ANNEX ANNEXAA

History of formation of the Saadani Game Reserve. (Source: Saadani Village Archives)

ICCA CONSORTIUM Letter to Honourable Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United Republic of Tanzania Ref: Concerning the Uvinje Land and Conservation Grievance in Saadani Village, Pwani, northeast Tanzania

December 2015 January 2016.

HISTORY OF SAADANI VILLAGE AND SAADANI GAME RESERVE Saadani village is located besides the Indian Ocean, North of Pwani Province in Bagamoyo District. This village is on the far end of Bagamoyo district which borders Pwani Districts. What separates the two districts is river MLINGAJI, very close to Uvinje sub-village. Saadani is a historical village right from the onset of the Arabic slavery trade Saadani village, including the village itself, has other sub-villages comprising of Gogo, Maguko, Tengwe I & II, Uvinje, Marumbi, Kajanjo, Mbwebwe and Charahan. This village consists of a mix of tribes of Wazigua, Wadoe, Wakwerere and other tribes that migrated there for business purposes and so on. The inhabitants of Saadani village are fishermen, farmers, salt harvesters and coconut farmers. The village has Swahili and Arabic culture and its type of music is Buti, Bengwa and Taarab. That’s the short history of Saadani

GAME RESERVE All places covering the forests and game reserves have different kinds and types of wild animals since time immemorial. Many hunters, both from within and outside places like Bagamoyo, Mombasa, Tanga and Pangani liked very much to hunt in Meli and Mhambaroni. Unfortunately, the hunting was not done within the confines of law, something that did not go down well with the residents of Saadani and its neighbourhood. Throughout the reign of the Arabs, the Germans and Englishmen who lived there never addressed the issue of game reserve. They addressed preservation of Dadi forest which is located to the West of Saadani near KILAMATINDE. That forest was commonly known to the villagers as the forest of BIBI. In April 1965, the then Director of the Department of Wild animals in independence Bro. H.S. Mahinda passed through Saadani village on his way to Tanga from DSM. He stopped over to inquire which route goes to Tanga and the general condition of the route. His entourage was in a Land-Rover vehicle and the driver was Mzee Bombo assisted by Bro. Ahmed Nambwilinga and Bro. Abedi. Fortunately, that day was a day for Saadani villagers and its sub-villagers to meet and deliberate on national development. Bro. Mahinda arrived just in time when the delegates were meeting after they had been working. DELEGATES PRESENT ON THAT DAY Bro.

Shehe Said – Chairman

Bro.

Baruti Faraji – Secretary

Bro.

Bon Juma – Delegate

Bro.

Maftaha Hamisi – Delegate

Bro.

Marijani Juma – Delegate and Councillor

Bro.

Sururu Mwinyamani – Delegate from Uvinje sub-village

Bro.

Rajabu Heri – Delegate

Bro.

Azizi Abdala Buheti – Delegate T.Y.L

Bro.

Ismael Keki – Delegate

Bro.

Juma Siana – Delegate

Bro.

Salimini Mataha – Delegate from Gogo sub-village

Bro.

Jumbe Mgaza Jabu – Delegate from Tengwe I sub-village

Bro.

Ahamedi M. Haji – Delegate

Bro.

Ali Funua – Delegate from Marumbi sub-village

Bro.

Mtoro Muhuzazi – Delegate

Bro.

Harubu Mwinjuma - Delegate

After stopping, he asked T.Y.L Azizi to inquire from the visitor what his problem was. Bro. Mahinda narrated to Bro. Azizi his problem besides telling him who he was and what his occupation/designation was. After T.Y.L took feedback to the above mentioned delegates, Bro. Mahinda was asked to meet the old men of Saadani village inside the TANU offices and hold discussions on the worries of the residents about the careless killings of the wild animals for a long time by people from outside the village and even from the District and Province. Bro. Mahinda listened to them very keenly. He eventually asked them how they want him to assist because he was the officer responsible for preservation of all wild animals in TANGANYIKA. The residents asked him to deploy police to Game 2 and they will nominate 7 people as leaders to work with the police who will have been brought to safeguard the wildlife. Director Mahinda agreed to the request and promised to implement it. Bro. Mahinda asked that 2 people be nominated at that particular moment to start safeguarding the forest and the wildlife. Bro. Salimini Naftaha and Bro. Azizi Abdala T.Y.L were nominated as the first leaders to take Bro. Mahinda and his entourage to a tour of the forest. Bro. Azizi took Bro. Mahinda and his entourage to the following forests; Hambaroni, Charahani and Bwawa La Kwakoba. This place is North of Saadani village and borders Uvinje and Tengwe I sub-villages. The following day it was the turn of leader Salimini Maftaha Dihenga. He took the entourage to Meli game reserve and Komsaraka forest. Meli game reserve borders Magako subvillage. After the tour, Bro. Mahinda and his entourage were happy to see many animals of different kinds.

What pleased him most was the fact that the animals were living close to the Indian Ocean and DSM city. 5 bodies of elephants were also discovered during the tour with there tusks missing. The following day, there was a joint meeting between Bro. Mahinda and his entourage and the village delegates and the sub-village representatives. Director Mahinda narrated to them how he was pleased to see for himself the real situation on the ground. He promised to deploy the police and make deliberate efforts to preserve the remaining wildlife for the benefit of Saadani villagers and sub-villagers and the entire nation as a whole. He also advised that an animal zoo be constructed so that those who are not able to make it to the forests have an opportunity to see the animals including the locals, national and international leaders especially the president of the country. Bro. Mahinda promised that the animal zoo will be established and named after the village and the reserve will be different from the rest like Serengeti, Mikumi and the like. The reserve will be managed by two arms, the government and citizens. He also said that all kids from Saadani will be trained on game reservation and welcoming visitors. That will be the initial benefit of employment opportunities for the locals and that a percentage of the revenue realized will be allocated to the village. This is because the Saadani Reserve was initiated by the residents themselves after suffering the pain of burning of the animals. CONSTRUCTION After that advice, Bro. Mahinda asked where houses for the police will be constructed and the answer from the delegates was that they be constructed next to the village and near river Mvae. The animal zoo is to be built at a place called Salama along the road to Charahani. Visitor’s houses to be built at Mbigilini near the beach along the road to Pangani. Houses for women from the department who will train Saadani village girls how to receive guests/visitors be constructed inside the village because of there safety, at a place called Alli Jafu. BOUNDARIES Bro. Mahinda asked to be told where the boundaries will be located and the response from the old men was; (1) One house to be built in Mkwajuni near Gogo sub-village near the old German road called KANGOSI (2) The second house is to be built on the other side of river Mligaji along Bagamoyo-Pangani road west of Uvinje sub-village on the other side of that road. (3) A house to be built in Maguko at Lake Mwenyegoha. Afterwards, the thought of building here was thrown out sighting safety issues. It was later decided that the house be built across river Wami near the Bagamoyo-Pangani road. (4) A house to be build at Tutani near DSM Moshi railway line. After those agreements, Bro. Mahinda asked the residents to choose their boundaries for there own use. (1) From Saadani village to Mkunjuni, the boundary is Mkwajuni hence the space between Mkwajuni to Saadani is for the public. (2) Bro. Mahinda suggested that the residents of Gogo Diola sub-village which is located between Mkwajuni and Tutani be returned to Saadani and the affected be compensated. The locals living there agreed to that advice.

(3) UVINJE SUB-VILLAGE The residents of Uvinje sub-village wanted 2 miles of land from their village towards the west to be set aside for themselves and their descendants. This was agreed and Bro. Mahinda promised to allocated more land to them if need arises. All arid places are to be set aside for salt production. Bro. Mahinda insisted that the life and welfare of people precedes that of animals. MAGUKO SUB-VILLAGE Mzee Shamba Mberwa and his children were not cultivating the land and they owned 3 villages namely, Maguko, Kajanjo and Porokaya. They were livestock keepers and fishermen. TENGWE I & II SUB-VILLAGES Fortunately, these sub-villages were across DSM Moshi railway line meaning outside the borders of the game reserve. The boundary agreed upon was to the West of Saadani village. That is how the situation was between the agreement of Bro. M. H. Mahinda, Director at the Department of WildlifeTanganyika, and the residents of Saadani and its sub-villages. The first police to be deployed by the Department was Bakari Hassani.

Alli Hassani Mpoto.