A tale from Tanga

Mfalme means King in Kiswahili. President Mark Pombe was the Mfalme of Tanga. His African name was Pombe - Swahili for that drink that makes people go blem for real.

The "Padlock man", as he was famously referred to in some social circles, was known the world over for his idiosyncratic ideas and isolationist policies. His regime was insular, conservative, oppressive. He had minimal involvement abroad, he was a real "Moustache Pete" with his moral crusade on the restoration of traditional values and integrity in political and social life, and he suppressed plurality in party politics.

He basked in the love and adoration of a majority of citizens who supported his policies. This ideology played a huge role in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the 2019 novel coronavirus disease was classified as a global health crisis, his regime's reaction was cynical. By his wishes and directives, the media neglected its duty of keeping people up to date with the outbreak. The national statistics on people who had been traced and tested and found with the severe acute respiratory syndrome were kept hidden from the public if they even existed at all.

President Manga declared the disease a hoax, propagated by Western governments who had a malicious and clandestine agenda. He encouraged citizens to pray, eat (bananas) to stay healthy, and exercise regularly, and everything would be fine. If anyone should get sick, he said, let them take herbal medicines and they shall be healed.

He ignored the advice from policymakers and the scientific community who urged him to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease. They proposed the restriction of movement (including lockdowns and curfews), a massive tracking and testing exercise, and an information campaign to keep the citizens informed about the disease and how to take care of themselves through social distancing measures and sanitation.

All the evidence brought to him to prove the seriousness of the disease was construed as political propaganda by his opponents to create fear and anxiety. Actually, he was the pot calling the kettle black. He was the master of misinformation, creating fake narratives, peddling false scenarios, and spinning reality to suit his whims and wishes. In this case, he relied on the natural tendency of humans to fear the unknown, to make it seem that COVID-19 was a foreign disease that did not affect Africans. He said that no one had anything to fear. According to him, scientists were pundits who wanted to create the fear of the unknown for selfish gain and nefarious purposes. Science was the enemy. COVID-19 was a non-issue.

Therefore, under his administration, Tanga did not close its internal and external borders. People migrated freely and regularly, mingling in social spaces such as schools, restaurants, bars, places of worship, etc. The economy continued running, creating a conducive environment for the spread of the disease. For the people of Tanga, life went on as normal - they did not wear masks and they greeted by shaking hands or hugging.

That was the general mood during the frenzy and fretting among other nations. The citizens of Tanga continued living in idyllic bliss, (choosing to remain) ignorant of the nature and effects of this new danger to human security. Ignorance is bliss, but one that is short-lived.

No sooner had the disease reached a critical mass than the threshold between a containable outbreak and a pandemic that has spiraled beyond intervention was reached. As soon as that point was reached, the skepticism could no longer hold. Everyone saw the myriad deaths that ensued. Tangans had no option but to take the situation seriously, despite the personal beliefs of their head of state.

In the light of these deaths, public opinion became unfavorable towards President Pombe. Against a backdrop of massive fatalities and casualties, his indifference to the global pandemic was perceived to be a callous coldness to the affairs of the citizen.

'How could he do this to us?' they asked. 'After all, he is the chief executive. He is supposed to keep us safe and not let things go astray.'

Every time someone died under mysterious circumstances, people suspected that it was that 'foreign disease.' They felt they had been duped. The President had said that it could not kill people of their race, but in real life, thousands were succumbing to it. They had no way of knowing for sure, so they speculated. Seeds of doubt were sown, which grew into apathy and lack of faith in Mr. Pombe's administration.

Mr. Pombe had always kept his ears to the ground since the start of his political career. That was what had kept him in power. At this time, he intuitively discerned something was happening in the country. There was no opposition to vent out issues like other democratic countries, and people either kept their grumblings to themselves or otherwise whispered in fear.

Mr. Magufuli could smell the dissent in the air. He thought that some urgent and drastic actions had to be taken to prevent civil disobedience. His approval ratings were plummeting with every mysterious death. The underground opposition movements were gaining ground. All they needed was a way to put what everybody was feeling into tangible words. They needed cold facts and statistics to prove that Mr. Pombe's inaction had created a health crisis.

This situation made Mr. Pombe double down on his authoritarian tactics. Within weeks, he ensured that any visible member of the opposition was arrested, detained, and confined in solitary prison cells. He also shut down media channels and harassed journalists who were reporting on COVID-19 cases. World Health Organization officials were given a few days to abscond from their duties and leave the country. International media was banned. Information coming from outside the country was limited and censured and the state-controlled every bit of information circulating within the country.

The citizens were left in the dark regarding the pandemic. They were manipulated through misinformation. They were left hapless and voiceless with the detainment of their opposition leaders.

Mr. Pombe had decided to solve the COVID-19 problem by being a tyrant.

This move did not work as intended. Instead of creating obedience and subsidiarity, it only emboldened citizen activism and gave people a legitimate reason to try and replace the regime. Citizens self-organized and held regular protests. They demanded plurality in politics and restoration of true democracy. They braved the violence meted by the police. They grew in numbers and boldness.

Mr. Pombe had no option but to try another approach. He tried appeasement. He went out before the nation one day, and on record, accepted that COVID-19 was real. He outlined his plan for dealing with the scourge - mass testing, face masks, shutting down the economy, and lockdowns. In other places where the government had instituted such measures, the citizens understood the rationale of such measures and cooperated. However, in Tanga, it would be hard to overturn the results of months of brainwashing and reverse the initial government decision of denying that COVID-19 was a real disease.

Instead of his gesture being interpreted as altruistic - that he was trying to help the country recover from the disease - the responses from the public were those of anger and frustration. They saw these new measures as a continuation of his tyranny. They were beyond the point of believing that masks could stop the spread of the disease. They saw it as a dictate from an oppressive government. They didn't buy into sacrificing their liberties for the greater good. They saw lockdowns and curfews as a curtailment of their freedoms. They started calling him "Padlock Man."

Mr. Pombe had lost his influence upon the people. He had initially acted impulsively by denying the disease. He had relied on his gut instincts instead of listening to his scientific advisors. When he realized his mistake, he acted in haste to stop the spread of the disease. However, his style of leadership had been marked with human rights abuses and authoritarianism. It was too late to adopt cooption and cooperation in his leadership strategy. His image was marred. He was a finished man.

The pressure for his resignation continued increasing. There was a lot of agitation for new leadership. The demonstrations continued increasing and hence the spread of the disease resulting in more casualties, creating more opportunities to blame the government and hence adding fuel to this fire. It was a vicious circle.

Mr. Pombe had lost legitimacy as a leader of the 45 million citizens of Tanga. He had made people die because of his lies, ignorance, and arrogance. He knew he was done. He had no option but to step down. He handed in his resignation and exiled himself in a neighboring country. Everyone who had lost someone to the mysterious disease blamed "Padlock Man" for their deaths. Some of them sought vengeance and vendetta against him. Mr. Pombe was only safe in exile.

Eight months after the first Coronavirus case was reported in Tanga, and a week after President Pombe's dishonorable resignation, the Tanga media stations started reporting COVID-19 cases. The number of people who were tested that week was 10,000 and almost 3,000 people were found positive.

Mr. Pombe's deputy took over as the new President. He had learned to be decisive and firm in his domestic policy. He did not waste time in signing executive orders to install the COVID-19 prevention measures. He also allowed the media the freedom to report on COVID-19 cases and released the detained members of the opposition. The country started seeing a reduction in the number of deaths and infections after the fifth week. Indeed, it was a new dawn for Tanga.