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Article: Two Years After Retirement, Nyerere Sparks New Debate
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 11, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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All of Africa and much of the world applauded when Julius
Nyerere, the George Washington of this vast East African country,
voluntarily stepped down as president.
His retirement moved many of his countrymen to tears. The
peaceful end to the presidency of an honest man-reverently called
Mwalimu, Swahili for teacher-stood in noble contrast to the coups,
murders and midnight escapes that have ended the careers of other
African rulers.
Now, nearly two years after Nyerere's graceful exit, many
Tanzanians are again choked with emotion. The cause, this time, is
again Nyerere-not that he is gone, but that he is not gone.
When he retired as president, Nyerere retained the chairmanship
of ...