Cassava is both a blessing and a burden. It feeds millions across Africa but hides a toxic side: cyanide compounds that can harm the body if poorly prepared. Fortunately, West African cultures – especially in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and Benin – have developed ingenious ways to tame cassava. One of the best examples…
On 28 July 2025, the government, through Government Notice No. 487A, banned non-citizens from operating in 15 business sectors deemed entry-level. This decision follows amendments to the Finance Act 2025, which granted the authority for such restrictions. While the move has been applauded domestically, it has faced criticism abroad, particularly from a neighbouring country. In…
Welcome, dear readers, to our weekly Health Diaries column, where we explore various disease-related topics and simplify complex medical concepts for your understanding. When people think of a heart attack, they often picture someone clutching their chest in severe pain and collapsing. While this dramatic image is accurate for some, not all heart attacks announce…
About a fortnight ago, I wrote about the kind of welcome visitors receive when arriving at our airports. It’s not ideal if you’re unlucky enough to fall victim to an airport scam — but how often does that really happen? I suspect I was just unfortunate. Every other visit has been perfectly fine. But what…
Over five years ago, I accepted an invitation – unclear at the time – to join a dialogue aimed at uniting like-minded individuals from diverse backgrounds to share their time and experience in shaping a more harmonious future for all. Last week, those individuals formally established the Tuko Sawa Society Tanzania (TSS), invited me to…
Early morning in the Serengeti, we were positioned quiet well to watch the animals that are often fall victim to the several species of carnivores living on these savannah plains, the Wildebeest. It was good to see quite a lot mixed with some Zebras as they moved toward steadily in search of numerous grass and…
It was one of those rainy days in the late 1970s when I walked into the offices of the then National Police Headquarters, located in the foreboding Ministry of Home Affairs building along Ohio Street in Dar es Salaam. I had been assigned by my editor, the late Abdallah Ngororo of the Daily–cum–Sunday News, to…
From Mboneko Munyaga in Mwanza. Once a vibrant symbol of life, Lake Victoria is now one of the world’s most polluted freshwater bodies – its future hanging by a thread as fish stocks collapse, pollution surges and the millions it once nurtured and nourished, face growing uncertainty. Lake Victoria, or Nyanza, is East Africa’s largest…
The English Dictionary defines wisdom as the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; good sense; insight; the teachings of the ancient wise people; a wise attitude or cause of action, et cetera. German physicist and philosopher Albert Einstein (1879-1955) says that wisdom is not a product of schooling, but a lifelong attempt to acquire…
She came to bury her son. All around were tears as well as smiles – as let’s call him Roy – was genuinely, a funny fellow. Roy had a habit of giving close mates, nicknames. Listen to him, drunk (as usual) and being kicked out of this club where I was playing live music. Glaring…
