Between Confusion and Clarity: Rethinking the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar after 50 Years

Abstract

In spite of its endurance for fifty years, one of the defining features of the Tanganyika-Zanzibar union is confusion attributable to both its structure and modus operandi. This state of confusion cuts across a wide range of actors including the founding fathers themselves and their close associates, ordinary citizens, politicians, foreigners and intellectuals. In the context of the ongoing process of writing a new constitution, it is imperative to revisit the union with the aim of seeking for more clarity on the proposed federal structure of three-governments in the Draft Constitution of 2013.The main argument of this article is that the current two-tier government structure as laid down in the Articles of Union of 1964 inherently leads to confusion. Whereas the proposed union structure may not be a panacea to problems of confusion, it may, with some refinement, be instrumental in addressing various dimensions of confusion and in generating clearly defined institutions and jurisdictions.