Dar es Salaam. Overconfidence and what was viewed in some
quarters as contempt towards his party and some its top leaders is what
cost the otherwise very able and popular former Premier Edward Lowassa
the nomination as CCM presidential candidate, The Citizen can report.
Acting like an outsider, Mr Lowassa also
undermined the power of CCM especially when it comes to making hard
decisions, a trait which he used to distinguish himself from other
aspirants.
He appeared to be too confident such that he did
not make any alternative plan in case his mission failed. He reiterated
in his speeches that for him, Plan A was winning, plan B was winning and
plan C was also winning!
In some instances, he assured his supporters that
there was no one within CCM who would dare to remove his name from the
list of contestants during the vetting process. This is one indication
that the former PM regarded himself as a candidate who only waited to be
declared the winner at the appropriate time.
It appears that Mr Lowassa employed almost similar
tactics as ten year ago when they strategised for his comrade, Mr
Jakaya Kikwete, who managed to secure the ticket after the then
chairman, Mr Benjamin Mkapa, failed to block him from winning the post.
Back then, Mr Kikwete formed a network within the
party, popularly known as Mtandao in Kiswahili, which mobilised support
from a majority of CCM members and supporters. This was done
clandestinely and only a few people were aware of what was going on
within the party.
Mr Kikwete also prepared a fall-back plan which
was so dreadful that leaders within his party were left with no option
but to make him their candidate.
In contrast, Mr Lowassa garnered the support so
openly. While many who supported Mr Kikwete did not make any public
statements showing their inclination, it was common for some party
leaders and stalwarts to boast of their support for Lowassa in public.
This helped the party to identify his (Mr Lowassa) lieutenants and chart
the means of containing them.
While Mr Lowassa was busy building an institution
within, his party was monitoring all his actions. While he was beaming
with confidence given the level of support from within the party little
did he know that he was providing his detractors within CCM with
ammunition for his downfall.
Insiders from Mr Lowassa’s core team were also
overconfident as they seriously underlined the party and its national
chairman, Mr Kikwete. Earlier, the team was banking on direct backing
from the national chairman given his close relationship with Mr Lowassa.
Though Mr Lowassa had employed a credible intelligence team, it failed on many fronts.
First, the team failed to read Mr Kikwete’s inner
feelings and perceptions on who his successor should be. It was not
until the very last minutes that the team realised that Mr Kikwete was
not backing Mr Lowassa.
This post was written by: Author Name
Your description comes here!
Get Free Email Updates to your Inbox!
Post a Comment