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Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu (22 September 1924 – 5 August 1996) was a
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
-born
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
and pan-Africanist nationalist who played an important role in the 1964
Zanzibar Revolution The Zanzibar Revolution (; ) began on 12 January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar Jamshid bin Abdullah and his mainly Arab government by the island's majority Black African population. Zanzibar was an ethnically di ...
and served as a minister under
Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician, anti-colonial activist, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as presid ...
after the island was merged with mainland Tanganyika to form
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. He was jailed by Nyerere from 1972 and, after his release following an international campaign, remained a vocal critic of
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
, authoritarian states and excessively
statist In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation an ...
(as well as private capitalist) development models.


Early years

Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu was born in September 1924 in
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
,
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
– then a British protectorate, under the nominal control of the hereditary Sultan. The island's economy was centred on exporting cloves and coconuts, and its population included Arabs, Africans and Indians. After serving in the British forces during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and a stint as a clerk on a clove plantation, he studied in Britain from 1951, where he was drawn first to anarchist-communism and then to Marxism-Leninism.


Anti-colonialism

Influenced by the rise of anti-colonial movements and impressed by the rising power of the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...
, Babu threw himself into the independence movement. He was the leader of the first mass nationalist party on the island, the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), and in 1958 attended the All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra, Ghana, where he met
Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...
,
Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961) was a French West Indian psychiatrist, political philosopher, and Marxist from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have become influential in the ...
and
Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...
, following which Babu visited
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
's China in 1959. Babu had built close relations with the Chinese leadership and was viewed by the British as "the best known Sinophile" in the area.Altorfer-Ong, Alicia (2009). "Tanzanian 'Freedom' and Chinese 'Friendship' in 1965: laying the tracks for the TanZam rail link" (PDF). LSE Ideas.
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
(LSE): 655–670. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
Babu was jailed for two years by the British. At independence in 1962, government was transferred to a coalition, drawn from the right-wing of the ZNP and a splinter off the moderate Afro-Shirazi Party of Abeid Karume, which retained the Sultan as constitutional monarch.Wilson, 2007, "Abdul Rahman Mohamed Babu", ''Journal of Pan African Studies'', vol. 1, no. 9, p. 11. The ZNP left-wing, including Babu, quit to form the revolutionary Umma Party, which built a popular base across race lines.


The Zanzibar Revolution, 1964

In early 1964, massive riots broke out, and the Umma Party played a key role, notable for having "prevented the revolution from taking a racial character i.e. African against Arab". This played a political face-saving measure for the Nyerere government which was horrified with the scenes of mass killings and open-pit mass graves. The principle provocateur of the revolution, the African Nationalist John Okello, had specifically demanded the killing of all Arabs between the ages of 18 and 25. The Revolution led to the deaths of up to 20,000, mainly Arabs, with widespread rape and some settlements completely wiped out. Following the state capture of Zanzibar, racially motivated violence and persecution continued, forcing up to 75% of Arabs, Asians and Comoros Islanders to leave their centuries-old ancestral home. A new government was formed by the Afro-Shirazi Party and the Umma Party, with Abeid Karume as President and Babu the Foreign Minister, comprising the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council. Pressured by Britain, Karume pushed through a merger between
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
and Tanganyika in April 1964, although this had little support in his government or the people. Babu was among the progressive, leftist members of the Zanzibari government who was retained in the new joint Cabinet
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
. His connections to China continued, and his ideological affinity and work with the New China News Agency made him a good channel of communication with Beijing. Meanwhile he met – in July 1964 at the second summit of the
Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...
(OAU) in
Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
– and became friends with, as well as arguably influencing,
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
.Wilson, 2007, "Abdul Rahman Mohamed Babu", ''Journal of Pan African Studies'', vol. 1, no. 9, p. 21.


After Union

This also enabled Babu to a key role to play in the establishment of the TAZARA Railway with the help of Chinese aid.
Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician, anti-colonial activist, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as presid ...
wanted to build on Zanzibar's close ties with China and create benefits for the whole country. Babu was named head of the trade delegation that preceded Nyerere’s presidential delegation to China in 1964. Due to his personal experience with the Chinese and his ideological affinity for their Marxist-Leninist model of development, Babu seized the initiative and mentioned the difficulties his government faced in trying to secure financing for the TAZARA Railway. On 1 July 1965 the Chinese Government made a firm offer of tied aid to the governments of Tanzania and Zambia, worth £75 million and £150 million to enable them to build the railway line. Another outcome of his trip was a trade agreement (separate from the £11 million aid agreement) for £5 million a year for five years. Under this agreement the Tanzanians were to buy whatever they could afford from the Chinese but the Chinese were to buy £5 million worth a year from Tanzania. The Chinese would pay cash for the balance not taken up by purchases from Tanzania.


Jail

Babu rejected Nyerere's model of African socialism for failing to address Tanzania's reliance on raw material exports, a colonial legacy; for replicating, in its rural policies, fairly orthodox policies under the guise of 'Ujamaa' radicalism; and for irresponsible and unsustainable
nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...
especially of small businesses, often owned by the Indian minority. Since the key task was to develop the
forces of production Productive forces, productive powers, or forces of production ( German: ''Produktivkräfte'') is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism. In Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' own critique of political economy, it refers to the combin ...
in such a way as to end neo-colonial patterns, dislocating production, failing to provide funding to villagers, and aiming at a "fairer" integration into world capitalism, as Nyerere did, would not be successful.Babu, Abdulrahman Mohamed, 1981, ''African Socialism or Socialist Africa?'', London: Zed Press. In 1972, Karume was assassinated, and Babu along with 40 other Umma Party members were jailed for alleged involvement, despite a lack of evidence, leading to death sentences three years later, but were finally released after an international campaign. Babu and 12 other prisoners held on the mainland were freed by Nyerere in an amnesty.


Development model and the "Letter to Mugabe"

In his well-known book ''Socialist Africa or African Socialism'', which was written in prison, and in work after his release, Babu stressed the importance of fundamental economic change. Internal change in the country, rather than changes in the global environment, were key, and this required careful management of contradictions among the people, including the national bourgeoisie, as advised by
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
. In his 1980 ''Open Letter to
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...
'' in 1980, he argued that experience showed that 'the taking over of ongoing viable farms' by states 'has invariably led to almost total collapse of agricultural production and has forced the countries concerned to incur heavy foreign debt to import food'. He argued that the state should promote cooperative as opposed to
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
farms alongside the large white-owned commercial farms, obliging the latter to support the former, and split the more progressive white farmers from the "reactionaries". Rising rural incomes would boost the home market which would boost industrialization. He also spoke out repeatedly against authoritarian postcolonial states, and argued in favour of genuine democracy, which he saw as antithetical to
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. He wished for a 'socialist and united Africa'.


Last years

For most of the years after his release by Nyerere, Babu lived in the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
or
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, but remained involved in African politics, including efforts to forge an alternative to
neo-liberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
. He stayed in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
for years as a scholar. However, he returned to Tanzania in 1995 to stand as a candidate for the NCCR-Mageuzi party, a mixed formation that was running in the first multi-party elections in decades Legal manipulations preventing him running as a candidate, and the elections were not free or fair; the incumbent party was re-elected. The old charges against and consequent conviction of Babu allowed the Electoral Commission to rejecting his bid to run for the vice-presidency. Babu died aged 72 on August 5, 1996, at the
London Chest Hospital The London Chest Hospital, located in Bethnal Green in London, adjacent to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, Victoria Park, was a hospital with a national reputation for treatment of Heart, cardiac and Lung, pulmonary disease. Since 1999 it had been ...
after a short illness.


Positions held

*Chair - Africa Centre (London) (1985–89) *
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
of Zanzibar (January 1964 – April 1964) *Founder -
Umma Party (Zanzibar) The Umma Party was a Socialism, socialist political party in Zanzibar. It was founded in 1963 by disaffected socialist Arabs from the ruling Zanzibar Nationalist Party. It was led by Abdulrahman Muhammad Babu and supported the Afro-Shirazi Party ...
(1963) *Secretary General - Zanzibar Nationalist Party (1957–63) *Minister of Economic Planning (1964–1972) *Picked as the presidential running-mate for the NCCR-Mageuzi ticket in the 1995 elections.


Publications

* Babu, A. M., 1981, ''African Socialism or Socialist Africa?'', London: Zed Press. * Babu, Salma, and Amrit Wilson (eds), 2002, ''The Future That Works: Selected Writings of A.M.Babu''. New Jersey: Africa World Press.


Further reading

* Campbell, Horace. "Abdulrahman Mohammed Babu 1924–1996 A Personal Memoir", ''African Journal of Political Science'' (1996), Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 240–246. * Wilson, Amrit, ''The Threat of Liberation'' (
Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Pluto Press states that it publishes "radical, left‐wing non­‐fiction books", and is anti-capitalist and internationalist. It belongs to The Internat ...
, 2013; )


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babu, Abdhulrahman Mohamed 1924 births 1996 deaths Zanzibari diplomats Tanzanian prisoners sentenced to death People convicted of treason Prisoners sentenced to death by Tanzania NCCR–Mageuzi politicians Zanzibar Nationalist Party politicians Umma Party (Zanzibar) politicians Government ministers of Zanzibar Government ministers of Tanzania Tanzanian expatriates in the United States Tanzanian expatriates in the United Kingdom