Memoirs of Cardinal Rugambwa: His Last Journeys to Europe and Bukoba
By
Fr. Stanislaus Mutajwaha, PhD
Catholic Diocese of Bukoba, Tanzania
(Writing
from USA)
It is London that
saw the last footprint of his Eminence in Europe. Our stay in the Airport was
rather long, but since we knew before hand that it would not be shorter, we
were prepared to bear the boredom. Still, if someone much younger could feel a
kind of stress owing to the slow passage of time, probably anyone might wonder
what it must have felt for the Cardinal in such a busy airport. But finally our
turn came. We boarded the plane and flew back home – sweet home.
Upon arrival at the
Airport in Dar es salaam His Eminence was led to the VIP lounge to wait for the
luggage. There we were met by Fr. Jovin Bakekera and His Eminence’s personal
Secretary at his Residence in Oyster Bay. Shortly after our entrance into the
VIP lounge, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,
Mr. Jakaya Kikwete also came in. Maybe he was preparing for an official flight.
The two met and greeted each other. I could not immediately determine whether
they were particularly familiar, even though, judging by their spontaneous
conversation both must have known a lot about each other. In any case, the
friendly tone of their conversation at their present coincidental meeting was
unmistakable. In the course of their talk, informal as it was, the Cardinal
praised Mr. Kikwete for the commendable work he was doing in the Government as
Minister of Foreign Affairs. While accepting the complement with unambiguous
appreciation the later President of the United Republic of Tanzania expressed
his personal viewpoint of the matter to His Eminence saying, “It is true, Your
Eminence, but we are building upon the foundation stones that were laid by
you”.
The
conversation was becoming more and more interesting when one Airport Official
brought in his Eminence’s luggage, while at the same time the departure of the
Minister’s flight was close. For that reason it looked obvious that it was time
for His Eminence to move on in order to conclude the long journey at his
residence in Oyster Bay where it had started. At Oyster Bay everybody was
thinking that the journey was over, but to the mind of His Eminence the truth
was slightly different. For His Eminence the real conclusion of the journey was
still to come. If the entire journey to Rome and back could be compared to a
farewell symphony, for His Eminence that symphony still lacked a proper finale, which in three days after this
was going to take place in the form of an additional tour, namely a domestic
trip to Bukoba.
To be continued
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