows into a polity it matures, peaks and ages or decays. And in that trajectory, what role if any do democratic practices/ideas play?
So, this is why journalists are still doing this largely thankless job?

Sep 21, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

There is an art to surviving disappointment, but you wouldn’t know it from consuming the arts and culture of the Twenties. We seem to be hostages of an era of corrosive optimism which is allergic to complexity and intellect, and disappointment too. The prophet Orwell warned us about this type of society and its dangerous simplicities. In the political sphere, thoughtful critique and debate were once valued as markers of a healthy society.
Abductions, killings, silence... What is happening in Tanzania?

Sep 14, 2024 | theeastafrican.co.ke | Elsie Eyakuze

Ali Mohamed Kibao was abducted in public and murdered last week, to the shock and horror of the nation. May his soul rest in peace, may his family be granted the solace of justice. This latest brutality coming after violence upon violence meted out to opposition party members, outspoken youth and other Tanzanian civilians has elicited a strong reaction from the public- and from the international press. What is happening in Tanzania?