The other week, Bongolanders observed Nyerere Day — marking twenty-six years since the founding father passed away on October 14, 1999. Although I had several brief encounters with the Father of our Nation during my professional life, I vividly recall one that took place in 1978. At the time, I was a second-year student at…
“Repent NOW!” The man is shouting and screaming like hundred cars shooting up this high road in South London. “When you are in the coffin it shall be too late! Hell fire awaits you!.” As the man waves his hands, gesticulating with fervour, by his side a woman, loyally, hands out leaflets. “Jesus loves you….
Many of us are really scared to say: I do not know, I am not sure of this or that, let me find the right answer. They will try to respond to every question. Parading their knowledge becomes a part of life. When I reflect on this kind of behaviour, I realise that I too…
When should you start changing your diet to a Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) one? The answer is simple: Start now. There’s no better time to begin eating for health, healing and longevity. You don’t have to wait until you fall sick or until the New Year. Each meal is a new opportunity to nourish your body…
The other week I received a call from Kinshasa. The caller was a long-time friend from the early 1990s. We first became acquainted in those years when he came to Arusha with his Congolese rumba band. The story is long. By then, I had already become an “Arusha vet”. I was in the employ of…
Have you ever mended anything? I can thoroughly recommend it. Coming from an engineering family, I regarded it as completely normal that whenever anything broke it was immediately taken apart, examined and potentially restored to some kind of function. For as long as I can remember, I was mending my own punctures, replacing brake cables…
RIP: Robert Nigel Ralph Wallace. BY SUKHDEV CHHATBAR It is with deep sadness that we at The Arusha News mourn the passing of Braeburn School teacher Robert Nigel Ralph Wallace, who died on October 8, 2025, in Arusha in a tragic hit-and-run accident while cycling – an activity he loved dearly. He was 67 years…
There was a man coughing non-stop in that afternoon train. During such warm weather, a vicious uncomfortable cough, was odd. Had it been those days of Covid and the unseen, illogical fear of – an unknown disease – we would have been genuinely, terrified. Ouff awf awffff! Awful it was , making the man’s miserable…
When I learnt recently that Amsterdam has a night mayor, I pictured someone who sleeps during the day but works at night. The role likely involves regular office hours but carries a unique responsibility: Regulating the night-time economy and fostering a safe, vibrant environment for individuals, businesses and the city. It is an idea with…
A historic event took place in Eastern Africa on September 9, 2025. On that day, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was officially inaugurated by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, in the presence of African leaders and representatives of international organisations. The US$5 billion dam has a generating capacity of 6,450 MW, making it the…
