Dr sengondo mvungi biography of martin garrix

It was in 2005 when l first met Sengondo Adrian Mvungi Ole Mwarabu at the Hill (as the University of Dar es Salaam is famously known).

Dr Mvungi was a friend of many young activists at the Hill and outside. Apart from teaching me Constitutional Law, Dr Mvungi became my role model in many ways. I learned from him how to remain a common man among elites.

He was among the few intellectuals who preferred to interact with common people and use most of his time solving community problems.

Dr Mvungi was pro-people and a defender of people’s rights.

Despite being a political activist, Dr Mvungi successfully managed to maintain his professionalism as a lawyer and academician. He continued to offer legal advice and legal representation to people or community groups who cannot hire expensive advocates.

He started his carrier as a journalist then later switched to law. He was twice the dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Dar es Salaam and founder of the highly reputable NGO in the field of human rights, the Legal and Human Rights Centre.

Because of all these, Dr Mvungi became a highly respected lawyer, human rights defender and political activist.

Dr Mvungi became an icon in the field of human rights that every young activists would wish to be.

He did all these because he was very optimistic, well organized and a much focused human rights activist.

I learned from him that everything can be done, provided there is a will and that one upheld integrity, professionalism and focus.

Dr Mvungi championed for social changes from his youth at the Hill.

Through the Faculty of Law and later LHRC, Dr Mvungi and others made significant contributions in the field of human rights.

Again, in the field of democracy, Dr Mvungi, through NCCR -Mageuzi, could be described as a true political activist who remained focused and unshaken.

Dr Mvungi life was cut short at a time when the country needed the most his high level of expertise in the constitutional reforms.

Being a prominent lawyer in constitution matters through research studies and various cases he represented vulnerable people and groups in courts of law.

He was thus among the very few persons appointed by the then President Jakaya Kikwete to be a member of the Constitutional Review Commission, work that lived long enough to see the fruits of his contribution to the Commission and the First Draft of Constitution, a document that ultimately gave birth to the new mother law of the land [sic].

Dr Mvungi’s impact was felt in so many ways -from the legal fraternity, to the academia, the media and the public in general who dubbed him, ‘Advocate of the people’.

He was a fearless human rights defender since his youth until his death. Thus, the late Mvungi’s contribution in human rights, constitutionalism and freedom of expression in Tanzania cannot be underestimated.

I defined Dr Mvungi as a true human rights defender because he remained focused, unshaken, un co-opted and a victim of violence and crimes within community.

I was shocked by his untimely death that shuttered many of his dreams, in particular, the new constitution.

He was a true human rights defender, because he acted to address human rights on behalf of individuals or groups.

He strived to promote and protect civil and political rights as well as the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

The Declaration on Human rights Defenders of 1998 doesn’t directly define a human rights defender.

However, for the purpose of this writing, several articles of declaration and numerous studies have been widely interpreted to define a human rights defender. Human rights defender can be any one with a profile attributed to human rights promotion and protection.

That is to say any person qualifies to be called a human rights defender as long as she/he is engaged in activities related to human rights promotion and protection.

This definition may therefore include professional and non-professional human rights workers, volunteers, journalists, lawyers and whoever is doing human rights work in long term or on occasional basis.

As a right defender, Dr Mvungi criticized government as a whole to fulfil its human rights obligations, for example by publicizing information on government’s record of implementation of human rights standards and monitoring progress made.

His focus was on good governance, constitutional reforms, indigenous rights, advocating in support of democratisation, combating corruption and the abuse of power.

Dr Mvungi educated the public on how to vote and why their participation in election is important.

Few people work in a professional capacity as human rights defenders.

However, there are many others, who work in professional capacity as human rights defenders such as Dr Mvungi but, who are volunteers and receive no remuneration.

Dr Mvungi used his profession as a lawyer to defend the rights marginalised communities such as Barbaig and Maasai.

People or organisation pursuing human rights and democracy in Tanzania are more disproportionately affected, most at risk and deliberately targeted as the way of silencing them or muzzling their works.

Human rights defenders like Dr Mvungi are sometimes rewarded by deaths, attacks, arbitrary arrests or any sort of humiliation for what they do.

Dr Mvungi died in South Africa’s Millpark Hospital in Johannesburg on November 12, 2013.

His ultimately and startling death came nine days after injuries sustained after some people identified as thugs raided his Kibamba home, on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.

I know you have gone but we promise to follow in your steps. You have shown the way to many young activists. We promise to remain loyal and focused to our work.

Human rights defenders play a key role in getting states to fulfill their responsibilities and duty to protect, promote and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

You have gone while the power struggles within the ruling cliques and confrontations with the opposition have led to a new political culture whereby affluence is part and parcel of the competitions.

We have recently witnessed a backlash against civic society organisations on the part of regimes that seek to frustrate, undermine or prohibit the activities of democratic and civil society groups and individual activists.

Onesmo Olengurumwa. A law student of Dr Sengondo Mvungi. The piece can be found in a book titled ‘Breathing Constitution’, published by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC).