World

Nyerere, Africa's 'Teacher,' Dies

October 14, 1999 / 12:23 PM EDT / AP

Former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, the father of Tanzanian independence and a symbol of Africa's hopes as it emerged from the shadow of European colonial rule, died Thursday in London. He was 77.

Nyerere had been diagnosed with leukemia in August 1998 and had been under treatment in London's St. Thomas' Hospital since September.

Doctors in London said Wednesday that Nyerere had suffered a massive stroke from which he would not recover. Reports a day earlier said he was brain dead.

In announcing Nyerere's death, President Benjamin Mkapa called on Tanzanians to Â"maintain unity at this time of grief.Â"

Â"I know the death of the father of the nation will shock and dismay many,Â" Mkapa said. Â"There are many who fear that national unity will disintegrate, the union will falter and our relations with our neighbors will deteriorate following the passing of Nyerere. But Nyerere has built a sustainable foundation for national unity, the union and relations with our neighbors.Â"

Nyerere led the drive for the independence of his East African nation from British rule and became the country's first president in 1961. Unlike most African leaders who spearheaded the great wave of independence struggles that swept the continent, he was never jailed or persecuted.

Known affectionately throughout Africa as Mwalimu, or Â"teacherÂ" in Swahili, Nyerere stepped down as president in 1985 after 23 years in office to devote his time to farming and diplomacy. He worked tirelessly to negotiate an end to the violence that has wracked central and southern Africa in the past decade.

Most recently, Nyerere tried to mediate an end to the civil war in neighboring Burundi, where more than 200,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since 1993.

Nyerere was elected to Tanganyika's legislature in 1958, the first time Africans were given the vote, and became leader of the opposition whose main plank was independence. He became prime minister with independence in May 1961 and president 19 months later when Tanganyika became a republic.

Two years later, Nyerere engineered the union of Tanganyika and the Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba to create the United Republic of Tanzania. The following year, he established single-party rule.

In a continent known for corrupt leaders who live lavishly off state coffers, Nyerere lived modestly. After he retired, parliament hastily passed a law granting him a pension.

Nyerere was among only a handful of African presidents to voluntarily leave office. He also foresaw the futility of single-party rule in Tanzania as the clamor for democracy swept the continent following the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and Russia.

A Roman Catholic, Nyerere was married and had eight children.

Mkapa said a state funeral would be held for Nyerere in Dar es Salaam, and he will be buried at his home village of Butiama in wester Tanzania near Lake Victoria.