“Do not full us”! resigning TOC official told

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) has been in the news recently, after its General Assembly elections were marred by dispute and delegates rejected the results announced following Sunday’s polls held at Peacock Hotel in Dar es Salaam. This is reported in the Good Citizen of July 7, 2026 in a front-page article titled: “IOC awaits Rukare report as new TOC leaders take office”.

According to the paper, the presidential race had initially been a tight contest between Anthony Mtaka and Henry Tandau. However, confusion erupted when Leonard Thadeo was declared the winner, triggering protests inside the election hall. Thadeo, who reportedly had garnered only one vote, was declared the new TOC President, and was sworn in office.

A colourful photograph of this swearing in appears on the front page of the paper, carrying the caption: “Newly elected Tanzania Olympic Committee president, Leonard Thadeo (left), is sworn in before High Court and subordinate courts advocate Gaston George Mwageni”.

Tadeo’s tenure, however, was short lived. According to social media outlets: “Leonard Thadeo, who was declared winner of the disputed July 5, 2026, Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) presidential election, officially resigned in August 2026. He stepped down after admitting the electoral process violated the TOC Constitution by allowing ineligible participants to vote, while the International Olympic Committee recognised Anthony Mtaka instead.”

There was jubilation throughout the social media and the sports fraternity. One commentator had it as follows: “Do not ‘full’ us ……… you got a single vote and yet you believed evil can win…”. What does “do not full us mean?” In my opinion, the phrase does not make sense. It is most likely that the writer, in a spate of anger, misspelt the word “fool” into “full”.

So, is there a verb “to fool”? A very big YES! “The expression “to fool” is a verb that means to trick, deceive, or lie to someone so they believe something that is not true. It can also mean to act playfully, joke, or waste time”.

That being the case, our commentator should have written as follows: “Do not ‘fool’ us ……… you got a single vote and yet you believed evil can win…”. More has been taking place in the TOC. According a headline in the Good Citizen (12 August): “Rushaka succeeds Bayi as acting TOC Secretary General”.

ALSO READ: Chalinze-Dodoma line to boost grid stability

The writer goes on to inform us: “Former Tanzanian swimmer Khalid Rushaka has been appointed ACTING secretary general of the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), ‘TAKING OVER’ a position previously held by legendary runner Filbert Bayi”. There is some confusion here. If you are appointed in an “acting” capacity, you are not taking over that position. You are there temporarily.

Let us get educated: “An appointment in an acting capacity, means temporarily assigning an employee or official to fulfill the duties of a specific role or higher position without permanently holding that title. This happens when a job is vacant or the regular holder is away on long-term leave”.

The Good Citizen tells us further: “Rushaka, who represented Tanzania at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, was elected to the TOC executive committee representing Tanzania Mainland before being entrusted with the acting secretary general responsibilities.”

Therefore, Khalid Rushaka is not ‘taking over’ the position of secretary general yet. He might get confirmed in the position, or somebody else may take over from him. This means the position of TOC Secretary General is still vacant (sede vacante, in Latin, meaning “the seat being vacant”).

Let us end up by paying a visit to a boarding school, as reported in the Daily Blog (20 August, page 13) in an article titled: “School feeding programme gets boost in Geita”: “School feeding at Nyakagwe Secondary School in Geita has received a boost following a donation of 75 bags of maize…” Big deal? Not quite. The voracious students devour two bags of maize daily. So, this “boost” is just for 39 days! Talk of misleading headlines! lusuggakironde@gmaiL. com.