BY DANFORD MPUMILWA
I had no alternative but to warm up my mobile contraption, an ageing Toyota Vanguard, rev it up, and drive more than 250 km from Njombe to Tukuyu to arrive in time for the funeral of my beloved brother, Richard Kitwika.
The date was 27 October 2026. The late Kitwika had warmly received me in Arusha 40 years earlier, when I moved there to begin work with a new employer. He was not my blood brother, but he went out of his way to embrace me and guide me through the ups and downs of Arusha’s hectic life.
Now he was dead following a car accident, and his body was being transferred from Arusha to Tukuyu, his ancestral home, for burial. I was in Njombe, my traditional home, having partly relocated there after my retirement.
My local long-distance driver and mechanic couldn’t drive me as he had travelled to Songea for his sister’s funeral.
So, come rain or shine, I had to gather the courage to drive alone to Tukuyu. I called a friend of mine in Mbeya, one Mvukie, who had earlier in the year retired as Tanesco manager in my district of Wanging’ombe. He advised me to spend a night in Mbeya, some 210 km away, before proceeding to Tukuyu the following day for the afternoon burial service.
Indeed, I drove through Igawa, Chimala and Igurusi, where I stopped at a roadside motel for a quick bite.
It was here that I met a Sukuma elder, one Mzee Udete. He looked tired and deeply sorrowful. After some small talk, he confided in me that he had missed his bus to Dar es Salaam, where he was going to attend his son’s wedding.
He was now trying to hire a car for the trip but he had been quoted TSh 3 million. He said that, although he had the money, the rate was still mind-blowing.
I later learnt that he was a pastoralist with a large herd of more than 2,000 cattle. A cow was selling for between TSh 500,000 and TSh 800,000, depending on its weight.
“Why don’t you sell just 100 cows and raise at least TSh 50 million? You could then buy a four-wheel-drive car, employ a driver and travel anywhere, anytime, without any constraints,” I asked.
“Let the cows work for you, rather than the other way round,” I added.
He admitted that he had never thought of this simple solution to his transport woes and promised to work on it. I further advised him to seek the assistance of a reliable mechanic when buying the car. Indeed, as I pen this piece, he is still in Dar es Salaam working on the project. He has promised to visit me in Njombe in his new car.
As planned, I spent a night in Mbeya, where my friend Mvukie showed me around his impressive farm at his home in the Iduda area. He grows cucumbers, keeps 1,000 chickens and has 10 dairy cows. Indeed, he is enjoying a blissful retirement.
The following day, I travelled to Tukuyu, where I checked into the centrally located three-star Landmark Hotel before proceeding to NsiaNsia village, some 25 km, away along the Masoko road.
By the way, Tukuyu town was founded by the German imperial regime as a colonial town of Neu Langenburg, named after the original Langenburg, on the shores of Lake Nyasa. But then again that is a story for another day.
The next day, I drove back to Njombe, but not before stopping in Kiwira town to buy some freshly cut beef, fresh and curdled milk, and a wide variety of fresh green bananas. I am told that Kiwira is one of the best places in the country to shop for such produce.
The fertile lands around Kiwira Ward town are an ultra- rich landscape which is part of the volcanic lava which flowed down from the imposing Mount Rungwe volcano which erupted thousands of years ago. No wonder there is this ‘Daraja la Mungu’ in the vicinity. But the little I can tell you is that Kiwira is the ‘Cradle of Nutrition’ in the country. You want to be healthy? Take my word.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to meeting my ‘rich’ Sukuma friend, Mzee Udete.
The author is a veteran journalist and communication expert/consultant. mpumilwa@gmail.com
