Dr. Stephen Ulimboka, hours after his torture. |
It is a shame that it had
to come down to this. Tanzania has a lesson to learn from the Doctor's strike.
The questions everyone ought to be asking were not asked, instead we the
citizens, influenced by either our sympathy for those suffering or/and the continuous
reeling outbursts from the government, rallied against the doctors in spite of their claims. Was this an emotional or logical issue. It is a fact that it is
impossible to reconcile the heart with the mind, emotions with logic,
therefore, question yourself on whether your approach to this strike was
influenced by logic or emotions. It was
not until the grievous beating of Dr. Stephen Ulimboka that most people
realized the degree of attention that this strike deserved. In essence the
beating was a message and nothing else, a message of fear to all those who
intend to express their right to a lawful strike against the government's will,
but who sanctioned government will as a prerequisite for a lawful strike? And
who sanctioned the heinous beating of the Chairman of the Interim
Doctor's Committee (the committee that organised the strike)? There are many
questions lingering around the entire situation but a significant faction of
the populace is relieved that this chairman is hospitalized for allegedly
'disturbing the peace'. It is to the latter faction that I direct the following
questions:
1. Do medical doctors in Tanzania have a constitutional right to strike?
2. Was the strike conducted lawfully?
3. Where the demands advanced by the Medical
Association of Tanzania reasonable?
4.Was the government's response of issuing threats lawful?
5. Who sanctioned the abduction and torture of Dr. Ulimboka? Of what
significance was the said torture?
6. Are your answers to the above based on
emotional or logical premises?
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