By Charles Mkoka
KIBAHA. Senior officials from several African liberation movements gathered in Tanzania on Wednesday for a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening political leadership and governance across the region.
The meeting, held at the school’s campus in Kibaha in Tanzania’s Coast Region, brought together secretary-generals and representatives from founding parties including Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Mozambique’s FRELIMO, Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF, Angola’s MPLA and Namibia’s SWAPO.
In welcoming delegates, the school’s principal, Prof. Marcellina Mvula Chijoriga, described the gathering as the first formal in-person meeting of the trustees since the institution attained full legal status.
She said the presence of senior leaders from the founding movements underscored their shared responsibility in guiding the institution, which was established to train future political leaders and strengthen governance capacity across the region.
The leadership school, inaugurated in February 2022, is a joint initiative of the former liberation movements aimed at promoting ideological training, leadership development and policy dialogue.
Chijoriga noted that since its last major meeting in 2024, the institution had secured legal registration as a trust, strengthened governance structures and recruited new directors to oversee its expanding programmes.
She added that the school is intended to serve as a centre for developing leaders capable of addressing contemporary governance challenges while safeguarding national sovereignty and unity.
The meeting comes at a time when political and economic dynamics across southern Africa are evolving, placing renewed emphasis on leadership development and regional cooperation among the historic liberation movements.
