POLITICS

Dar es Salaam (Image 13) is the former capitol of Tanzania and was inhabited and ruled by Sultan Seyyid Majiid in 1866 until his death in 1870. After the death of Sultan Majiid the German East Africa Company (Image 14) established there in 1887. After WWII the formation of the Tanganika African National Union (TANU) led to Tanzania's independence from colonial rule in December 1961 (Baroin 1996).

The Tanzanian government was influenced by several different countries while under colonial rule. This is evident due to their five-level judiciary which combines the jurisdictions of tribal, Islamic and British common law. When Tanzania reached full independence in December 1961 they elected Julis Kambarage Nyerere as president (Image 15). Today the government is headed by President Mkapa, Vice President Ali Shein and Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye (Image 16).

Kiswahili (Swahili) is the language used when teaching education and preaching sermons at the Tanzanian Lutheran Church. When Tanzania became independent they faced the task of leading a country that contained 120 unintelligible languages. For this reason Swahili was adopted as the official national language of Tanzania (Ferraro 144). The Swahili language has undeniably caused a unification of more than one hundred and twenty different ethnic groups (Baroin).