; Mashujaa wetu mtemi Mkwawa, Mirambo, Isike, Makunganya, Mangi Meri, Bwana Heri

Nduna Songea Mbano, muda mfupi kabla ya kuuawa na 

Nduna Songea: Shujaa wa Wangoni aliyewapeleka puta wajerumani..SHUJAA WETU HAKUSALITI JAMAA ZAKE NA UTAWALAWAKE..!!.  HUWEZI kuielezea na kuikamilisha historia ya vita ya Majimaji na ukombozi wa nchi yetu
bila kumtaja shujaa wa kabila la Wangoni, Nduna Songea Mbano ambaye jina lake lilipewa hadhi ya kuuita mji wa Songea kutoka kwenye jina la Ndonde mwaka 1906.
Kiongozi huyo alikuwa ni miongoni mwa wasaidizi ( Nduna) 12 wa Chifu wa kabila la wangoni (Nkosi) chifu Mputa bin Gwezerapasi Gama. Wasaidizi wake wengine walikuwa ni Mgendera Mawaso Gama, Kohongo Magagura, Mputa Mkuzo Gama, Magodi Mbamba Mbano, Mtekateka
Muyamuya Tawete, Fratela Fusi Gama.
Manduna wengine ni Maji ya Kuhanga Komba, Zimanimoto Gama, Mpambalyoto Soko
Msalawani, Mtepa Hawaya Gama na Nduna Mkomanile ambaye alikuwa ni mwanamke pekee
kuwa nduna.
Nduna Songea Mbano alikuwa maarufu kuliko manduna wenzake na hata chifu Mputa Gama alikuwa anamtegemea sana katika kuwaongoza manduna na wapiganaji wa vita ya Majimaji kiujumla.
Mhifadhi kiongozi wa Makumbusho ya Taifa ya Majimaji Songea, Philipo Maligissu
akizungumzia maisha ya Nduna Songea Mbano katika viwanja vya Makumbusho hayo, anasema kuwa Nduna Songea Mbano weledi ndio uliompa umaarufu sana.
Kutokana na weledi na ushadi wake, aliwazidi wenzake 11 katika mbinu za kuandaa mikakati ya kivita, kutoa uamuzi mzito pasi na kutetereka na kusimamia utekelezaji wake kikamilifu.
Kwa umakini mkubwa, Nduna Songea Mbano aliweza kufanya kile alichokuwa akikiamini na uthibitisho wa jambo hilo ulianza kujitokeza Julai 12, 1897 katika viwanja vya Bomani kwa mkuu wa Wilaya wa Wajerumani, Luteni Engelhardt.
Maligissu anasema rekodi zilizopo zinaonesha kuwa tarehe hiyo Nduna Songea Mbano, alionekana kuwa ni mtu wa kipekee katika idadi ya manduna 11 ambao walikuwa wasaidizi
wa Chifu Mputa Gama kwa kitendo chake cha kubisha wazi wazi tamko la utawala mpya wa Wajerumani la kutaka Wangoni wakomeshe biashara ya utumwa.
Siku hiyo ilikuwa ni rasmi ambayo utawala wa kikoloni ulikuwa unaanzishwa katika mji wa Songea, wakati huo ukiitwa Ndonde na Mkoa wa Ruvuma kiujumla ukiwa chini ya Luteni
Engelhardt aliyekuwa Mkuu wa Jeshi Kanda ya Kusini.
Wajerumani walipofika kuanzisha makoloni yao katika maeneo ya ukanda wa kusini walikutana na msuguano mkubwa kutoka kwa tawala za Kiafrika, hasa tawala za Wangoni.
Maligissu anasema kuwa Wangoni walikuwa na tabia ya kwenda mikoa ya Lindi na Mtwara
kuvamia, kuchukua mateka na kuwapeleka Songea kuwafanyisha shughuli mbalimbali katika maeneo yao ya utawala wao.
Tabia hiyo ya Wangoni iliwachukiza sana Wajerumani, kwani walikuwa wanaheshimu sana makubaliano yaliyofikiwa kutoka kwenye mkutano wa Berlin wa 1884 /85.
Katika mkutano huo moja ya makubaliano ni na kila nchi yenye koloni barani Afrika ikomeshe biashara ya utumwa, hasa ikizingatiwa kwamba Wajerumani walikuwa wamejiimarisha sana.
Hivyo walipofika Ruvuma wakatoa tamko kwa Wangoni kuwa hairuhusiwi na haitaruhusiwa tena kwenda Lindi, Mtwara au kokote kuchukua mateka na kwamba mateka wote waliochukuliwa na Wangoni waachiwe huru.
Baada ya Wajerumani kutoa tamko hilo, ndipo Nduna Songea Mbano alipojitokeza waziwazi
na kusimama kujibu hoja iliyotolewa na Wajerumani kuhusu tamko hilo.
Nduna Songea Mbano alisema kuwa utawala wa kabila la Wangoni hauwezi kutekeleza tamko hilo na kwamba msimamo wao ni kutoutambua utawala mpya wa Kijerumani na tamko lao.
Kwamba ujio wa Wajerumani na tamko lao kwa Wangoni vililenga kudhoofisha utawala wa machifu na manduna katika maeneo yao kwa kufuata kanuni zao za kimila na kitamaduni.
Kuanzia hapo Wajerumani walimwona Nduna Songea Mbano kuwa ni mtu hatari sana katika utawala wao mpya, hivyo kumweka alama maalumu na kuanza kumfuatilia nyendo zake.
Alionekana kuwa kiongozi shupavu mwenye misimamo mikali na anayezingatia heshima na utu wa kabila lake bila kuyumbishwa. Alionekana kuwa pekee mwenye uwezo mkubwa wa kufanya kazi katika mazingira yoyote kwa kushirikiana na wananchi wake ambao walikuwa
wanamheshimu sana na kumsikiliza.
Maligissu anaeleza kuwa Nduna Songea Mbano alikuwa na uwezo mkubwa wa kuwaunganisha
wananchi wake na kuwa na umoja, upendo na mshikamano na kwamba alikuwa akiwaelekeza jambo wanalifanya kwa umakini na kwa ukamilifu.
Nduna Songea Mbano aliendelea kujizolea umaarufu mkubwa na baada ya kutamka kuwa yupo tayari kwa lolote lile na hawezi kukubali kuona tawala za Kiafrika zinadharauliwa na wakoloni kwa namna yeyote ile.
Wajerumani wakaamua kuwaalika machifu na manduna wote Julai 13, 1897 Bomani kwa mkuu wa wilaya na kuwaambia kuwa mtu yeyote katika eneo lake atakayekaidi amri yoyote kutoka kwa uongozi mpya wa Wajerumani atapigwa risasi, kunyongwa hadi kufa au kufungwa maisha.
Siku hiyo hiyo machifu na manduna walichukuliwa hadi juu ya mlima wa shabaha wa Chandamari, katikati ya mji wa Songea na kuoneshwa nguvu ya risasi inavyoweza kufanya kazi
katika mwili wa binadamu na kwamba silaha za kijadi na kimila za Wangoni hazingeweza kufua
dafu mbele ya silaha hizo.
Licha ya Wajerumani kutoa vitisho vingi, Nduna Songea aliendelea na msimamo wake wa awali wa kuchukia na kuupinga utawala wa Wajerumani na kuutetea utawala wa Kiafrika mpaka ilipokuja kutokea Vita ya Majimaji.
Nduna Songea alitoa ushindani mkubwa sana katika vita hivyo na kuonesha ustadi mkubwa kwenye mapigano na katika sehemu zote ambazo Wajerumani walipigana, wameandika kuwa hawakupata ushindi mkubwa kama waliopata katika mkoa wa Ruvuma, zamani nchi ya Ungoni.
Viongozi wao hawakuwa wanafiki, kwani walijitoa kikwe likweli kusaka ukombozi na hadhi ya tamaduni zao mpaka dakika ya mwisho. Ndio maana idadi kubwa ya watu walionyongwa katika historia ya Tanzania walitoka katika himaya ya Nduna Songea Mbano na ushahidi upo wazi kuwa watu 67 walihukumiwa kunyongwa hadi kufa, akiwamo Nduna Songea Mbano.

Katika kuonesha kuwa Nduna Songea alikuwa na uwezo wa kufanya mambo kwa weledi mkubwa bila kusaliti dhamira yake kuanzia mwaka 1897 aliandaa jeshi lake la kupambana na utawala wa Wajerumani.
Akaanza kuchukua watu wake na kuwapeleka juu ya mlima wa Chandamari kufanya nao mkutano, kutoa mafunzo ya kivita na kuwaelekeza kwa nini Wajerumani wachukiwe.
Katika mlima huo ndipo alipoeleza kwa kina madhara ya kuukubali utawala wa Wajerumani
na kutoa ahadi kwa wananchi wake ya kuwaondoa Wajerumani kwa lazima na kuwa eneo hilo ni la Wangoni, wamekuwa wakiishi siku zote chini ya utawala wao, hivyo haiwezekani wapelekewe utawala mpya wakati hawauhitaji.
Chokochoko hizo zilizaa vita vya Majimaji na wakati mapigano yakiendelea Wajerumani walianza kumtafuta Nduna Songea ili wamkamate na kufanya naye mazungumzo ya maridhiano.
Kumbe Songea Mbano alikuwa amejificha kwenye pango kubwa lililopo kwenye mlima wa Chandamari na usiku alikuwa akikutana na askari wake nje ya pango hilo na kuwapa mafunzo zaidi ya kivita.
Maligissu anaeleza kuwa Nduna Songea alikuwa anaishi na ndugu zake katika eneo la Mateka, leo hii manispaa ya Songea na wakati wa vita ndipo Songea Mbano alikuwa anajificha katika pango hilo ili wasimkamate mpaka atakapotimiza malengo yake.
Wajerumani walipoona wanaendelea kupata madhara makubwa kutokana na vita hivyo, waliamua kuwakamata ndugu na familia yake, Chifu Mputa Gama na manduna wengine na kuwafunga gerezani kwa lengo la kumdhoofisha Nduna Songea.
Baada ya Wajerumani kumdhoofisha Nduna Songea alipata taarifa zote na akaamua kutoka
kwenye pango hilo na kwenda kwa Wajerumani na kutaka watu wake waachiwe ili mapigano yaendelee.
Ndipo naye alipokamatwa na kuswekwa gerezani na Wajerumani wakawahukumu wafungwa
hao kunyogwa hadi kufa.
Wafungwa hao waliamriwa kuchimba shimo kubwa bila kujua ndilo lingekuwa kaburi lao na ilipofika siku ya kifo chao, walinyongwa kwa zamu kwa muda wa siku mbili na maiti zao kuwekwa kwenye kaburi hilo hadi walipofikia 66 ndipo walizikwa kwa pamoja.
Walimwacha Nduna Songea Mbano ili awasaidia kutimiza malengo yao kwa wananchi, kwani waliamini akiwa kiongozi jasiri na anayependwa na watu wake angesikilizwa vizuri.
Tangu siku hiyo walipomwacha bila kumnyonga, Nduna Songea aliwasumbua Wajerumani na kutaka naye anyongwe kama ndugu zake, kwani hakuona sababu ya yeye kuishi wakati ndugu zake alishauawa; akasema wasipomnyonga angegoma kula na kunywa chochote mpaka afariki dunia.
Ndipo Wajerumani walipoamua kumnyonga na kumzika katika kaburi la peke yake, wakiamini kuwa ni mtu wa pekee mwenye ushujaa, uamuzi mzito na msimamo usioyumba. Walimuenzi kwa kubadilisha jina la mji wa Ndonde na kuubatiza jina la Songea, ambapo mpaka sasa linatumika kuuita mji huo wenye hazina kubwa ya historia na utalii wa kitamaduni. Mwandishi wa makala haya anapatikana kwa simu; 0755335051             MKWAWA Chief Mkwavinyika Munyigumba Mwamuyinga  more commonly known as Chief Mkwawa, was a Hehe tribal leader in German East Africa (now mostly the mainland part of Tanzania) who opposed the German colonisation. The name "Mkwawa" is derived from Mukwava, itself a shortened form of Mukwavinyika, meaning "conqueror of many lands". Mkwawa was born in Luhota and was the son of Chief Munyigumba, who died in 1879.

In July 1891, the German commissioner, Emil von Zelewski, led a battalion of soldiers (320 askaris with officers and porters) to suppress the Hehe. On 17 August, they were attacked by Mkwawa's 3,000-strong army at Lugalo, who, despite only being equipped with spears and a few guns, quickly overpowered the German force and killed Zelewski.

On 28 October 1894, the Germans, under the new commissioner Colonel Freiherr Friedrich von Schele, attacked Mkwawa's fortress at Kalenga. Although they took the fort, Mkwawa managed to escape. Subsequently, Mkwawa conducted a campaign of guerrilla warfare, harassing the Germans until 1898 when, on 19 July, he was surrounded and shot himself rather than be captured.

After his death, German soldiers removed Mkwawa's head. The skull was sent to Berlin and probably ended up in a Bremen museum. In 1918 the then British Administrator of German East Africa H.A. Byatt proposed to his government that it should demand a return of the skull to Tanganyika in order to reward the Wahehe for their cooperation with the British during the war and in order to have a symbol assuring the locals of the definitive end of German power. The skull's return was stipulated in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles:

"ARTICLE 246. Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, ... Germany will hand over to His Britannic Majesty's Government the skull of the Sultan Mkwawa which was removed from the Protectorate of German East Africa and taken to Germany."

The Germans disputed the removal of the said skull from East Africa and the British government took the position that the whereabouts could not be traced.

However, after World War II the Governor of Tanganyika, Sir Edward Twining, took up the issue again. After enquiries he was directed to the Bremen Museum which he visited himself in 1953. The Museum had a collection of 2000 skulls, 84 of which originated from the former German East Africa. He short-listed the ones which showed measurements similar to surviving relatives of Chief Mkwawa; from this selection he picked the only skull with a bullet-hole as the skull of chief Mkwawa.

The skull was finally returned on 9 July 1954, and now resides at the Mkwawa Memorial Museum in Kalenga, near the town of Iringa.

  chini ni mtemi mirambo..!!..

 

Mirambo  was a Nyamwezi warlord, from 1860 to 1884. Mirambo started out as a trader, and owned trade caravans traveling from the Great Lakes region in western Tanzania to the coast, mostly dealing with ivory and slaves. Through trade with Europeans he acquired firearms and money, and organised armies consisting mostly of teenage orphans. With his newly gained power, he toppled the traditional monarchy of the kingdom Urambo, and installed himself as ntemi (king). The Nyamwezi aristocracy was appalled when someone who was not royalty took over the religiously ceremonial office of ntemi. Apart from the Nyamwezi aristocracy, Mirambo also was an enemy of the trading community of Tabora in the kingdom of Unyanyembe. Many of the inhabitants of Tabora were Arab traders, and rivals of Mirambo for the control of the trade across Unyamwezi. These Arabs had powerful allies in Zanzibar on the coast. For most of his time as mtemi, Mirambo fought wars against his enemies. By the time of his death, he had united most of northern Unyamwezi in an alliance under his leadership, but he never managed to conquer Tabora. Near the end of his life he grew ill, and died, age 44. It is possible that he was strangled to death, since an old Nyamwezi custom was to strangle their mtemi when they became unfit to rule. He was notable for opposing the Arab allies of Henry Morton Stanley. Stanley dubbed Mirambo "the African Bonaparte" for his military talents.KATIKA KUNDI LA MASHUJAA NA WASALITI NILAZIMA WAPO KAMA YUHU JAPO YEYE HAKUWANA ELIMU mbona hawa viongozi watanzania elimu wanayo kwanini wanalisaliti taifa lao wakiporamali kwa kushirikiana na wageni huku wananchi watanzania wakibaki katika umasikini wakutisha.!!..Mbwela, Chifu wa Wazigua mkoani Tanga, ndiye aliyekuwa mtawala wa jadi wa kwanza kutia saini mkataba na Dk. Karl Peters mwaka 1884..