TANZANIA: RELIGIOUS leaders have described the late former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi as a righteous, wise leader and God-fearing person.
They said during his life Mzee Mwinyi, was doing good deeds including participating in religious activities and social events as well as respecting religious leaders despite his position.
Speaking during the Khitma prayer held in Zanzibar yesterday, Mufti of Zanzibar, Sheikh Saleh bin Omar Kaabi, said that late Mwinyi was good and righteous and had done good things throughout his life.
He said that Mwinyi was doing many good deeds including building mosques and participating in various religious activities.
“Mwinyi was the leader of two countries, Zanzibar and Mainland, and everywhere he did justice by opening up the economy and making a business centre for people from different countries,” Mufti Kaabi said.
He said that the late Mwinyi was mosques’ leader (Imam) and led various mosques in Zanzibar adding that despite his position, he loved and respected religious leaders. On his side, Mufti’s office Secretary Sheikh Khalid Mfaume said that the Almighty God granted Mwinyi the gift of long life and he has used it to do good deeds for the society.
“Mwinyi was a wise and religiously educated man and he was a lover of the Islamic religion and used to participate in many religious activities.” Sheikh Mfaume stated that as Mzee Mwinyi preferred to say that ‘life is like a story,’ then his will be a good story for those who will be told about him.
President Mwinyi humbled himself to the people and it was easy for an ordinary person to see him in a situation where even his son Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi has been doing the same.
“This is where we relate to each other as parents to be kind so that our children can imitate our behaviour of being kind,” he said.
He added that President Dr Hussein Mwinyi’s behaviour is the result of his upbringing and education from good parents. “Dr Mwinyi loves people, he loves religious leaders and he is humble.”
“Citizens still have a chance to correct their stories, every human being knows what he is like and after he leaves, people will remember him for the bad or good history he left behind,” he added.
He said that though Mzee Mwinyi is physically dead, but his goodness and kindness are still there through his son Dr Hussein Mwinyi.
However, Sheikh Mfaume told the leaders in the government to learn through the lives of the late mzee Mwinyi, President Dr Mwinyi and President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan as leaders who love people and humble themselves in front of people.
“Some people if they are given only a little authority in the government, they begin to scare other people by telling them, “Do you know who I am? No one can be more than he was created by God,” he said.
Moreover, he said that even businessmen should humble themselves and be close to God by participating in various religious and social events, including giving tithes in houses of worship and giving aid to society including food for the needy. Sheikh Othman Maalim of Zanzibar said that the wisdom of late Mwinyi was used by many people when they had problems. “Late Mwinyi was a walking library, it’s because many leaders used to come to him when they faced difficulties,” he said.
Sheikh Maalim said Mzee Mwinyi did good things for the interests of future generation and he has made history in the country adding that late Mwiny’s children have been respecting him by continuing to do the good things their father did.