JAHAZI issue 02 - Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries, AZAM Marine

Issue 2 Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries

Kazi Yetu Putting Tanzanian tea on the map Traveling Sista How an American woman found new life and love here

Calvin’s camera

The prizewinning photographer capturing his country Also inside

EVANS BUKUKU Your Free Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries Magazine

Meet the man forging a new stand-up comedy scene

In this issue Bookings:

Feature pages

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Welcome Safari njema

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Tanga in numbers

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Evans Bukuku

The entertainer forging a new generation of stand-up comedy for Tanzania

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Traveling Sista

How an American woman found a new life here and is encouraging others to follow her path

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Rita Paulsen interview

The Bongo Star Search founder and judge on embracing challenge and uncovering talent

Jahazi is the official magazine of

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Top five

Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries Opposite St. Joseph Cathedral Sokoine Drive, P.O. Box 2517 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: +255 22 2123324 Email: info@azammarine.com Web: azammarine.com

Endemic animals to spot in the Ngezi Forest Reserve

Jahazi is published by: Land & Marine Publications (Tanzania) Ltd. Room A14, 3rd floor, Josam House plot Number 16, Mikocheni Area Along Coca-Cola Road, Dar es Salaam Tel: +255 686 118 816 www.landmarine.com

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Hotel Review

Escape to the Pemba Paradise

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Swahili story time / Wakati wa hadithi

Operesheni Dakabu by Joseph Shaluwa

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Kazi Yetu

The social enterprise that is Tanzanian to a tea

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Bath rituals

How and where to indulge in a bath boost

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Advertising sales: Catherine O’Callaghan Tel: +44 (0)7944 212063 (WhatsApp) Email: ATCL-inflight@landmarine.org

Jahazi regulars

Godfrey S. Urassa Tel: +255 (0) 686 118 816 (WhatsApp) Email: godfreyurassa@landmarine.com Editor: Mark Edwards markedwards@landmarine.com Head office: Land & Marine Publications Ltd. 1 Kings Court, Newcomen Way, Severalls Business Park, Colchester, Essex, UK, CO4 9RA Tel: +44 (0)1206 752902 Email: publishing@landmarine.com Jahazi is printed by: Jamana Printers Ltd, Dar es Salaam The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor, or any other organisation associated with this publication. No liability can be accepted for any inaccuracies or omissions. Š2021 Land & Marine Publications Ltd.

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Latest News

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Technology review

from Azam Marine and KFF

Working from home

In pictures

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Our destinations

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The work of Calvin Kulaya

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Our fleet

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Crew profile

Abdullah Hongo, technical manager

37 Competition

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Travel information

Our services, travel tips and ferry schedules

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Route maps

Read Jahazi online: qrs.ly/oac8fym

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Welcome Karibu Safari njema Here at Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries we pride ourselves on transporting our passengers and their belongings in a safe, sensitive and professional manner at all times.

Travelling the beautiful blue waters of the Indian Ocean every day, we are also acutely aware of our environmental responsibility and our entire business model is now based on sustainability and minimizing our impact on the natural world.

We want a commitment to sustainability to be synonymous with the Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries brand and part of our modern and forward-thinking outlook that characterises our business operations and all we offer our customers.

Issue 2 Front cover image by Calvin Kulaya Instagram: @_calvin.k

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Along with the smooth, safe journeys we offer our passengers, Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries is itself taking part in a cultural journey in which we are involving managers and focusing on leadership issues in a new and comprehensive way with the aim of advancing standards of work and setting and following objectives throughout the business.

With a clear sustainability profile and new brand behind it, Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries is now targeting both increased growth and profitability in coming years. The aim is to increase the number of passengers, including through developing offers, and experiences for the different customers that travel with us. It is equally important that we develop our digital platforms, enabling ticket purchase, shopping offers and much more to be handled flexibly in these channels.

Meanwhile, we are observing that our sea route is competitive and more environmentally friendly alternative for freight transportation going to Zanzibar, Pemba and the Tanga region.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all employees for their fantastic efforts over the years. We have laid the foundations for a very exciting development journey, which has only just begun. ‘Your Safety is our Priority’.

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries www.azammarine.com

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Tanga

As well as being the gateway to the ‘Green Island’ of Pemba with Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries, Tanga is a fascinating city to visit in its own right with a rich history as a trading post dating back to the 15th century. Here’s some need-to-know numbers to teach you more about the Sisal city.

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Tanga has the second largest port in Tanzania.

German colonialists originally planned for Tanga to be the country’s capital and at the heart of the city’s expansion was its port. Those plans have faded over time, but recent developments such as a new oil terminal mean the port stills play a prominent role.

394

The number of British and Indian officers who were killed in an ill-advised attack on German forces in Tanga at the outbreak of the First World War. The names of the dead are engraved on a screen wall in the Tanga Memorial Cemetery.

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km

2

metres

The distance from Tanga to the Galanos Hot Springs, which are said to have healing properties.

The length an adult coelacanth fish can grow to. The TCMP was set up to protect this ‘living fossil of the sea’.

Tanga in numbers

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The number of Shiraz tombs in Tongoni. The Shirazi are a coastal tribe that called Tongoni home as far back as the 14th and 15th centuries. The walls of the ancient town survive to this day as do the tombs – the largest collection of their type in East Africa.

150

100 km

million years

The approximate age of the Ambioni Caves, just north of Tanga. There are of 10 stalactite and stalagmite-filled caves with one used for guided tours.

The length of the Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park (TCMP) which extends along the coastline from north of Pangani River estuary to Mafuriko village just north of Tanga City.

2 to 5% The amount of the sisal plant that is utilised to make the stiff fibre used in ropes, bags and rugs. The remaining bio-material is used as fertilizer or thrown away. In Tanzania, Katani Ltd constructed the country’s first sisal waste biogas power plant at Hale.

1 million

The number of Tanga farmers said to have been involved in the production of sisal in 1961 when Tanzania was the largest exporter of the plant in the world.

2,290 metres

The altitude of the highest peaks of the Usambara Mountains within day trip range of Tanga.

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Latest News From Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries

Azam Marine is the latest word in the legacy of boat building in Zanzibar

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he island of Zanzibar and others in the group are located just off the coast of Tanzania and have, for thousands of years, been a destination for adventure, beauty and trade. The earliest Arab traders brought the skills of dhow building and, along with this, a great appreciation of quality boats.

While dhows are still built in Zanzibar, the owners of Azam Marine have travelled across the Indian Ocean to Australia to find the best of the best in aluminium ferry design and construction. The firm operates a scheduled ferry service between the Tanzanian mainland and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. In addition to a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) passenger speedboat, they operate several large Cummins-powered, high-speed and high-capacity catamarans.

A company spokesperson says: “As international tourists discover the magnificent destination of Tanzania, Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries are moving with the times to provide them with swift and comfortable ferry services. The 6

Tanzanian companies are pursuing a vigorous policy of modernising and maintaining its fleet in line with fast-moving developments in the world of water transport.”

This commitment to quality led them to Australian boat-building company Incat Crowther design and US engine company Cummins Power. In early 2016, they took delivery of a 32-knot, 566-passenger, 39 by 11-metre, aluminium catamaran from Tasmania’s Richardson Devine Marine shipyard. Named Kilimanjaro VI, this prop-driven vessel, the sixth from the yard to this owner, has proven itself with a pair of Cummins 1715 kW QSK60 engines. This vessel also has two Cummins-powered 170 kVA electrical generators.

Kilimanjaro VII In 2018 construction began on a still larger and faster catamaran to be named Kilimanjaro VII. The new vessel, also built at Richardson Devine Marine to an Incat-Crowther design, is, at 45 by 11.5-metres, slightly larger. It is also more powerful with a pair of Cummins Marine’s QSK95 engines each

delivering a hefty 2684 kW (3600 HP) at 1700 RPM through ZF marine gears to Kamewa 80-S4 waterjets. This gives the larger and heavier craft a 35-knot design speed.

These 95-litre Cummins engines are the same models that were installed in two large Incat-Crowther designed crew/supply boats built in Spain in 2016/17. They have proven themselves in extensive global operations.

The Kilimanjaro VII was built to ensure passenger luxury across all classes.

The Royal Class area is of a similar standard to an Emirates Airlines First Class cabin and even the economy passengers on the main deck luxuriate in their comfortable seats. Among the boat’s 10-strong crew, stewards will serve passengers from airline style food and beverage trolleys. The

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Know your boats mid-deck Royal and First-Class passengers also get the benefit of their own entertainment monitor.�

For ease in boarding and disembarkation of up to 500 passengers on three decks, the vessel is equipped with three hinged boarding ramps. An additional ramp will be used by the crew to discharge passenger baggage, from a separate onboard baggage room, for pick-up in the terminal.

The latest tech A pair of Cummins 6CTA-powered 136 kWE generators meets the Kilimanjaro VII’s electrical needs.

Tankage for fuel is provided in two 7500-litre fuel tanks and two 2000litre day tanks. Additional tankage is provided for 1500 litres of water.

Early voyagers brought maritime technology to the island of Zanzibar on trading dhows. Today state-ofthe-art maritime technology, in the Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries fleet, is bringing international visitors and tourists to the stunning beaches and culture of these islands off Tanzania.

High-speed catamarans have revolutionised ferry services. The Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries fleet are at the forefront of this trend. But how did we get here? Jahazi traces the recent development of marine passenger travel.

What is a fast ferry?

Hydrofoil

A ferry is a merchant vessel used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. Ferries from a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels.

Ship connections of much larger distances in the water bodies. A high-speed craft is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fast craft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and mono-hull designs become more popular and large hydrofoils and hovercraft are no longer built.

The system of hydrofoil in a high-speed craft was simultaneously used along with hovercraft system. The hydrofoil system incorporates the use of wings or lifts to raise the boat from the surface of the water and move forward. The wings or the hydrofoil attached make sure that the speed of the boat is maintained.

There are many difference types of boats that can be used for civilian purposes. The high-speed craft is one such example.

High-speed crafts use air pressure to keep them moving at a fast pace on the water and have engines and turbines- propellers to move them. The high-speed craft was a very popular boat from the time it was launched and still maintains its popularity.

Over the years there have been many variations in the high-speed craft. These variations can be elaborated as follows:

Hovercrafts A high-speed craft designed in the earliest of a hovercraft was the earliest vessel introduced. A hovercraft uses air pressure to propel itself in the water. It is reliable and is the most preferred means of transportation used especially as rescue vehicles in case of natural calamities, especially in water.

Catamarans A high-speed craft in the format of a catamaran came into the existence from the 90s. The catamarans offered a highspeed craft not just speed but also stability, balance and the ability to withstand gales and strong winds. It has to be noted that the catamaran employed a dual hull that gave it the above mentioned features and thereby superiority over the previous two variations of high-speed boats.

Mono hull As the name suggests, this type of high-speed craft has a single or mono hull rather than the two in the catamaran type.

Mono hulls became popular alongside the catamarans in the same time period adding a lot of variety to the existing types of the high-speed crafts. The most important reason why mono hulls were used was because of the feasibility aspect of the ballast (weight added to support the boat from blockages coming from sideways). The better ability of the ballast ensured that the high-speed craft was provided an overall stability.

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Photography: Calvin Kulaya / Instagram: @_calvin.k

Award-winning photography “I am trying to capture strength, beauty and enthusiasm that is found in different environments, materials and people.” These are the words of Tanzanian photographer Calvin Kulaya and the examples of his work here show how the versatile 26-year-old is able to memorialise these moments across photojournalism, still life, portraits, nature and wildlife, street photography and fashion shoots. He was recently awarded the global photojournalism award The Other Hundred Healers, for which he represented Tanzania and went up against thousands of other photographers worldwide. His winning images (one is below) chronicled the efforts of Doris Mollel in delivering hundreds of food baskets to elderly people isolated by the Covid-19 outbreak in Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo and Zanzibar. Kulaya has worked as a volunteer for the Doris Mollel Foundation, which supports premature babies born in Tanzania, for some time and was granted intimate access to the food parcel project. His images distil the selfless care, courage and healing involved. Kulaya says: “I felt good representing Tanzania with the Doris Mollel story. It was a very special opportunity to me as a photographer to showcase my art to the rest of the world.”

Kulaya is part of the team of photographers, cinematographers, designers and audio engineers who make up Slide Visuals in Dar and he showcases his work on Instagram @_calvin.k

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IN PICTURES

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Evans Bukuku

‘COMEDY ADDS LIFE, LAUGHTER AND FLAIR TO ANYTHING YOU DO’ Comedian Evans Bukuku has been instrumental in growing a comedy culture in Tanzania and is passing on his skills to a new generation of stand-up students through his Punchline Africa clubs and workshops. He tells Mark Edwards why he believes there is a great future for comedy here.

Images courtesy of Evans Bukuku

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Evans Bukuku is the co-founder of comedy club and agency Punchline Africa

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vans Bukuku did his first stand-up comedy show when he was 33 years old.

“The same age Jesus died,” he points out. As it happened, Bukuku also died that night, figuratively speaking. “It was a weird experience. The show took place on a beach and I learnt the hard way that it was not the right environment for comedy.”

This inauspicious start did not put Bukuku off pursuing comedy as a career, but it did teach him two important lessons: getting venues in Tanzania conducive to stand-up shows is crucial and comedy is a craft that needs to be worked on and refined.

Now, 10 years on Bukuku is one of Tanzania’s best known and well-regarded comics with a cheeky, unflappable presence honed on stage, radio – he had his own show on Dar es Salaam’s Cloud Media until 2016 – and as an event MC. In 2019 he co-founded Punchline Africa, a comedy club and agency that hosts regular shows at two comedy-friendly venues in the city. The Punchline Comedy Club takes place every two months at Hamu Restaurant, in Masaki, while the weekly Raw, which Bukuku describes as a “comedy gym”, is a chance for budding talent to work on their routines. This new generation is also schooled at Punchline workshops with some of Africa’s biggest names in stand-up – among them South African Kagiso ‘KG’ Mokgadi, AK Dans from South Sudan and Long John from

while in the country to headline Punchline’s quarterly flagship arena shows Jus’ Laugh A Little, which regularly draw an audience of around 500. It all combines, Bukuku says, “to provide a progressive pipeline for comedy in Tanzania”.

Bukuku’s achievements are even more impressive when you consider he did not just have to make it as a stand-up comic, he also had to create a stand-up culture in Tanzania to make it in.

That culture is up and running, evidenced by a recent statistic that Bukuku is understandably proud in sharing. “Just three weeks ago there were six comedy shows over five nights across Tanzania with different comedy operations and that is unprecedented. That’s a major milestone.”

The arrival of Punchline Africa has been a fillip for the scene and Bukuku believes they now have operations in place that will see the comedy culture really take off in Tanzania.

“So far we have put on almost 50 shows,” he says, “from club gigs to arenas. We have done a lot in a short space of time.

“We believe in the long term and we believe there is a great future for comedy here. The word is getting out there and we want to make it bigger and better.

“I’ve been in comedy 10 years.

When we started out there was no comedy scene, we had to invent it. My comedy journey to bring life into comedy in Tanzania and have

He admits to being the class clown at school. Born in Mwadui, in the Shinyanga Region, he left Tanzania for the UK with his parents at age four and attended boarding school there until he was 16.

Bukuku says that as a pupil he liked to “be an idiot” in class and make his friends laugh, though he says he was by nature an introvert and “there were students who were clownier than I was, but many of them got expelled”.

“When I was hanging with my friends, I also remember how I would make them laugh and how good that would make me feel.”

Playing the clown was restricted to time away from the family home.

Bukuku’s parents had a clearly defined list of suitable professions for their children and comedian was not on it.

“I was a typical young boy who loved to fool around,” Bukuku says, “but not in front of my folks. “They are your typical African parents – only interested in their son being an engineer, a doctor or a teacher.

It would have been a difficult conversation to have with my dad –

Zimbabwe – sharing their skills

it become a typical night out has

‘I want to be a comedian.’”

Inventing the scene

been a challenge.”

That Bukuku stuck to the challenge says much about how deep that love of comedy runs within him. ‘I knew I wanted to be a comic from the age of 10,” he says. While his career has taken an often-circuitous route to bring him here, entertaining others has always been at its heart.

Class clown

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Evans Bukuku

MCing at events and co-founding an audio-visual lighting company.

He even recorded and released a music single, but despite coming from a musical family with his late brother Roy a pioneer of Bongo Flava who produced work for sister Enika among many others, Bukuku admits it “didn’t go down so well”.

The stand-up began to take shape with Bukuku setting up his own monthly comedy club, which ran for five years, before launching Punchline with Ahmed Dahal, a friend from his Arusha days. He describes himself as an “observer” and his hilarious routines dissecting everyday life are a big part of why so many Tanzanians are now hungry to spend their time and money on high quality stand-up.

Working on his routine

Entertainer: Bukuku’s CV includes being an MC, a radio host and – least successfully – a singer

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Still Bukuku was determined enough to pursue his own path.

Once he had completed his GCSE exams at age 16, he returned to Tanzania with his parents to complete his A-levels then set about finding work.

He based himself in Arusha and from there began an entrepreneurial journey that Bukuku laughingly describes as “dotted”.

Still there is an identifiable element of performance running through the motley assortment of jobs he took on that suggests he was all the while fine tuning his comedy craft.

selling meat products. Such was Bukuku’s success that he became known in Arusha as ‘Mr Sausage’, a slightly discomfiting monikor that was also given to his hot-dog and burger van that did a roaring trade with what Bukuku calls the “nightime lunchtime” market of hungry locals leaving nightclubs in the early hours.

Moving to Dar es Salaam, he worked as salesman in a car dealership, volunteered at radio station Clouds Media (then Clouds

“I like my routines to have a sense of progress,” he says. “I try to answer questions about why we are the way we are in relation to culture, racism, politics, business and aspirations. I try to make sense of it all. I do a lot of research and come up with some kind of conclusion.

“If I see something that I think could work in a routine, I’ll record it on my phone and work on it later.

I don’t put a set time or limit on it, but I do a lot of mental sparring.

Inspiration hits me every day and I like to test out my ideas on people.”

Punchline’s Raw club nights offers up-and- coming comedians and complete newbies on a dare the chance to try out their material in a relaxed, open-mic environment.

“Jokes are like seeds,” Bukuku says.

“You grow them in front of smaller audiences and when it is ready you can show the crowds. I have spent time in New York and visited a small comedy club where the week

The journey began in marketing,

FM) before getting his own show,

previously Chris Rock and David

Radio show

Chapelle turned up by surprise to work on new material.”

The renown of these massively successful and wealthy US comedians may seem beyond emulation, but Bukuku wants the next generation of Tanzanian comedians he supports at Punchline to aim high.

The comedy club and agency’s live shows and workshops are predominantly carried out in English as Bukuku – who, given his upbringing, speaks English as a first language but is also fluent in Swahili – wants his students to prime themselves for a worldwide audience.

“We want to encourage comics to reach their potential in Tanzania and beyond,” he says. “We use English as a common language for other comics to come here. We have a system in place and English allows us to evolve at a faster rate.”

This evolution is also helped along by The Writer’s Room, a series of fortnightly workshops in which Bukuku and other established comics dispense tips on material and stagecraft. The sessions are supported by partners including Nafasi Art Space, The Drum and BASATA, The National Arts Council and give emerging comics a space to work on jokes together, gain confidence, to bond as artists and develop comedy content.

life and become better people.”

The students are predominantly young men, aged between 20 and 30. Bukuku offers an explanation for the gender gap that sounds like it might be lifted from one of his comedy routines. “It’s mostly young men because women have options,” he laughs. “Also if you are a good comic someone will call you an ‘idiot’. People tell you ‘You’re crazy, you’re mad’. That’s a compliment in the comedy world, but women are not good about being told that to their face.”

Finding your voice

Timing is considered an essential element in the delivery of a good stand-up routine, but the way Bukuku describes the workshops, giving them the air of a well-drilled bootcamp, he suggests timekeeping is just as important.

“We run a very punctual show.

Even aircraft are late, but our acts are on time every time. We instil discipline into these kids so they

Among the skills he teaches students to get them to that prized “idiot” level is how to pursue their own authentic voice on stage.

“We teach them to be confident in themselves. It’s OK to be inspired by someone, but not to copy them. They have to speak from a place of truth.

“They will also learn how to engage an audience, how to handle a mic and how to remember their routines from start to end.”

The Raw shows are a chance to refine these stage skills and the next step up is a gig at The Comedy Club, the bi-monthly event which has become a staple part of the Dar comedy calendar and a welcome pay day for the comics who make the bill. Bukuku acknowledges making a living as a stand-up is still difficult and his students would do well to follow his lead on diversifying income streams.

“Is it possible to make a living from comedy? Yes. With stand-up comedy? That’s a tough one, but it’s getting there. Stand-up is like the trunk of a tree. It holds all the branches for the fruits you will eventually eat. It will lead to radio, presenting and MCing to bring

can apply it in other parts of their

you your income. Comedy adds

Comedy workshop

At our workshops you learn how to engage an audience, how to handle a mic and remember routines from start to end life, laughter and flair to anything you do.”

There are other Tanzanian comics who have found success as part of the Punchline family, among them Cleyton Msosa, from Arusha, Sadick Ali, Dogo Pepe – “we started our journey together,” Bukuku says – and poet comedian Hallelujah from Mbeya.

With quality stand-up acts, welcoming venues and an appreciative audience now in place, the Tanzanian comedy culture looks set for success. Bukuku’s debut performance may not have gone well, but he is having the last laugh.

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Traveling Sista

How a US ‘Sista’ found her voice in Tanzania US-born Kat Kishimbo vlogs about her new life in Tanzania, where she has lived since 2016, on her YouTube channel Traveling Sista. She tells Mark Edwards why the move gave her the freedom to “blossom as a black woman”.

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K

athryn ‘Kat’ Kishimbo has lived in Tanzania for just over four years now, but she felt at home from the very moment she arrived.

When she flew in to Arusha on 16 December, 2016, the American – then named Kathryn Wilson and describing herself as an “average black millennial woman” – had just turned 30, sold all her possessions and left behind a job at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, on the US West Coast, for a new life travelling in East Africa.

She knew no-one in Tanzania and had no idea how she would support herself beyond her US$ 10,000 in savings. However, this sense of the unknown did not feel like fear, it felt like freedom.

“I knew that I made the right decision immediately,” she says.

“When I stepped off the plane I felt a sense of familiarity. I was so comfortable and at peace. Coming here had been led by a search for freedom and a more adventure filled and natural life. The vibration of nature and greenery was exactly what I needed. I don’t know if it’s because I had travelled to many different countries in my life or if it was because everyone was black, but I felt right at home.”

Such a sense of belonging had been absent in the US. While the country’s racial divisions and disparities were magnified in 2020 by the death of George Floyd and the presidential election, Kat has felt the inequality all her life there.

“The US has always been divided,” she says. “It’s just more visible because of social media and smart phones. Our plight as blacks

in America is news to the rest of the world, old news to us. I knew that I wanted to escape the oppressive, racist nature of America. I wanted to be with my people – black, African people. I needed a safe space for me to blossom in as a black woman.”

And Kat has thrived here. She has embraced projects that she would never have considered in the “everyday, mundane, empty cycle of life” she left behind in the US. Among them is her own YouTube channel, Traveling Sista, which she set up to share her experiences in Tanzania and has become an invaluable resource for a now almost 20,000-strong worldwide “family”, as Kat calls it, of members not just of the African diaspora considering making a new start in life.

Kat with pupils at a school in Arusha

Vlog host In her weekly vlogs, Kat dispenses advice on the expat life in Tanzania with topics including finding accommodation, starting a business, getting a visa, what to and what not to wear, the cultural differences to expect and even the do’s and don’ts of dating in Tanzania.

Kat is a natural vlog host with a warm and engaging manner. She attended film school in the US, but there she was working behind the

Travelling in Tanzania

camera. It was only in Tanzania she

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Traveling Sista

felt a purpose that inspired her to take on new challenges.

“Honestly, I had never dreamed about vlogging or having a YouTube channel,” she tells me.

“But I felt like I had a lot say and share with people. Ultimately my purpose was bigger than the boundaries of my comfort level.

I’m pretty used to vlogging now.

It’s gotten a lot easier. In the beginning I was so nervous that I would have to record a video three or four times.

“I absolutely love my YouTube family! I feel honoured that people have been riding along with me on this journey, and more importantly value the content I create. It feels amazing to be able to inspire people on that level.”

Tanzanians have also taken to Kat. When she arrived at her new home in a village on the outskirts of Arusha, she admits her many tattoos and piercings did evoke some curiosity among residents – although her body art stretched earlobes were a way in with the Maasai, who also favour the practise – but she was universally welcomed.

“Since I’ve been traveling for a good portion of my life [Kat was in the navy for six years and visited countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines during her service] I feel like I pick up on cultural nuances pretty quickly. I just tried to observe and blend in as much as possible all while still maintaining my own identity.”

Inspiring others The vlogs are also a fantastic advertisement for Tanzania with aspirational footage of the verdant foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru, Arusha’s fresh food markets and interviews with local artists and musicians as well as fellow expats

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who have made a home here. It’s no surprise that so many viewers have been inspired to make their own moves to Tanzania. Kat has lost count of the number of people “it’s well into the hundreds”, she has helped relocate here, finding them suitable accommodation.

The videos leave no doubt that Kat is in love with Tanzania, whether she is cooing over the wealth of fruit trees growing in her garden, soaking up the sunshine or just easing into the simple beauty of village life.

Finding love Beyond loving the country, she has also found romantic love here. A few months into her stay she began a relationship with Tanzanian Freddy Kishimbo and they are now married – the traditional wedding was held in the village of Mbokumu in Old Moshi where Freddy grew up – and have a two-year-old baby daughter, Zora.

“They are my everything,” Kat says, “but I had no intention whatsoever of coming here and finding love. I was honestly focused on travelling the continent and other neighbouring regions of the world.

I wasn’t looking for romance at all.

I knew it could be possible simply because I was a single woman and I was moving to a continent with a high population of beautiful black men. So, ultimately, I just went with the flow.”

Kat’s love for Tanzania and Freddy meant the pan-Africa exploring was put on hold, but the relationship has brought its own adventures.

The couple set up their own travel company, Sauka Tours, to reveal the natural and wildlife wonders of the country to others. However, last year’s pandemic necessitated diversifying and a move for the family to Dar es Salaam.

“Corona basically shut down

Kat fell in love with the natural beauty of Tanzania on arrival

our operation because there were no tourists. We had to find a way to sustain ourselves. We recently opened Sauka Woodworks where we provide wholesale and retail lumber to people who need it. We also export. My husband’s family had been in the timber business for almost 30 years so he knows all the ins and outs and is very good at what he does. I’m super proud of him. Dar is where we need to be for the timber business. We’re dealing with hardwood so it is a more lucrative location for us. The

my life,” Kat says. “Definitely not publicly. Up until this past year, I’ve been quite shy about letting the world in on my talent. I can thank my husband for breaking me out of my shell. He would take me to the studio with him and would tell me to hop on a track or two. So I did, and bam! End of story. I was hooked.”

She has released the results under the moniker Kill ‘Em Kat with her first EP now available to hear on all streaming platforms.

The summery vibe of lead single ‘Elevate’ seems suffused with the romantic and spiritual contentment Kat has found here in Tanzania. Her smooth voice certainly deserves an audience beyond her own bathroom, putting the listener at ease whether she’s sweetly duetting with Freddy on the chorus or laying down her own laidback rap.

Resident

business requires a lot of attention and we have to juggle that with being good parents to our beautiful baby girl.”

The bustling commercial capital may not offer the same verdant escape that first drew Kat to the country, but it has other advantages. It has a growing number of professional quality recording studios and Freddy, who is also a musician, has been encouraging his wife to pursue her life-long love of singing.

“I’ve really been singing all of

Kat is now a Tanzanian resident.

Being married to a citizen made the usually protracted process far more straightforward, although, she admits, having a husband who speaks fluent Kiswahili has allowed her to get away with not learning the language as well as she’d like.

“Right now, I’m only about 35% to 40% efficient in Kiswahili. I should know way more. But since my husband is Tanzanian, I’ve been a bit lazy because he just translates for me. There will be plenty of time to improve, though, as the quality of life and opportunities in Tanzania mean Kat is here to stay. A return to the US, whoever’s in charge now, is not going to happen.

“I love the cost of living and the fact that the life I had always dreamed of is financially obtainable here,” she says. “I also love the nature, the people and the food.

I had no intention whatsoever of coming here and finding love. I was honestly focused on travelling the continent and other neighbouring regions of the world With husband Freddy Kishimbo and their daughter Zora

America. I don’t see a reason to. The cost of living is way too expensive.

Everyone is sick because the food is horrible and processed. And it’s honestly not a safe place for black people. Tanzania is home now.”

More information Find all of Kat’s vlogs on her Traveling Sista YouTube channel and keep up with her latest moves on Instagram @traveling.sista Kill ‘Em Kat tracks are available to stream on YouTube and Soundcloud.

For more information on her travel business, visit saukatours.com

“I will never move back to

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17

Rita Paulsen interview

“I saw there were Tanzanian youths with so much talent but just lacking a platform to showcase it” Hit TV talent show Bongo Star Search is well known for the moving stories of its contestants and Rita Paulsen – the show’s founder and one of its team of judges – has her own story to share of overcoming challenges to achieve success. Here she talks to Jahazi about being ostracised as a teenage mum and how she found the strength to help herself and now enjoys being able to help others reach their potential.

Q

Bongo Star Search has been a huge success with this year seeing the broadcast of its 11th season. Who, for you, has been the best act in the show’s history?

Thankfully every year we get different talents, new contestants showcasing fresh unique styles, with varying background stories, which are always moving. It is rather difficult to pick a particular favourite, but if I must I would say so far my favourite was the Season 6 winner Walter Chilambo because his transformation and how he evolved on this show was quite shocking to all of us. He came on this show unnoticed, not calling for too much attention, but as the show went on, he slowly captured everyone’s attention including mine and to this day, he is one of our great ambassadors doing very well in the gospel music industry.

You also have to burst the bubble of a lot of people’s dreams if they are clearly not as talented as they think they are. Is that hard?

It’s a very difficult task, I always get emotional about it because I know how much they want to make it in life and

they need this opportunity, because I’ve been there wanting to do something and you don’t want to lose any chance you get. I try to convince the other judges to be slightly soft on them and we fight a lot. If it was only up to me everyone who makes the top 10 would be a winner. It really is painful and a very hard thing to do when you know this is someone’s dream, someone’s future.

The judges are crucial to the show.

You all have your own distinct, strong characters, but seem to get on well. Is that the case?

Funny enough we do get on so well, and we have good chemistry despite all of the judges standing up for their cause as they are experienced music industry figures and they understand exactly what to look for in an artist. Generally we get along very well, though we fight here and there and do have our misunderstandings. We are all there for the same cause. It is so much fun working together.

When you started the show, did you expect you would find so much singing

talent among Tanzanians as you travelled the country with your auditions?

Yes, I actually knew we would find a lot of talent out there, because before I started Bongo Star Search I did notice there were a lot of youths with so much talent but were just lacking a platform to showcase it. Before that I used to do music videos for talented people who could not afford to pay for them. The reason why I chose to do Bongo Star Search was to give a platform to many! Running my production company [Benchmark Productions] I used to offer just one video to one artist every other year, then I figured there is so much talent out there and this show would give them a chance to show stakeholders their talent, because you never know who is watching!

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19

Rita Paulsen interview

You became pregnant at 14 and experienced some ostracism in the Karagwe District, where you grew up, and had to put aside ambitions to become a lawyer as a result. Yet you did not let those experiences define you and went on to build your own media empire. How do you feel you can be a role model to young girls who may feel the same pressures as you growing up?

Yes, I was a mother at the age of 14, it is true! And it’s true that I owned my own business by the age of 25. It was definitely not easy, but there was a voice inside me that told me ‘I am a winner’ and that I will get over it. Maybe it was because I was so young that nothing really bothered me or completely broke me, so I was strong without knowing where I was getting the strength from.

From the tender age of 14, I started thinking like a 40-year-old woman. I was like here I am now, I have a child, I have a life that I have to take care of, so I had to stand up for the child and that made me very mature. Well, yeah I went through all of that and God blessed me with all those people who were judging me and segregating me. I ended up being someone who took care of their children, who educated their children. I honestly forgave [those who ostracised Paulsen] and didn’t take the treatment to heart as I thought I did wrong, maybe I deserved to be treated that way, but then am like ‘how do I fight it?’. I figured I can only fight it if I succeed, despite being a mother at 14. That is the answer!

I can be a role model to young girls as I am proof that if something like that happens it is not the end of the world – there is another life. I advise parents to talk to their daughters, to their children at a very early age. Most of the times these things happen because of ignorance. That is how I raised my children, I talked to them and we had discussions. So they never went through what I went through – that was my dream; they didn’t have to go through what I went through, so I had to apply a different approach towards raising them, in ways

So yes, it is not the end of the world.

Someone having a child doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to go to school, they don’t deserve to be educated. The brain is still there, and they can be very important people in the world! I stand for that. It doesn’t mean when you have a child that you are a gone case.

that I didn’t experience while growing up with my parents due to stigma.

about their life’s struggles and successes.

The show delves into the lives of ordinary

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What are the most important lessons you can pass on to other budding entrepreneurs on how to start their businesses?

When you want to start a business, you really need to know what you want to do.

The business I started was something I passionately loved. I love what I do, and it was my dream to do what I am doing now.

When you start a business you are very fond of you do it so well. Of course, you have to have discipline and not give up.

Business is not easy, so if you start business in one year and things are not working out and you give up – you will never make it in business! You have to have perseverance.

If you expect after two years, you’re going to find lots of money in your account, that not going to happen! You need to have discipline and work very hard to sustain the business and if your business survives past five years then you are doing very well. But even if you fail, you have to keep trying.

The magic is to choose a business you have a passion for. I had so much passion when started my business and I think that was the key to my success.

As host of The Rita Paulsen Show do you enjoy meeting new people and finding out about their stories?

The Rita Paulsen Show is another dream project of mine that I managed to fulfil, which developed from my love and admiration of [US chat show queen] Oprah Winfrey. I do enjoy meeting new people and exchanging ideas, but my core purpose for this show was to make a difference in people’s lives and impact viewers in a positive manner. The show aimed at giving each invited guest the avenue to share and educate the audience

and extraordinary people, with the objective to enlighten, entertain, inspire and provide sustainable solutions to various problems in our society.

Who are your Tanzanian heroes?

Wow! Interesting question. I would have to say Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, [Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations] Asha-Rose Migiro and Samia Suluhu, Tanzania’s first female Vice-President.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a very strong, passionate, kind, loving and hard-working woman who has changed a lot of people’s lives.

Do you have a special place in Tanzania where you go to escape and relax?

Yes, I love Zanzibar very much.

Generally I love nature and I have been to most of the exotic places in Tanzania but more frequently to Zanzibar.

What was the best kiss of your life?

I was lucky to meet Nelson Mandela, and he kissed my hand – so that day I will never forget. I felt very special and I actually cried. I really loved him.

To whom would you like to say ‘sorry’?

I always say sorry to everybody who I have wronged. Most likely the person I would like to say sorry to is not alive.

What keeps you awake at night?

Whenever there is something am working I tend to stay up late, building on the idea as I am, sadly, a perfectionist.

What has been your biggest challenge in life?

There have been so many challenges in my life. But I actually embrace the challenges that I have experienced as I believe they have made me who I am today. When something is very easy it actually bores me. I feed on challenges and I always overcome them

Images: Mark Photography

Rita with the other Bongo Star Search judges Master J, Ommy Dimpoz, Christian Bella and host Idris Sultan

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21

Top five

Five animals to look out for in the

NGEZI FOREST RESERVE The protected reserve of Ngezi on Pemba’s north-western tip is all that remains of the indigenous forest that used to dominate the island. Its 1,440 hectares of lush rainforest with the branches and leaves of giant trees providing a verdant canopy overhead is home to a fascinating range of animal and bird life that is only to be found on Pemba. Here’s Jahazi’s pick of these endemic creatures.

Pemba Flying Fox As the name suggest this animal – actually a bat, but with a body covered in fox-like bright chestnut orange fur – is endemic to the island. They, quite literally, hang out in Ngezi, where they roost in the treetops during the day and emerge at dusk to feed on fruit such as figs, mangoes and breadfruit. Unfortunately, the flying fox has itself long been considered a delicacy by islanders. It was hunted almost to extinction in recent years, but an effective protection scheme has replenished numbers with an estimate of 20,000 individuals now thought to live on Pemba.

Pemba vervet monkey Ngezi resounds to the sounds of raucous vervet monkeys as they squabble high up in the forest canopy and compete to swing on vines. These primates can be identified by their black face marking and grey fur and spend more time on grooming than your average Instagram influencer.

They can be seen inspecting the fur of other members of their troop for hours each day.

Zanzibar red colobus monkey This rare leaf-eating monkey with its distinguishing bed-head tufts of fur on its scalp and black stripe along its shoulders and arms is endemic to Unguja, the largest island in the Zanzibar archipelago. However, a small population of the tree-dwelling monkeys were moved to Ngezi in 1974. They still remain, but with numbers still thought to be fewer than 30, count yourself extremely lucky if you see one. Surprisingly, for tree dwellers, their opposable thumbs – deemed essential for primate climbers – are little more than stumps, but they do have very long tails to keep them balanced.

Blue duiker

Pemba scops owl

This small antelope with short, spiky horns is endemic to Pemba and the Zanzibar archipelago as a whole. The blue duiker feeds on fallen fruits, foliage and flowers that Ngezi provides. The dense forest also provides cover and security for this notoriously skittish animal – the name comes from the Afrikaans duik meaning “diver”, which refers to its practice of frequently diving into vegetation for cover when spooked – so if you do spot one, don’t expect it to hang around for long.

Another species endemic to the island, this nocturnal bird is known for its deep, haunting “hoo” call given at irregular intervals at dawn as it prepares to hunt for insects. The spooky tone and its night-time habits may explain why it has long been associated with witchcraft on Pemba. It roosts among dense foliage so Ngezi is where you will find most of them, but with wooded habitats making way for farming plantations, numbers are dwindling.

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23

Crew profile Abdullah Hongo, technical manager, Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries

‘My job challenges me to limits I never thought I had’ Abdullah Hongo is the technical manager for the Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries fleet, ensuring that the necessary repair work on the ferries is carried out correctly.

Here the vital member of the team, who has worked for Azam for almost a decade, talks about his maritime background and how our state-of-the-art equipment gives him the opportunity to be one of the most technologically advanced marine engineers in Tanzania.

C

an you tell us about your educational journey to qualify as a technical ship manager?

My journey began 21 years ago. I went to Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute and also trained in marine engineering at MTU in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Cummins Marine Engine Facility in Nairobi and Rolls Royce waterjets commission in Australia.

Sea Star Services Ltd in Zanzibar and now in the same role for Azam Marine. I have been here since October 2011.

Can you tell me more about your background in the maritime industry?

I worked in Al Thuraya Marine Services in Dubai and then MTU Marine Mechanics in Abu Dhabi as a second engineer. I was then chief

It is a huge responsibility to ensue repair work on the fleet is executed properly. Do you enjoy that pressure and what kind of qualities do you think are required to thrive in the role?

Yes, I really enjoy the pressure I incur, which challenges me to limits I never thought I had. To do the job well you have to execute the proper operation for each machine and other equipment on board all vessels. Machines operated well with the right knowhow can

engineer on the MV Seagull before becoming technical manager for

prevent unforeseen breakdowns.

You also need to be able to execute

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Azam Marine fleet impresses me a lot because most of their vessels are fitted with state-of-the-art equipment Technical manager Abdullah Hongo ensures repairs are carried out on the KFF fleet to the highest standards

the planned preventive maintenance for those main engines and auxiliary engines and make quick and right decisions during a major breakdown.

Can you tell me some of the repair work and checks that are carried out in dry dock? How often are these checks done?

Some of repair work carried out in dry dock includes propeller check and repair, propeller shaft and

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bushes check, ultrasonic check for hull plate thickness, replacing zinc anodes (that protect the ship’s metal parts from corrosion), painting the hull and checking underwater line strainers and valves.

We normally drydock our vessels every two years.

Can you give us an idea of the size of the team that you manage?

Who falls under your control?

Working under me are 22 vessel operation engineers, nine in the workshop crew, three in the fabrication team, three in the air-conditioning team, two in the plumbing team, two in the electronics team and 14 divers. That makes a total of 55 personnel.

I’m sure you know the Azam Marine fleet inside out. What impresses you most about the fast ferries the company has?

Azam Marine fleet impresses me a lot because most of their vessels are fitted with state-of-the-art equipment with very few, if any, others around Eastern Africa having such high levels of engineering and technology. This gives me the opportunity to be one of the most technologically advanced marine engineers in Tanzania.

What are some of the favourite parts of your job?

I enjoy hosting various experts from abroad who visit the fleet for technical support. The reaction they have on seeing the condition of our fleet and the advancement they see in us as a company is priceless and gives me a great feeling.

Were you always good with your hands? Did you like to take machines apart when you were young and learn to put them back together?

I am gifted in troubleshooting and solving various different mechanical failures. I grew up working on cars and I would always have my hands dirty trying to fix one machine or another. I learnt to dismantle and assemble parts from a young age and got inspired to follow my mechanical future.

Have you always had a deep connection with the sea and with boats? Is there a family connection?

One of my brothers inspired me to be a seaman as he was one.

How do you like to relax away from work?

I like farming and doing agricultural activities at Mkuranga.

In your job you have to be a perfectionist. Do you think that is a quality you have had since you were young?

No, I got to be a perfectionist after working under a German supervisor for five years. I learnt a lot from the character of my trainer and my attitudes toward perfection changed completely thereafter.

Where were you born and where is home for you now?

I was born in Morogoro. My home

What do you take most pride in with your work?

I take most pride in seeing the fleet is operating safely with minimum machinery failure and customers disembarking with a

now is Tabata Kinyerezi neighbourhood of Dar es Salaam.

smile on their faces at the end of their journey.

Abdullah has worked for Azam Marine since 2011

What is your favourite place to take a holiday in Tanzania?

I love to travel within Tanzania. My favourite spot is Mikumi National Park in Morogoro. The park is special for me, because I have been a regular visitor since I was very young because I used to visit the park since am young. It’s an exciting place.

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25

Kazi Yetu

Capturing the taste of

O TANZANIA IN TEA Social enterprise Kazi Yetu is creating tea and jobs to be proud of. Mark Edwards talks to its co-founder, Tahira Nizari, about its Tanzania Tea Collection, the advantages of its all-women team and scaling-up operations for the global market.

rganic brand Kazi Yetu is reshaping the tea industry in Tanzania one bag at a time. On a micro level it has introduced the country to the pyramid-shaped tea bag, which allows the carefully created blends of teas, herbs and spices of its Tanzania Tea Collection to unfurl as they brew for the perfect cuppa, while its decision to process, brand and package its high-quality products at its factory in Dar es Salaam adds a domestic value chain to one of the country’s main agricultural products, which has until now been almost exclusively exported in its raw form.

Hendrik Buermann and Tahira Nizari – the husband-and-wife team behind Kazi Yetu – share backgrounds in agriculture development as well as a love of tea. After setting up home in Tanzania five years ago, the couple began plans for a range of single teas and infusions that reflected the country’s diverse tea-drinking culture that they had embraced. Ingredients were directly sourced only from smallholder farms and co-operatives that worked with nature, growing their teas, herbs or spices by chemical-free, sustainable practices. Such quality control ensured a supply of traceable, pure ingredients that were delicately paired in the signature blends of the Tanzanian Tea Collection such as Cinnamon Spice, Ginger Mint Fusion and Coco Choco.

Tea-drinking culture Nizari – Canada born, Dubai raised and with a mother who grew up in Moshi – says: “Tanzanian tea is known for its floral qualities, which is perfect to blend and infuse with herbs, spices, and other teas. The

26

Images courtesy of Kazi Yetu

tea-drinking culture here includes black teas, spiced teas including cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom and herbal teas such as lemongrass, moringa leaves, mint, and dried rosella hibiscus.

“This country is blessed with a range of climates, altitudes, and environmental conditions, which produce diverse herbs, spices, and teas. Our mint comes from the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro and the Uluguru Mountains in Morogoro.

Our cinnamon is grown on the sturdy trees of Zanzibar. Our black and green teas are grown in the Usambara Mountains of Tanga, and processed in Moshi.”

The self-financed venture started small with the couple relying on their own taste buds and their dining table to put the first batches of teas together.

treat and pay them fairly, offer affordable credit and support their growth potential. Recently, Kazi Yetu invested in a solar dryer for a long-term supplier in Marangu, in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, who wanted to boost the quality and quantity of the organic herbs she grows on her family’s two-hectare plot. She is paying back with mint and rosemary over time at 0 per cent interest.

All-woman team

“We brought samples back from the various organic farms to our home in Dar es Salaam and created different blends and infusions. We would blend teas and pack tea bags on our dining table, then every morning with our breakfast we would taste different variations of the blends to see which ones were balanced and highlighted the diverse flavours of Tanzania,” says Nizari.

Operations soon outgrew the home and were transferred to a factory in Dar where a team of 15 women took charge of processing, blending, packaging and labelling the teas. Creating jobs, livelihoods and careers is fundamental to the work of Kazi Yetu. The name means ‘Our Work’ in Swahili and the social enterprise was founded on principles of economic inclusion.

It aims to build lasting relationships

The choice of an all-woman team at the Dar factory is deliberate. It not only addresses the gender gap in the Tanzanian agricultural industry, but it also benefits from the fact that women excel in the roles.

“Agriculture contributes to at least 55 per cent of the workforce in Tanzania. However, women are limited to the farm level, focusing on production and harvest,” says Nizari. “As a result of socioeconomic norms, men generally sell the products, and therefore have control over the earnings. We are including and empowering women along our value chains because they have high potential to produce quality and quantity.

“Our entire team is made up of women, including a lead Operations Manager that supervises the factory operations and 13 tea packers. Their individual roles have evolved with more responsibilities to ensure quality control with systems and processes in place that empower each of them. We also offer weekly English classes for the women to upgrade their skills.”

At present the women package the tea by hand, but growing consumer demand means this isn’t workable in the long run.

with its small-scale farmers,

Tanzanian customers are buying

Taste test

We brought samples back from the various organic farms to our home in Dar es Salaam and created different blends and infusions. We would blend teas and pack tea bags on our dining table from the collection in supermarkets in main cities, including Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Arusha, and Zanzibar while tourists in hotels, lodges, and airports are picking up the teas as an intrinsically Tanzanian souvenir. With the tea packaged in modern, reusable tins that sustain its aroma, flavour and longevity, a potentially huge international market of conscious tea drinkers is also out there.

Nizari and Buermann planned to take production to another level and grow into international markets

Kazi Yetu co-founder Tahira Nizari

Blending the teas at the Kazi Yetu factory

by purchasing a tea-packing

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27

Kazi Yetu

machine that would mean, Nizari says, “we will be able to produce 800,000 tea bags a day”. They projected this scaling up of operations would mean Kazi Yetu would employ 65 women in its factory by 2022 and increase the number of source farmers to 7,500.

2020 was going to be the year this quantum leap took place, but then, as we all know, Covid-19 arrived. The pandemic hit global and local markets and the Kazi Yetu factory closed for a time with Nizari and Buermann turning their focus towards keeping the company’s staff and its farmers safe and secure, while getting creative to sustain the business.

Nizari says: “As a social enterprise our primary goal is creating jobs to be proud of, especially for farmers and women in our supply chains.

So, when Covid-19 hit, our main

concern was how to keep our team employed and how to continue to source from farmers. We continued to pay our staff throughout the closure, and in the meanwhile pivoted to grow our business in new and unexpected ways, such as a new range of teas, including hot and cold brews, that we plan to launch soon.

“We have absolutely learned a lot in 2020 and last year built our

Kazi Yetu has an all-woman team to take charge of processing its teas

resilience more than anything else. As a result of this last year, we have stress-tested our business model and learned how to be more cost-effective. We also had an opportunity to spend more time with our farmer suppliers across the country, learning more about their needs and how we can improve our working relationships to grow together.”

The tea-packing machine plan is still going ahead thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. With their own finances suddenly stretched, Nizari and Buermann didn’t want to compromise the autonomy of Kazi Yetu with outside investors so decided to call on members of the public who loved their teas and the life-changing benefits of the enterprise to donate towards purchasing the machine.

Nizari is delighted by the support and that the grand vision for Kazi Yetu lives on. “We are certain that with this, we can create thousands of jobs on the farm level and in our factory as well as grown in new markets,” she says. “From the beginning, our plan was to create a Tanzanian product that is competitive in European, North American, and Middle Eastern markets.

“Now we can finally commit to larger scale customers locally and internationally, increasing the scale of our tea brand and showing the world the flavourful quality teas, herbs and spices produced in Tanzania.”

Looking to the future Tanzania is crucial to that vision.

The hope is the tea collection is the first in a series of agricultural products created in the country under the guiding equitable principles of Kazi Yetu. As a child Nizari would hear her mother speak glowingly of the potential of Tanzania and that

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she is there now facilitating that growth means a great deal.

“My mother grew up in Moshi, where her father had a farm and little shop near Mt. Kilimanjaro. My parents and relatives always reminisce about the beauty, opportunity, and life of Tanzania. From a young age, these words and messages were entrenched in me. I was confident that I would return to our home to work together, especially with the farmers and workers, to grow. This country feels like home and will continue to be our home as we grow.”

THE KAZI YETU FAMILY

The teas are blended with herbs and spices sourced across the country

To order Kazi Yetu teas in Tanzania or from abroad go to its Instagram page @tanzania_tea_collection or check out the website kazi-yetu.com

THE TANZANIA TEA COLLECTION

CINNAMON SPICE Black tea from the foothills of Kilimanjaro blended with cinnamon bark from Zanzibar and cardamom seeds.

GINGER MINT FUSION Green tea from the foothills of Kilimanjaro blended with mint and rosemary from Moshi and hand-grated ginger from Tanga.

HIBISCUS STAR Dried Rosella hibiscus blended with ginger from Tanga and star anise from Zanzibar.

Kazi Yetu has built up a network of suppliers for its organic ingredients from tiny family farms to large plantations. Here’s a look at a few of them.

Mama and Baba Rugathe live in Marangu, a small town on the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Mama is a member of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), which supports farmers with training, advisory, and linkages in the organic sector. She runs a farm of about two hectares with a variety of herbs and a bit of coffee.

Her herbs include aromatic plants including mint, rosemary, lemongrass, lemon thyme, and basil. Baba has built his own milling machine and is a local carpenter.

The power couple also have a livestock business.

Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) is an organization in Morogoro that promotes holistic agriculture growth for farmers in the Uluguru Mountains and beyond. SAT supports their farmers with training, ongoing monitoring and advisory, local and export market linkages, certification, and inputs. Kazi Yetu sources hibiscus from SAT and hopes to work with them to produce new herbal teas! It also supports support SAT’s FairCarbon4Us project by planting trees to offset carbon emissions.

Tropical Treasures is an organic tea farm and processing facility in Moshi. Mama Bente spends her days training tea farmers and supervising their processing unit, which produces whole leaf orthodox black and green tea.

COCO CHOCO Black tea from the foothills of Kilimanjaro blended with cocoa husks from Arusha and coconut flakes from Zanzibar.

KILIMANJARO GREEN TEA Green tea from the foothills of Kilimanjaro.

KILIMANJARO BLACK TEA Black tea from the foothills of Kilimanjaro.

1001 Organic is a social enterprise spice company that directly supports co-operatives and farmers with training, infrastructure, certification and exports their high-quality spices globally. They are located in Zanzibar and Tanga, both places that benefit from favourable weather conditions for spice production.

Elven Agri is an agri-business in Bagamoyo that runs a farm and out-grower scheme, as well as a state-ofthe-art processing facility. All ingredients are organic certified and Elven Agri guarantees quality, scale, and high return for farmers. We source lemongrass, moringa, and ginger from them.

Natural Extracts Industries specialises in sustainably grown natural extracts and flavour ingredients, including vanilla and cocoa. We source roasted cocoa husks from them as a by-product of their cocoa extracts.

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Bath rituals

Give your self a

BATH BOOST Taking some time out from our busy days to enjoy a hot bath has been proven to be cleansing for both the body and mind. Tanzania has plenty of options to help you create your own sanctuary for a soothing soak from spa treatments to scented candles and bath oils handmade with natural, locally sourced ingredients. Time to take the plunge.

T

aking a bath has long had associations with opulence and indulgence. Ancient Egypt ruler Cleopatra and Zanzibar’s Princess Salme are believed to have bathed in milk and honey for its age-defying benefits while iconic US actress Marilyn Monroe famously felt the ‘fizz-ical’ benefits of bathing in 350 bottles’ worth of Champagne.

Still today we are learning more about the restorative effects of a long, hot soak with a recent scientific study revealing that it can even boost your mood. The soothing feel of the warm water on your skin prompts the release of endorphins, giving you a feeling of well-being. With physical interaction nowadays going no further than fist bumps and Zoom calls, taking a bath can feel like giving yourself a very welcome hug.

To get the most of the emotional reset benefits of a bath it pays to ramp up the indulgence level and really spoil yourself. If you’re lucky enough to be spending time on Zanzibar, treat yourself to a traditional Swahili spa bath treatment that is grand enough to pamper a princess or create your own time out in the tub with scented products made from the archipelago’s rich bounty of herbs, oils and spices.

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Cinnamon Spa Shangani, Stone Town +255 777 908 000 cinnamonspa.net Just three minutes’ walk from the bustle of tourists and traders around Stone Town’s Old Fort reveals the haven of tranquillity that is Cinnamon Spa. Here you can choose from more than 30 treatments, which make use of the finest organic ingredients from the islands. The interior décor reflects the Hammam baths of Zanzibar’s Sultanate heyday and there are a trio of luxurious bath treatments for visitors to choose from.

Milk and Honey Purifying Bath Ritual Apparently, Cleopatra and Princess Salme – daughter of the first Omani Sultan of Zanzibar and a pioneering writer and champion of education for women – believed the best way to maintain youthful looking skin

was to bathe in milk and honey.

Both are rich in antioxidants, which counter the ageing effects of free radicals. Cinnamon says of the treatment: “The goodness of honey as a medicinal substance helps to cleanse and soothe the antioxidants from the body as the milk hydrates and moisturises.”

30-minute Five Nectar Boosting Bath Ritual Cinnamon Spa’s concoction is made up of coconut, milk, honey, milk and yoghurt and is said to nourish the skin and soften it, leaving it smooth and silky.

30-minute Tangy Citrus Bath Ritual If you are feeling worn out and in need of a boost, this ginger, lime and lemon grass bath is the perfect tonic. The rejuvenating properties in the ingredients leave you feeling fresh and energised.

Melba Candles 20 Souk, Slipway, Dar es Salaam +255 755 818 301 melbacandles@gmail.com For a truly relaxing soak, you can add to the warmth and glow of the bath with the relaxing aromas from a scented candle.

The flickering flame also provides that ambient lighting that aids relaxation.

Melba Candles is a new Tanzanian start-up that makes by hand 100 % soy wax candles perfumed with locally sourced essential oils. Each of its 575-gram candles has a burning time of 45 hours and available scents include Very Vanilla, Egyptian Amber, Jamaica Me Crazy, Amber Noir, Honey Suckle Jasmine, Mango Papaya, and Cinnamon Stick. The business began as a hobby before developing into an online business and now has its own store within The Souk Hotel in the Slipway complex in Dar es Salaam. For more information, visit its Instagram page @melbacandles

Inaya Zanzibar Mazson’s Building, Kenyatta street, Shangani Stone Town, Zanzibar +255 242 230 036 inayazanzibar.com This all-woman production team hand makes in small batches skin and body care products using, whenever possible, organic and wild-harvested ingredients from Zanzibar and across Africa. Among its large range – that can be purchased online or at its store in Stone Town – are bath oils and salts that give your soaks a soothing scent and make your skin strokably smooth.

Clove and Neroli Bath Salts - US$ 9 An invigorating bath soak made with pure sea salt from Pemba infused with organic clove essential oil from Zanzibar and extract of Neroli, a bitter orange blossom.

It will leave the skin feeling soothed and will uplift your mood.

Vanilla and Lavender Bath and Massage Oil US$ 13 This relaxing oil gives you that relaxing spa experience at home with its combination of avocado oil from South Africa, macadamia oil from Kenya and coconut oil from Mozambique. It is scented with lavender oil from South Africa and vanilla oil from Zanzibar.

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Hotel review

YOUR OWN PIECE OF PARADISE

Pemba Paradise is a true escape, tucked away on the north-western tip of the already sparsely populated ‘green island’. Guests at the three-star hotel will find that despite its breath-taking location, excellent food and facilities, the hotel offers a very affordable level of luxury.

Location

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Pemba Paradise hugs the west coast of the crescent moonshaped north-western tip of Pemba with the 50 ft-high trees of Ngezi Forest forming a towering barrier between it and the rest of the island. If you want to get away from it all, this is the spot. It may

footprint-free beach just moments from your bungalow, which provides great swimming when the diaphanous water is high and at low tide gives an opportunity to see the local seaweed farmers harvesting their crop. Sunsets here are incredible. When you do

take a while to tire of the stretch of

consider venturing out, you can

Images: Pemba Paradise Beach Resort

hire bikes from the hotel and ride to Ngezi with variety of endemic flora and fauna as well as visiting welcoming neighbouring villages Makangale and Kigomasha.

Style

floors and air-conditioning keep the interiors cool and classy. Staff are attentive, but not cloying and keep the complex spotlessly clean.

All rooms have an outdoor dining space

Rooms

The lush gardens and thatched banda-style main rooms make for an attractive setting that is a pleasant accompaniment to the hotel’s stunning natural setting. All the bungalows are spaced out so there is a sense of peace and space throughout the complex. Pemba is warm all year around – hovering close to the 30°C mark most

All the rooms are spacious with the garden view Standard Double Room and upwards offering en-suite bathrooms, free wi-fi, air-conditioning, an outdoor dining space on the terrace and room for sofas and dining tables inside.

To accommodate bigger groups there is the Deluxe King Room with an extra-large double bed and a single bed while the suites have

days – so the high ceilings, marble

gigantic Swahili-style four-poster

Sunsets here are special

beds, a sea view and 45 sq m of space each. The décor in all rooms is cool and white, emphasising the sense of space with bolts of colour in the form of African print cushions. Considering the prices for accommodation, which include a continental breakfast each morning, the quality of the rooms is very impressive.

Facilities Pemba Paradise has an all-yearround outdoor pool within its verdant grounds, which is so large it is used by the neighbouring Swahili and Afro Divers diving schools for scuba lessons before they take

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Hotel review

It is possible to book scuba lessons and the hotel can also arrange excursions to nearby Vumawimbi Beach and Misali Island clients out to the reefs that ring the coast here and teem with marine life. It is possible to book scuba lessons yourself and the hotel can also arrange excursions to attractions including Vumawimbi Beach and Misali Island. The hotel also has table tennis sheltered under a thatched roof and organises regular bonfires on the beach for drinks under the stars as the day ends.

breakfast each morning as well as evening meals, which benefit from couldn’t-be-fresher fish and seafood all seasoned with the island’s bounty of fresh spices. If you fancy a meal away from the complex, the Goa Sunset Restaurant is just a pleasant walk away.

Prices

Pemba Paradise has its own rather

What price paradise? For all you get with a stay at Pemba Paradise, the prices are very good indeed with doubles starting at

good restaurant, which lays on

US$ 55 a night.

Food and drink

Comfy beds and beachside hammocks ensure a relaxing stay

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Competition A chance to win a night-for-two at the Zanzibar Coffee House

How to enter To be in with a chance of winning this prize, answer the three questions below (they are all based on features in the magazine where you’ll find the answers). Email the answers, along with a selfie of you holding Issue 2 of Jahazi on your KFF journey to competition@landmarine.org by the closing date: April 9th 2021.

Answer these three questions What is the name of the Dar restaurant where Punchline Africa’s regular comedy club nights are held?

What name does Kathryn Kishimbo vlog under when sharing her videos on starting a new life in Tanzania?

What is the name of social enterprise Kazi Yetu’s range of homegrown teas?

Competition terms and conditions: Prizes dependent on availability. One entry per person. Entrants must be 18 years or over. The decision of the organisers will be final. The competition is not open to employees and their relatives of Zanzibar Coffee House, Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries, Azam Marine or Land & Marine Publications Ltd. The prize does not include travel to and from destinations.

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here’s no better place to steep yourself in the history, culture and beauty of Stone Town than with a stay at the Zanzibar Coffee House. The stylish hotel has transformed a former merchant’s home – one of the oldest buildings in the historic quarter – and its eight individually designed rooms are filled with traditional features such as Zanzibari four-poster beds, rare lamps and antique furniture. Its rooftop offers priceless views across the town and out over the Indian Ocean and is where guests take their breakfast and enjoy the prize-winning coffee sourced from plantations in Mbeya

surrounding sister hotel Utengule Coffee Lodge.

So, we are delighted that the Zanzibar Coffee House is offering the prize in this issue of Jahazi.

One lucky reader will win a night’s stay with breakfast included for themselves and a guest. The stay must be taken in June 2021 or between September and November in the same year.

Last issue’s winner Congratulations to Elton Maro who wins a beautiful print by Tanzanian photographer Juzer Vajihee kindly donated by Make It Matter, Dar.

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Swahili story time / Wakati wa hadithi

OPERESHENI DAKABU

by Joseph Shaluwa

To make your ferry journey fly by, here is a gripping short story to read. Joseph Shaluwa is a Tanzanian writer known for his page-turning works full of intrigue and suspense. Operesheni Dakabu (Operation Dakabu) is a short story specially written for Jahazi by Joseph and centres on Inspector Mark, who, the day after getting married, is tasked with uncovering a plot to stage a political riot. Enjoy!

M

UITO wa simu iliyokuwa mezani ulimgutusha pale kitandani alipokuwa amelala, lakini aliipuuza.

Simu kwa wakati ule haikuwa na maana kabisa kwake.

Msichana mrembo Upendo, alikuwa kando yake, akionyesha kumhitaji sana ndiye aliyekuwa na maana na thamani kuliko chochote. Ilikuwa ni asubuhi ya kwanza kwao kama wanandoa. Kwa miaka mitatu ya uchumba, hawakuwahi kulala hadi asubuhi hata mara moja.

Ilikuwa siku yao muhimu sana. Mark alimgeukia Upendo, kisha akamwambia: “Kuna watu wanaojua kuharibu starehe za wenzao. Hivi ni nani ambaye hajui kuwa jana nimetoka kuoa?

“Nani ambaye hajui kuwa nipo fungate na mke wangu tukitafuta mtoto?”

Upendo akabaki anamwangalia tu usoni bila kujibu. Pengine angalia yake ilikuwa jibu tosha, kwamba anamsuta kwa kitendo chake cha kutokuwa mwerevu.

“Mbona hujibu kitu?” akauliza Mark.

“Unashindwa nini kuizima?”

“Lakini mke wangu Upendo, mara hii umesahau kuwa mimi ni polisi?”

“Kwahiyo?”

“Muda wote nipo kazini!”

Eti muda wote nipo kazini! Akawaza Upendo akimkata Mark jicho la kebehi.

Mark alielewa alichokuwa akimaanisha mkewe. Alimhitaji faraghani. Akiwa mawazoni, simu ikaita tena. Mara moja akaichukua...

Paaa! Moyo wake ukashtuka. Ilikuwa simu kutoka ofisini – Makao Makuu – kwa bosi wake – Mkuu wa Kitengo cha Kazi Maalum.

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Kitengo hiki kilisimamiwa na Mkurugenzi wa Upelelezi Maalum, Kamishna Msaizidi wa Polisi (ACP), Kelvin Kayanda. Kilifanya kazi kwa karibu na idara ya Usalama wa Taifa.

Tofauti ya kitengo hiki na vingine vilivyopo kwenye Jeshi la Polisi, huripoti moja kwa moja kwa Kamanda wa Polisi wa Kanda Maalum ya Dar es Salaam.

Kwa kawaida, kitengo hiki hufanya kazi ya kuhakikisha inachunguza, inathibiti na kuwakamata wanaohusika na uharibifu wa amani ya nchi.

Kupigiwa simu moja kwa moja na ACP Kelvin Kayanda kulimpa picha Mark, kuwa kulikuwa na jambo zito linalohitaji usaidizi wake. Hapo akawa na uhakika kuwa fungate imeshaharibika.

Mara moja akapokea!

“Jambo!” sauti nzito ya ACP Kelvin Kayanda ilisikika kutoka upande wa pili.

“Jambo afande.”

“Najua upo fungate, lakini kwa ajili ya taifa lako, nakuomba ofisini ndani ya saa mbili kutoka sasa, asante sana,” akasema ACP Kayanda, kisha akakata simu.

Ulikuwa wito wa dharura. Amri. Hapakuwa na majadiliano. Insp. Mark akabaki anaitazama ile simu kwa ghadhabu, kisha akamgeukia mkewe na kumwambia: “Samahani mpenzi, ni simu kutoka ofisini.

Amenipigia bosi mwenyewe. Natakiwa kazini sasa hivi.”

“Nilijua tu.”

“Samahani mpenzi wangu.”

“Itanisaidia nini.”

nchi kwanza kabla ya ndoa yake. Ndiyo kiapo chake kilivyokuwa. Akajitoa kitandani na kujiandaa.

Kama Upendo ataniacha kwa ajili ya kazi na aniache tu! Akawaza Mark akimalizia kufunga mkanda.

“Kitu kimoja cha muhimu unatakiwa kufahamu, nakupenda sana Upendo.

Lakini ndoa yetu, maisha yetu hayatakuwa na maana bila kazi. Acha nikafanye kazi,” akasema Insp. Mark akimwangushia mkewe busu mwanana.

Upendo hakujibu, aliishia kulia.

Inp. Mark hakujali.

Akaondoka zake.

INSP. Mark alimalizia kupandisha ngazi katika Kituo Kikuu cha Polisi jijini Dar es Salaam.

Alitembea mpaka kaunta, kisha akakata kulia na kupandisha ngazi kuelekea ofisini kwa ACP Kelvin Kayanda.

Uzuri ni kwamba, hoteli waliyoamua kukaa kwenye fungate lao la kwanza, ilikuwa Mbezi Beach jijini Dar es Salaam, alipotokea, ilikuwa wakae hapo kwa wiki moja kabla ya kwenda Visiwani Comoro kumalizia fungate lao.

Lakini kwa sababu ya kazi, amelazimika kumuacha mkewe mbichi, Upendo na kwenda kazini. Alipoufikia mlango, akagonga mara moja na kuingia.

“Nimefurahi umeitikia wito, tena kwa wakati.

Nisikupotezee muda. Unatakiwa kusafiri leo kwenda Kahama. Tumeshaandaa ndege kwa ajili ya safari hiyo. Maelekezo yote ya

Insp. Mark hakuwa na muda wa kubembelezana na mkewe. Alitakiwa kuifikiria

safari yako, yapo humu kwenye hii bahasha,” akasema ACP Kelvin Kayanda akimkabidhi

Insp. Mark bahasha kubwa ya kaki.

“Asante afande. Kinachofuata?”

“Dereva wa kukupeleka airpot yupo nje anakusubiri. Ndege yako ipo. Ukifika utapokelewa airpot. Kazi njema.”

“Asante afande,” akasema Insp. Mark akisimama na kupiga saluti, kisha akaondoka zake.

KWA mara ya tatu sasa, Insp. Mark alikuwa akirudia kusoma maelezo ya kazi aliyopewa akiwa kitandani, hotelini kwake, mjini Kahama.

Kila alipokuwa akitafakari namna ya kumpata mtuhumiwa huyo aliyejulishwa alikuwa mjini Kahama, akili yake ilimkataza kuamini hilo.

“Hawezi kuwa mjinga, aje hapa Kahama kweli kama walivyopanga. Hawezi kuwa hapa. Aliiamini akili yake, akaamua kufanyia kazi mawazo yake. Hata hivyo hakutaka kumshirikisha bosi wake. Kwa sababu hiyo, jioni hiyohiyo alipanda basi la Kandahari Express lilikuwa likitokea Moshi, kuelekea Bukoba.

“Hata kama hatakuwa Bukoba, anaweza kuwa anajaribu kuvuka mpaka wa Mutukula kuelekea Uganda au ameshavuka kabisa,” akawaza Insp. Mark.

ALIFIKA Bukoba usiku, akafikia Hoteli ya Vicktoria, iliyokuwa jirani kabisa na Ziwa Vicktoria, katika barabara kuu ya kuelekea Hospitali ya Rufaa ya Mkoa wa Kagera. Alilala mpaka asubuhi ambapo aliamkia kuhangikia kazi iliyompelekea mjini humo. Katika nusa nusa yake, aliona mwanga, lakini hakuelewa namna ya kumkamata mtuhumiwa.

Usiku aliamua kwenda kwenye klabu ya usiku ya Mint. Si kwa lengo la kustarehe, alielewa kwenye changanyikeni ya watu, huenda angepata cha maana kwenye upelelezi wake.

Ndani ya klabu, akamuona msichana mmoja aliyekuwa akitumia fedha nyingi sana na marafiki zake. Meza yao ilichafuka pombe za bei mbaya. Akasogea jirani na meza hiyo, kisha akawasalimia wote, wakamwitikia kwa dharau.

Akamuita mhudumu na kuwaagizia wote vinywaji. Bili ilikuwa laki tatu na nusu.

Akalipa keshi. Hapo akakaribishwa ramsi

katika meza hiyo.

“Naitwa Sasha,” akajitambulisha yule msichana aliyekuwa bosi wa meza ile.

“Mimi ni Joe,” akadanganya jina lake.

“Nice name!”

“Hata lako pia.”

Mazungumzo yakaendelea, baadaye wakawa marafiki wakubwa kama waliokutana muda mrefu kabla. Sasha alipoanza kulewa, akaanza kumtazama Mark kwa jicho la tofauti.

Ulipofika muda wa kucheza muziki laini, Mark akaitumia nafasi hiyo vizuri. Sasha akalainika.

“Siamini kama moyo wangu unanidanganya, but I am crazy with you darling. Please be with me tonight,” akasema Sasha kwa sauti iliyojaa mahaba.

“You are welcome baby,” akasema Mark.

Mzozo ulikuwa nani alale kwa mwenzake.

Sasha alijitambulisha kama mgeni wa mji wa Bukoba akitokea Dar es Salaam na Mark akasema yeye ni mgeni kutokea Kahama, akiwa mfanyabiashara wa madini.

Kila mmoja alitaka mwenzake afikie kwenye hoteli yake, mwishowe Sasha alishinda. Wakaelekea hotelini kwake – Gunda Hotel.

UMAKINI ulikuwa mkubwa kwa Insp. Mark.

Hakuyapa mapenzi kipaumbele, kwa sababu hakuwa pale kwa sababu ya mapenzi, bali kazi.

Alimhadaa Sasha, akapitiwa na usingizi.

Alichokifanya Insp. Mark ni kumnusisha dawa za usingizi, Sasha akalala maradufu.

Insp. Mark akatumia muda huo vizuri kumchunguza.

Sasha alikuwa na nyaraka nyingi za siri.

Alitumiwa na chama kimoja cha siasa kuharibu amani ya nchi. Shasha alikuwa ndiye mhifadhi mkuu wa nyaraka zote siri. Walimtumia yeye kutokana na mwonekane wake.

Waliamini uzuri wake unaweza kuwapumbaza polisi wasimhisi. Haikuwa kwa Insp. Mark. Baada ya kukamilisha vielelezo vyote, alivipiga picha kisha akavirudisha alipovitoa.

Asubuhi Sasha aliamka akiwa hoi. Akiwa na akili zake, asubuhi hiyo alimuona Insp. Mark katika mwonekano mpya zaidi. Alimuona angefaa kuwa mumewe.

“Natamani unioe, Joe.” “Hata kesho nipo tayari.”

“Basi nipeleke kwa wazazi wako.”

“Wapo Dar es Salaam, twende wikiendi.”

“Sawa.”

NDEGE ya Shirika la Ndege la Tanzania (ATCL) ilitua katika Uwanja wa Ndege wa Julius Nyerere jijini Dar es Salaam jioni hiyo.

Insp. Mark (Joe) na Sasha walikuwa miongoni mwa abiria wa mwanzo kushuka kwenye ndege hiyo. Wakatembea wakiwa wameshikana mikono.

“Wifi zako wamekuandalia zawadi nzuri sana,” akasema Insp. Mark.

“Nakuamini Joe... na kwakweli nimekuamini mapema sana mpenzi.”

“Usijali, hata mimi pia mpenzi.”

Wakatembea wakitoka kwenye lango kuu la abiria wanaowasili. Wakatembea hadi kwenye maegesho, gari jeusi aina ya Benz, lilikuwa limeegesha linawasubiri. Insp. Mark akafungua mlango wa nyuma, Sasha akaingia.

Sasha alipoingia tu, askari wawili wa kike waliovalia suti nyeusi, waliingia kila upande. Akakaa katikati. Insp. Mark akaketi siti ya mbele.

“Hao ndiyo wifi zako, Sasha,” akasema Insp.

Mark akitabasamu.

“Upo chini ya ulinzi, hutakiwi kujigusa wala kujaribu kufaya fujo yoyote,” akasema mmoja wa askari wale.

Stupid! Sasha akaachia tusi moyoni.

“Joe umeniuza? Oh! My God.” “Sasha, my name is Insp. Mark, and I am not Joe, as I told you before. Upo chini ya ulinzi na unachotakiwa kufanya ni kutaja listi ya wenzako wote mnaojaribu kupanga mipango ya kuihujumu nchi iingie kwenye machafuko,” akasema Insp. Mark.

“Hata nife, siwezi kuwataja.”

“Na utakufa kweli, pumbavu wewe!” akasema Insp. Mark.

Ni Operesheni Dakabu – Dar es Salaam, Kahama, Bukoba. Safari ya kuelekea Kituo Kikuu cha Polisi, jijini Dar es Salaam ikaanza.

JOSEPH SHALUWA ni mtunzi wa riwaya za Kiswahili, nchini Tanzania.

Kama unahitaji vitabu vyake, wasiliana naye kwa namba 0718-400146, 0786224191, joeshaluwa@gmail.com, Facebook: Joseph Shaluwa. Instagram: @joeshaluwa

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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WORKING FROM HOME Working from home has become the new normal for many of us so it pays to create a space of your own that is conducive to productivity. Technology can help out here with gadgets galore to get you into a flow state and make you look forward to each working day. Here’s our pick of the best out there.

For control…Logitech MX MASTER 2S If your home computer is a laptop, you may be making do with its track pad, but if you need to be scrolling through spreadsheets or documents like a pro, then you need a mouse.

Ideally that mouse will be wireless and have quality tracking. The Logitech MX Master 2S ticks those boxes and many more. Other advanced features include its Logitech Flow system which allows you control two computers at once and copy-paste content between them. You can also adjust your scroll speed, scroll from

side to side of your screen and just a three-minute charge will power it through even the most demanding workday. The ergonomic beauty gives solid wrist support and feels like an extension to your own hand. logitech.com US$ 120 Image: Logitech Europe S.A.

For a boost…

Breville Grind Control coffee maker With no daily commute to wake you up, you may want to give the start of your working from home day a boost with a shot of coffee. Whole coffee beans retain their flavour far better than pre-ground coffee so it pays to buy a machine that has a built-in grinder. The Breville Grind Control ensures a perfectly balanced cup of coffee with adjustable steel burrs that grind the coffee beans to the optimum particle size for drip filter brewing.

You can also choose between eight

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different strength settings that adjust the coffee-to-water ratio. The Auto Start feature allows you to program the specific time when the coffee machine will automatically turn on and start the grind and brew cycle. You can wake up to the smell of freshly ground coffee – sure to get you into instant work-mode. breville.com US$ 299.95 Image: Breville USA

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

By Mark Edwards

For sound… Google Nest Audio A smart speaker is a useful and rather fun tool to have in your home office and Google’s latest entrant in the market is its Nest Audio. As the name suggests, the focus here is on sound quality with far more volume, clarity and bass than previous models. This is great for playing your music or the radio to create that office hum you might be missing or to stream some binaural beats to get you in the zone.

You can buy even two speakers and pair them up to play in stereo. The

smart speaker will also be able set up to remind you of daily tasks, meeting events and calls. It looks good too, with its soft, pleasingly rounded shape a welcome move forward from the air-freshener chic most smart speakers go for.

With five colours to choose from, you pick one to complement your home office colour scheme. amazon.com US$ 99 Image: Google

For input…

Microsoft Surface Keyboard

For work space…

Uplift V2 adjustable desk Getting a desk that adjusts to a height you can stand at not only remedies issues with your back, neck and shoulders from sitting all day, but studies have shown those who stand to work are more alert and focused.

The Uplift V2 is one of the leading standing desks with great stability, a dual motor so it can change heights quickly and plenty of mounting points for extras, including, I kid you not, hooks for an under-desk hammock.

While you may question the work ethic of someone who wants to sleep under their desk, that you can doze suspended from the Uplift V2

is quite a testament to the strength of its built-in stability braces. The desks come in a range of colours and all have a sevenyear warranty.

If your job involves a lot of typing, your fingers will thank you for investing in a decent keyboard. It will also help you get your work done faster and with fewer typos. This wireless keyboard has soft, lozengeshaped keys housed in a slim, sturdy board for a comfortable touch as you type and has a battery life that will last up to two years. amazon.com US$ 120 Image: Microsoft

upliftdesk.com US$ 549 Image: Uplift Desk

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Our destinations Let us take you to Tanzania’s coastal cities and the islands of Zanzibar

Dar es Salaam This fast-expanding city – population four million and counting – is Tanzania’s commercial and cultural hub. Traces of Dar’s beginnings as a Zaramo fishing village can be seen at the Kivukoni front where dhows dock at dawn laden with the night’s catch for the bustling fish market, but now gleaming skyscrapers dominate the skyline. This modern metropolis rocks around the clock with a vibrant music, food and art scene, but if you prefer to relax there are a string of serene beaches in easy reach as well as the nature escapes of Pugu Hills and Mikumi National Park.

waters while its vibrant and unique Swahili heritage will fascinate culture vultures and its famous spices perfume the air and flavour the food. Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries delivers you to one of the island’s greatest attractions, Stone Town, the capital’s ancient port. Here you can explore its maze of bazaars, cafés, mosques and mansions that are vestiges of the island’s pivotal role in trading along the East African coast.

Pemba

Unguja, the largest island of the Zanzibar archipelago, is a treasure trove for tourists. Those who snorkel, scuba or windsurf will

As its Arabic name, which translates as “the green island”, suggests, Pemba has a lush landscape, combining the cultivated and the wild. There are plantations of banana, coconut and cloves as well as expanses of mangrove forest. With far fewer hotels than its Zanzibar big brother Unguja, 80 km south, it provides an exclusive escape for the adventurous traveller with remote attractions including the dense canopy of monkey-magnet Ngezi Forest and the private paradises of isolated sandbanks. Its white sand beaches are ringed on all sides by coral reefs which offer some of east Africa’s best snorkelling and diving – with marine life including humpback

love its reef-protected cerulean

whales in July and August.

Zanzibar

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Dar es Salaam waterfront Gideon Ikigai / Shutterstock.com

Pemba Island

Tanga When its sisal farming was in full flight, Tanga was earmarked as the capital of Tanzania, but it now offers more low-key charms. It still has a busy port – the second largest in the country – with our ferries crossing to Pemba – and plenty of attractions for the visitor.

Its history as an Arab trading post before the Germans and British vied for colonial control in its sisal

Contacts Bookings: azammarine.com +255 22 2123324 info@azammarine.com Follow us: @azammarine kilimanjaro fastferries officialazammarine

Azam Marine and Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries Opposite St. Joseph Cathedral Sokoine Drive, P.O. Box 2517 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania heyday has left a town with some fascinatingly eclectic architecture, especially the gothic Bombo Hospital. The ocean offers great dhow sailing, there is a rich coral reef for diving enthusiasts and Tanga’s proximity to the Saadani National Park makes it the only city with a wildlife sanctuary incorporating a marine park in the region.

Other nearby attractions include the Amboni Caves and the Swahili

Email: info@azammarine.com www.azammarine.com Tel: +255 22 2123324

Tanga

trading outpost of Pangani.

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Our fleet Experience the finest, modern and swift ferry services in Tanzania

Our Catermarans We have a fleet of eight vessels with a speed range of 25 knots up to 40 knots allowing passengers to be in Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam within 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Kilimanjaro VII

Kilimanjaro VI

Kilimanjaro V

Kilimanjaro IV

Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Travel information For further information and to book visit www.azammarine.com

Our services Onboard hospitality services:

WiFi Free Internet on board all our catamarans

Entertainment Library of movies and TV shows to watch

Snacks Enjoy a cup of coffee, tea or Juice

VIP Lounge Luxurious Lounge Dedicated to VIP and Royal class passengers.

Need to know

25 Kgs

Permitted Luggage is 25 kgs per person.

Any additional will be chargeable.

Consumption and carriage of alcoholic beverages is highly restricted.

No refund policy on missed travel date or time. In case of cancellation, office should be informed at least two hours prior to departure.

Online bookings are not considered confirmed until a payment has been made.

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Travel tips All foreign passengers (not Tanzanian citizens) are required to carry their passports when traveling between the islands of Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania.

Foreign passengers are required to pay for their tickets in US$. We do however accept payments in UK Pound Sterling (GBP) and Euro (€). All other currencies are not acceptable.

Foreigners with resident permits or exemption certificates are allowed to pay for their fares in Tanzanian Shillings and will be charged the normal fares applicable for citizens. Tanzanian citizens are encouraged to carry some identification to prove their citizenship. We recommend all passengers to buy their tickets from our offices in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar or Pemba and from our approved travel agents throughout the country. Please do not buy tickets from people in the streets claiming to be our agents.

Ferry schedules DAR - ZNZ Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar 7 AM 9.30 AM 12.30 PM 4 PM

ZNZ - DAR Zanzibar to Dar 7AM 9.30AM 12.30PM 4PM

ZNZ - PEM Zanzibar to Pemba 7.30AM (WED, THU, SAT, SUN)

PEM - ZNZ Pemba to Zanzibar 7.30 AM (THU, FRI, SUN) 9AM (TUE)

PEM - TAN Pemba to Tanga 2.30PM (SUN)

TAN - PEM Tanga to Pemba 11PM (MONDAY)

Routes For further information and to book visit www.azammarine.com

Tanga

Pemba Island

Wete

Korogwe

Mkoani

Zanzibar

Zanzibar Mkokotoni

Stone Town Bagamoyo Kibaha Kichwele National Forest

Dar es Salaam

KiwengwaPongwe Forest

Chwaka Bay

Stone Town Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park

Chumbe Island Coral Park

Kiwani Bay

Zala Park

Follow us: @azammarine kilimanjaro fastferries officialazammarine

Menai Bay Conservation Area

Pemba Island Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries book online at azammarine.com

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Routes For further information and to book visit www.azammarine.com

wengwaongwe orest

Tanga

Pemba Island

Wete

Korogwe

Mkoani Chwaka Bay

Zanzibar Mkokotoni Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park

Stone Town

Bagamoyo Kibaha

Zala Park

Dar es Salaam

Pemba Island

Mkoani

Bookings: azammarine.com +255 22 2123324 info@azammarine.com 48