By: Shaaban Fundi, Ph.D.
The famous essay entitled the “Power of the Powerless” by Vaclav Havel (1978) maps onto Tanzania political situation uncomfortably well, even though the contexts are different. If we use The Power of the Powerless as a lens rather than a one-to-one comparison, some sharp parallels pop out.
1. Fear as a System, Not an Accident
In Havel’s account, repression isn’t just about punishing enemies; it’s about teaching everyone
else where the invisible lines are.
Abductions, extrajudicial killings, and selective prosecutions do exactly that in Tanzania.
The point isn’t that everyone will be arrested. The point is that anyone could be.
That uncertainty creates what Havel calls self-policing:
* journalists soften language
* activists fragment into “safe” and “unsafe” causes
* ordinary citizens avoid political talk altogether
The regime doesn’t need total surveillance if people learn to censor themselves.
2. Trumped-Up Charges as Ritualized Lies
Charging dissidents with vague or inflated offenses (“economic crimes,” “cybercrime,”
“terrorism,” “sedition”) mirrors Havel’s idea of legalism without justice.
The law becomes a theater:
* Everyone knows the charges aren’t the real reason.
* Courts still go through the motions.
* Officials insist “the process is being followed.”
This is classic “living within the lie.”
The system survives because everyone pretends this is normal governance rather than political
persecution.
3. Elites as the Greengrocers
Havel’s greengrocer isn’t evil—he’s compliant.
In Tanzania, elites who benefit from corruption and embezzlement play the same role, just at a
higher level.
They:
* echo official narratives in public
* stay silent about abuses they privately acknowledge
* trade loyalty for access to contracts, land, licenses, or protection
Many may not believe the propaganda, but they perform belief. That performance is what stabilizes the system.
As Havel would put it:
They are both victims and pillars of the system.
4. Corruption as Moral Blackmail
Corruption isn’t just economic—it’s political insurance.
When elites are deeply entangled in embezzlement:
* they can’t credibly oppose repression
* they fear exposure if the system falls
* they become invested in the regime’s survival
This creates what Havel calls a “post-ideological” system:
It doesn’t rule by ideas, but by mutual compromise in wrongdoing.
5. “Living in Truth” Under Tanzanian Conditions
In this context, “living in truth” doesn’t mean dramatic protests (which may be suicidal). It looks
more like:
* journalists insisting on verifiable facts, even in constrained language
* lawyers documenting abuses meticulously, knowing cases may fail now but matter later
* civil servants quietly refusing to falsify records
* citizens naming corruption honestly in private spaces, churches, universities, online
communities
These acts seem small. Havel insists they’re not.
They:
* break the illusion of universal consent
* remind people they are not alone in seeing the truth
* slowly delegitimize the regime’s moral authority
Authoritarian systems fear truthful normality more than open rebellion.
6. Why the System Is More Fragile Than It Looks
Havel’s most dangerous insight for regimes is this:
Power depends on belief—even simulated belief.
When:
* elites stop performing loyalty
* institutions quietly refuse to lie
* ordinary people stop repeating official nonsense
The system doesn’t collapse overnight—but it starts to rot from the inside.
Repression increases, which paradoxically exposes weakness.
7. The Tragic Cost—and the Long View
Havel never minimizes the cost.
People disappear. Careers end. Families suffer.
But he also warns against the lie that survival at any moral cost is neutrality. In reality, silence and participation actively reproduce the system.
In Tanzania, the question Havel would force is brutal but clarifying:
What lies am I repeating in order to live comfortably?
That’s where real resistance begins—not with slogans, but with moral refusal.
/By: Shaaban Fundi, Ph.D.
Who is DR. Fundi? / Dr. Fundi has more than two decades of professional and academic experience focusing on marine research techniques, environmental research and education. He is the founder of Kibogoji Experiential Learning Center, Inc (KELI), a non-for-profit whose mission is to bridge technological and instructional quality gap between urban and rural students of all levels in Tanzania. Dr. Fundi earned his M.S. in Education from the Johns Hopkins University; M.S. in Environmental Science from the Towson University both of Baltimore, Maryland; and a B.S. degree in Marine Biology and Microbiology from the Dar Es Salaam University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. He successfully defended his PhD in Education at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia concentrating on curriculum design, educational research methodologies, evaluation and assessment. Click HERE to watch his talk and HERE to hear the story of his journey.
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