Sumani, the African Queen

EDGAR R. BATTE

HUMBLE BEAUTY: Nancy Sumani is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious. She is the holder of the Miss World Africa title. Edgar R. Batte talked to her

*How did you get to contest for the Miss Tanzania title?
sumani: One of the organisers Mange Kimambi was a friend. We met at a fast-food joint and she asked me whether I was interested and I told her I was. Were you convinced you had what it took for the contest?I was not exactly convinced; I contested just because I had all the time in the world. I had just finished high school, so I decided to give it a shot irrespective of the outcome.
*While at it, did the thought of losing cross your mind?
Sumani: No. I knew I would do well. You contest with hope of winning so I went into the contest with high hopes.
*When you got to meet your fellow contestants, did you feel you had any advantages Sumani: over them, as you knew one of the organisers?
I believed that all the other 25 contestants where really beautiful and intelligent. It was difficult for me to think I would beat them but I was confident and that motivated me to do well
*Tell us about the big day when you were crowned Miss Tanzania?
Sumani: It was a memorable day, September 2, last year. It was an exclusive event held at the Diamond Jubilee Hall. There was a big crowd and of course among us contestants there was high tension, nervousness as well as excitement. Above all, there was anticipation for the car to be won as the grand prize. Thank God, that at the end of the night, I was the winner.Being Miss Tanzania, you qualified for the Miss World contest in Sanya, China.


* How was the experience at Miss World?
Sumani: Exciting. It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. I left home on November 10, 2005, and stayed a month in China with other contestants. It was overwhelming. We were given first class treatment. We stayed at the Sheraton, China and had legendary Alexander O'Neil perform live just for us. The Chinese performances were electrifying as well. Of course the main event was magical. Besides that, we had a lot of trips around China, visiting cities like Shanghai and places like the Nanshan temple in Sanya.
*How did it feel being chosen as Miss World Africa, and being so close to the title of Miss World?
Sumani: Unbelievable. I was left speechless for a while.
*How does it feel being the African queen?
Sumani: I am a simple person who is not into vanity. I carry myself around like any other average person.You earlier said that you contested for the Miss Tanzania title because you had a lot of time after finishing high school.
*Are you still in school?
Sumani: I just finished my O-level in Masai High School in Nairobi.
*You are Miss Tanzania, how come you studied in Nairobi not Tanzania?
Sumani: Both my parents Mr and Mrs Abraham Sumani have businesses in Nairobi so they decided that for convenience, I had to attend school in Nairobi. It was a good place. By the time I got there, I was a young girl from Dar es Salaam and growing up in Nairobi, a place with a different culture and way of life was pretty exciting because I love adventure.
*Tell us more about yourself?
Sumani: I was born in Arusha, Tanzania in 1986. I am turning 20 on August 7. I am a Leo. I spent most of my time in Nairobi but I usually go back to Dar es Salaam for holidays.Any childhood memories?I was a lucky naughty girl who was never caught 'in the act'.
*How would you describe your personality?
Sumani: Oh my God! (Smiles) I would put it in three words. I am open-minded, happy and content. You're such a beautiful young lady, are you still single?Very much indeed. *Well, would you mind painting us the picture of your ideal guy?
I like a confident 'brother' who is not easily intimidated. I like a person who is happy and content just like I am. He could be tall with a little bit of muscle though not too much.
*So you mean you've never walked past some guy and you feel like…he's cool?
Sumani: I have feelings and I have experienced crushes on guys but I am a pretty shy person. So I can't approach them.What things interest you?I love reading. I absolutely love adventure, more so adventurous travel for relaxation. I also love music.
*Talking about travelling, how many countries have you been to?
Sumani: I've been to Ireland, China, the UK and Kenya. I’ll visit Mauritius soon.
Why Mauritius of all places?
I will be travelling with Ms World. We shall be doing a little bit of charity work there. I guess it will be an adventurous trip because I have never been there before.
*Any future prospects?
Sumani: I intend to become a very prosperous corporate lawyer as well as business lady and entrepreneur. Who do you look up to in life?My parents. As a beauty queen, what's your most embarrassing moment?When I fell in a bank. It was very mortifying.

Struggling to survive amidst complex land policies

EDGAR R. BATTE






The Benet’s situation is not helped by the biting poverty that the area faces. With poorly constructed houses, food shortage, frequent cattle raids and hardly any social services in the area, life only gets harder.Perched on a stone, this man seems deeply lost in thought. It is time to make a meal and despite the centuries passed since the Stone Age era, Kogeni makes his fire through the stone-age practice of rubbing two splinters and dry grass. He succeeds and the orange glow is evidence of that.It is just unfortunate that this Benet tribesman lives in the cold zones of Mountain Elgon in Kapchorwa District where dry grass is not that easy to come by. Minutes after a cup of sugarless tea, he makes for the garden but for a little while, he’s hesitant to start tilling. Dew is forming on almost everything from his hands and feet to the entire surrounding.His face tells it all. He just cannot seem to understand why after being a settler in an area his ancestors have occupied for over 200 years, he continues to be subjected to tilling land in order to earn a living. He is one of the other Benet natives that have been pushed off the bigger part of their homeland and restricted to staying in a small area between the two rivers of Kere and Kaptukoi. The rest of the land has been reserved for game.Restrictive land policiesAccording to the woman Member of Parliament for Kapchorwa, honourable Gertrude Kulany, there are actually some families that still don’t have definite areas to stay. “It is true that parliament gazetted the 6,000 hectares of the game park to resettle the Benet but still, there are some families that were left homeless,” the MP points out. She has also consequently made her pleas to government to come to their rescue and gazette more land to accommodate these people.The process of gazetting the land took place back in 1983 when government confined them to 6,000 hectares. In the same year, the red-line mark (a demarcation line between the game park and the Benet’s residential area) was put in place. The population back then were still low. At the time, the Benet were only 1,000 but currently, the figures have increased to approximately 7,000 people. Hon. Kulany adds that they have as well made an outcry to the district council to pass a resolution to enable the extension of the boundary beyond the currently designated area of occupation.Another leader and chairman of the Benet lobby group, Moses Muanga can hardly make any sense out of government’s decision towards them. “We have lived on the slopes of mountain Elgon for over 200 years. It is puzzling that we are forced to vacate. This is all due to government’s unclear land tenure policy in the area. How can you sideline human life for the case for mere animals?” he questions. Unanswered requests The chairman adds that the Benet have made various outcries and pleas to the government but all the efforts seem not to yield any results. He adds that they continue to be landless and marginalized in decision-making. He points out the resettlement process where the tribe was resettled without any compensation package. Hon Kulany attests to this, adding that the locals can hardly embark on any long-term plans within the area since they are not quite sure of their stay on the land. At times, conflicts between the locals and game rangers ensue, a situation Hon. Kulany blames on the failure of the locals and rangers to come to terms. The other reason is poverty, which has also frustrated their efforts to develop themselves. Poverty in the area is physical and their houses tell it all. They are made of a few reeds, leaves and mud. A matchbox is shared between seven families, each of them about half a kilometre apart. All Kogeni owns is a blanket, which he moves with during the day because of the cold and for bedding to warm him up at night. Despite the hard situation, he tries his best to impress his visitors; he slaughters a goat, which he prepares along with potatoes (locally known as sipatisi). On many occasions, food is obtained from the neighbouring Sabiny community in return for manual labour. In this community, women’s rights are highly respected. The Benet women are the pride of the land. Like the men, they are tall, dark and beautiful.They contribute a good share to the community. They barter the nicely woven baskets they make to the Sabiny who live eight kilometres away. This is across two streams, which, on a bad rainy day will get flooded to the extent that nobody can cross. That is when many will go hungry. The floods will also hinder the few school-going children from attending school. There hardly any social services in the area as Muanga explained: “There is nothing like Universal Primary Education in this place. Well, we would have constructed our own schools but we are a poor lot,” he pointed out.And before an NGO constructed the only health centre, the expectant mothers had an uphill task, especially when it came to labour. Today, many depend on handouts from Action aid and a few other NGOs operating in the area. Another problem Hon. Kulany highlights is that of the Karimajong cattle rustlers from the low lands of Ngenge. She explains that the raiders have caused unrest to the Benet, sometimes causing loss of lives in the course of the raids since some of them (the cattle-rustlers) are armed.MarginalizationIn addition, the Sabiny dominated the whole resettlement process accounting for the inclusion of the internally displaced and needy in the resettlement process, at the expense of the target historical inhabitants, the Benet. The population of the non-Benet has so far out-numbered the Benet in the area and during elections, the former take up all the leadership positions. At the sub-county for instance, none of the Benet is an executive member. On the whole, the Benet’s situation remains a hanging mystery. They need permanent structures to call homes, social services to compliment their hard work and recognition of their existence as well.