The making a national hero in Tanzania: the case of Julius Nyerere

Résumé En

This presentation deals with the recent trajectory of the making of a national hero, Julius Nyerere, former president of socialist Tanzania (1964-1985). Contrary to what today's pervasive discourses circulated in the Tanzanian public space suggest, Nyerere has not always embodied the nation. Contestation and opposition emerged at various moments of his rule and his political action was put under harsh criticism. It is only since the early 2000s that Tanzania has witnessed the return of Nyerere as a national persona. A posthumous historical memory of Nyerere is being built by various actors (the state, the media, common citizens) and at various levels (from the local to the national) through different "places" of memory, taking the shape of myth-building and personality cult, or 'Nyerere-philia'. The presentation specifically addresses explores how the Tanzanian post-socialist context is a key factor to capture the making of Nyerere as a national hero, analyzing how, in Nyerere National Museum and during the 50th anniversary of independence in 2011, the state's objective met with, or was challenged by, citizens' interpretation of the significance of Nyerere, that is, imagining political morality in a demoralised national context.