I recall that it was in 1971 when several young native minds and I, then in Form III at the former Mkwawa High School in Iringa, were being groomed into the modern ways of life and society.
To our advantage, we were taught by more than 50 teachers from several countries — including Tanzania, India, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany, among others — whose daily task was to mould our young brains into this concept of ‘modernity’.
Among them was one young teacher — Indian or so we thought — who taught us English Language. Naturally, his accent was very Indian and to us, somewhat amusing. We often laughed and shared jokes about it.
Then one day, out of the blue, he admonished us in Swahili for our mischief. We were, to say the least, shocked — and immediately apologised for our unbecoming behaviour. We then asked him where he really came from. Needless to say, he did not respond.
A week or so later, he walked into our classroom and scribbled a question on the blackboard: “What is a rush between two As?” We had no clue. He then wrote the answer: “A – rush – A: Arusha. And that is where I come from.” We were speechless.
From that day on, I began fantasising about Arusha. Yes, it was a well-known town. But what was life like in that popular place? I wondered. I even took time to read materials on Arusha from our school library. I naturally looked forward to the day I would get a chance to visit it.
Little did I know that, many years later, I would not only visit Arusha, but also become a resident. For over 30 years now, it has become my second home.
But then Arusha swallows many — if not all — who come into close contact with its vibrant and bustling lifestyle. Now a city, nestled below the majestic and imposing Mount Meru, Arusha’s suburbs are teeming with people from around the globe. Many first arrived as staff of local and international organisations, institutions, tourists or investors — and stayed.
One wonders: What is the magic behind this magnetic pull? I did some research.
This place was first settled in the 1830s by the agro-pastoralist Arusha Maasai, who migrated from Arusha Chini, south of the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro.
The early settlers traded grains, honey, beer and tobacco with the pastoral Kisongo Maasai in exchange for livestock, milk, meat and hides. By the 1860s, Arusha gained more importance with the extension of the Pangani trade route through Old Moshi, Arusha and eventually into western Kenya.
Arusha was subsequently conquered by the Germans in 1891, following the murder of the first two missionaries who had attempted to settle on the southern slopes of Mount Meru.
In the 1890s, the Germans established a permanent presence and built a military fort — a Boma — garrisoned with soldiers as a symbol of German power. That Boma is now a museum.
During the First World War (1914–1918), the British took control of Arusha from the Germans in 1916 and deported most of their missionaries and settlers. In the 1920s, the British welcomed missionaries from the United States and settlers from the UK and Greece, who reoccupied the former German settler farms — and the town began to grow.
By the 1950s, Arusha was already a polyglot, ‘Westernised’ little town with rail facilities, even attracting Hollywood stars such as John Wayne, who appeared in Howard Hawks’ 1962 film Hatari!
What many people do not know is that Arusha has hosted and facilitated several globally significant events.
Notably, the official documents ceding Tanganyika’s independence were signed by the United Kingdom in Arusha in 1961. Also memorable is the Arusha Declaration, signed there on 5 February 1967.
After the Rwandan Civil War in the early 1990s, Arusha again became a hub of diplomacy. The Peace Accords were signed here on 4 August 1993. The Burundi Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was also signed in Arusha on 28 August 2000.
In January 2015, an agreement for South Sudan was signed in Arusha, creating a framework for the reunification of the country’s ruling SPLM party. The party had splintered into three, causing a humanitarian crisis as internal conflict escalated.
In 1994, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 955, establishing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha. After the ICTR closed in 2014, its successor, the Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals — established by UN Security Council Resolution 1966 — remained headquartered in the city.
Arusha is all this and more. The metropolis hosts numerous regional and international organisations, including the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU), the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, the East and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI), the African Institute of International Law, the East, Central and Southern African Health Community (ECSA-HC), and the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption — among others.
And then there is the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), whose slogan is “Bringing the World to Tanzania.” Thousands of tourists and delegates visit the city every month. Together, they make Arusha — as former US President Bill Clinton once (perhaps diplomatically) described it — “The Geneva of Africa.”
Regardless, I hold this city — my second home — close to my heart. It was officially granted city status on July 1, 2006.
