{UAH} Allan/Edmund/Pojim/WBK: Saint or not, Nyerere led an exemplary life - Magazine

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Saint-or-not-Nyerere-led-an-exemplary-life--/434746-3441810-c9762w/index.html

Saint or not, Nyerere led an exemplary life

The then Tanganyika's Chief Minister, Julius Nyerere (L), receives Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta during the independence celebrations in 1961 in Dar Es Salaam, future Tanzania. PHOTO | FILE 

As Tanzanians marked the 17th anniversary of Julius Nyerere's death in October, his admirers were hoping the journey to his sainthood will smooth.

The Catholic faithful in the region who have been following the process that started in 1999 soon after his death, recite a special prayer at the annual Namugongo pilgrimage in Uganda where devotees congregate every June to commemorate the lives of Christian martyrs who were killed by Kabaka Mutesa in the 19th century. The special prayer asks God to enable the beatification of the man who ousted Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1979.

Nyerere's life and works have been examined by the Catholic Congregation for the Cause of Saints, and in 2006 the Vatican opened the course for his beatification and canonisation after having conferred him the status of a Servant of God.

The Church's endorsement of Nyerere's life started as early as the day his death was announced. The then Bishop of Arusha, Josephat Lebulu, was quoted by a local TV station as saying: "When I heard that he has passed away I said, 'Thank you for a job welldone.'"

If then president Benjamin Mkapa's testimony is anything to go by, Nyerere had a revelation before his death.

Announcing Nyerere's demise, Mkapa told the nation that the founding father had said: "I will not recover; I am dying, I know that you will cry, but have courage, I will pray for you to God." It did not take long before a formal process began to declare Nyerere a saint.

Nyerere is revered by Tanzanians and beyond as "Mr Clean," the man who united the 120 ethnic groups in the country and devoted his life to serving the country selflessly — a rare phenomenon in Africa then and now.

He voluntarily retired from office in 1985 but remained the most influential figure in Tanzanian politics until his death in 1999.

Nyerere built a nation from scratch, jealously protecting its natural resources and preaching the equality of its people.

He tolerated no exploitation of any kind in his country and beyond, uniting African to fight against foreign domination and oppression. Under his leadership, Tanzania became home to oppressed citizens of Southern Africa who were still struggling for independence in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique.

His aim was to get the best out of Africa's social fabric. Under his Socialism and Self Reliance policy, he rejected the idea that an African country should depend on a Western country in one way or other, and worse, after Independence.  In retirement, he recounted: "We inherited a country in which 85 per cent of the adult population was illiterate. The English governed us for 43 years. When they left, we were left with two engineers and 12 doctors.

When I resigned 91 per cent of the population was literate and practically all children attended school. We trained thousands of engineers, doctors and teachers. In 1988, Tanzania's per capita income was $280. In 1998 this figure dropped to $140. I asked the World Bank why they failed. For the past 10 years (1988-1998) Tanzania has signed every single document the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank asked it to sign…" 

According to Canon Law 1187 of the Catholic Church, the process of sainthood starts after the death of the deserving individual. In other words, a living person cannot be a saint.

It involves the opening of the Cause of Beatification and ends up with the Canonisation, with the Pope first declaring that person a Servant of God, and after Beatification "the Venerable" and after Canonisation "a Saint."

For the case of Nyerere, in 2005, the Bishop of Musoma Diocese, Rev Justine Samba, and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference requested the Holy See to initiate the process of declaring Nyerere a saint. The Vatican, under the Congregation for the cause of Saints commissioned an inquiry into the life and works of Nyerere to establish whether there are heroic virtues in his life.

The Congregation was satisfied that Nyerere's life was an exemplary Christian one and on May 13, 2005, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, declared Julius Kambarage Nyerere a "Servant of God."

A special prayer has been written for the faithful to recite so that God, through the intercession of Nyerere, can perform miracles that will then be proven to be beyond what science can understand. In order for someone to be a candidate for sainthood, his life must have transcended human nature, meaning he had lived a life inspired by the Gospel and discarded human traits that contradict the teachings of the Gospel.

This means that someone must have performed miracles in a lifetime that have been proven to be connected to divine powers, or at least lived a life that was above normal. Nyerere is not known to have performed any miracle, but his admirers see his life as the head of state as heroic. He fought for the rights of the oppressed around the world, sacrificing himself and his country. He retired poor and died poor leaving behind the vast wealth of a united people.

Should the prayers yield at least two miracles, then the Church will consider that as proof that he is in heaven and the Pope will declare Nyerere "Venerable."

At this stage, the faithful can pray for his intercession, while waiting for other miracles in order that he can be declared a saint. 

Throughout the process, the faithful are required to report anything they know about the candidate be it positive or negative. A panel that discusses the life of a candidate is composed of God's advocates, who argue that the candidate deserves the title, and the devil's advocates, who argue the opposite.

Whatever virtues Nyerere may have had, he must have hurt some people. Many will have something to say to ultra-confidential sessions of the panel for the canonisation process to be fulfilled. Some critics already say Nyerere could have been a good person but is far from deserving canonisation. 

Nyerere's family are members of an ex-communicated prayer faction called "Wanamaombi" (prayer people) whose leader Fr Felician Nkwera was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1999. The Church announced that any faithful who is associated with the group shall be automatically excommunicated.

According to Bishop Method Kilaini, who was the executive secretary of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference at the time of Fr Nkwera's excommunication, the prayer group is accused of using the holy Eucharist in a superstitious manner.

The group Marian Faith Healing Centre also claims that Nyerere was its member although there is no evidence to support that allegation. Should this be proved to be true, then Nyerere's beatification will be impossible.

Although known to be a staunch Catholic who attended Mass every day, he came from a chiefdom clan of his ethnic community and is alleged by his critics to have been a believer in the powers of the ancestors, a belief regarded as superstitious by the Church.

At one occasion, Nyerere himself said some elders had taken him to participate in rituals to cleanse him during the struggle for Independence. However, to God's advocates, going to non-Christian rituals for a politician, may not necessarily amount to denounciation of the Christian faith.

Further, Nyerere's critics also say he had no Godly tolerance for his political opponents and he was brutal against all those who threatened his supremacy. He detained several colleagues for holding alternative political opinions, and the lucky ones fled the country to escape his wrath.

The political opinions that Nyerere opponents held, such as opposing outright Socialism, and advocating for a three-tier government within the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, are however openly debated today, and it may after all, be good for the country and for deepening of democracy.

Saint or not, Nyerere was an exemplary leader of our time.

Saint or not, Nyerere led an exemplary life - Magazine

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Saint-or-not-Nyerere-led-an-exemplary-life--/434746-3441810-c9762w/index.html

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