- He ruled Tanzania between 1995 to 2005
- He was born on November 12, 1938 born in Ndanda, near Masasi in southern Tanganyika.
The former Tanzanian president Benjamin William Mkapa has died aged 81.In his announcement President Pombe Magufuli on Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) on July 24, said Mkapa died at a Dar es Salaam Hospital where he was receiving treatment.
“I call on all Tanzanians to receive the news of his death and to pray for Mzee Mkapa. More information will be released but Mzee Mkapa is no more,” he said in the brief television statement.
In the brief a seven-day mourning period was declared to honour the latter. Further during this time, all flags in the country will be flown at half-mast.
He was the third president of Tanzania being at the helm from 1995 to 2005 when he retired and handed over power to Jakaya kikwete.
Mkapa was born in Ndanda, near Masasi in southern Tanganyika, on 12 November 1938. He graduated from Makerere University in Uganda in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He went on to study at Columbia University the following year, and earned a master’s degree in international affairs.He served his country in various positions including, an administrative officer in Dodoma and the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, head of the Tanzanian mission to Canada in the year 1982 and to the United States Of America from 1983 to 1984. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1984 to 1990.[7]
MEDIATION
The former president is known for leading peace mediation efforts in the region, including taking part in Kenya’s post-election conciliation exercise in 2008. He was part of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which ended the post-election violence after the highly disputed December 27, 2007 elections.
Mkapa later penned a book where he revealed that locking out William Ruto (now Deputy President) and Martha Karua from the post-elections violence mediation team in 2008 helped secure a power-sharing agreement between former president Mwai Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga.
Mkapa also mediated talks between the Burundi government and opposition in 2016 that were aimed at ending a long political crisis.
President Magufuli eulogised Mkapa saying he will remember him for his love for the country, the fear of God and hardwork.
Post presidency
Having left office due to a two-term limit, Mkapa was dogged by many accusations of corruption, among them improperly appropriating to himself and his former finance Minister Daniel Yona the lucrative “Kiwira Coal Mine” in the southern highlands of Tanzania without following lawful procedures. By privatizing the Kiwira Coal Mine to himself, he was accused of a breach of the Tanzanian constitution, which does not allow a president to do business at the state house.
Mkapa served as a Trustee of the Aga Khan University from November 2007 until 2012.
