Tanzania Daily News<\/a> (Dar\u00a0es\u00a0Salaam)<\/p>\nIman Mani<\/p>\n
29 December 2011<\/p>\n
\nNews of the national radio announcer, Halima Mchuka’s passing away on Thursday morning, after a fight with cancer, was received with sadness both in and outside of the country. Apparently, she had taken ill suddenly, while at work on Wednesday at the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation’s (TBC) offices, here in Dar es Salaam.<\/p>\n
Reports said that the gifted radio announcer was then rushed to hospital but passed away at three o’clock yesterday morning. According to her former colleague and mentor Edda Sanga, the late Halima Mchuka had a “wonderful day’s reporting” on Wednesday before she mentioned not feeling well and was rushed to hospital.<\/p>\n
Now the absence of her voice on the radio will be felt in a more permanent way than it was in 2007. It should be remembered that in December 2006, she had suffered a stroke, which took her off the air for over a year. It was in 2008 that she returned to work, although not completely recovered.<\/p>\n
Before the stroke of 2006, she had made a name amongst soccer fans, as being an extremely talented football commentator. Now although on her return in 2008 she did not continue with such duties, radio listeners were pleased to hear her voice on the airwaves again. Now the absence will be permanent.<\/p>\n
Not only was this young lady in her early forties of Karakata, Dar es Salaam, just happened to be the first local female football commentator, she cherished a desire to continue with her career right to the end. The ‘Daily News on Saturday’ was able to confirm this last year during an exclusive interview with her, at her eldest sister’s home in the Hananasif section of the City.<\/p>\n
Her younger sister, Rehema, who was present during the conversation, confirmed that Halima’s condition was much better then than it had been since her misfortune 13 months earlier. She had been an employee of the former Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD), later renamed TBC, for over a decade.<\/p>\n
In fact, she had her last official public appearance before the stroke, at the Mnazi Mmoja grounds here on December 9, 2006, for the Independence Day celebrations being held there. Then she was announced the radio commentator for the occasion and conducted her duties with a familiar flair that distinguished her pleasant personality, as was rediscovered during the interview, with ‘Daily News’.<\/p>\n
However, misfortune would have it that before the end of the month of December of 2006, on the 18, she worked up one morning to find that she was totally paralysed on the right side of her body, from head to toe. This meant she could neither move nor utter one syllable. Joy suddenly turns into sadness<\/p>\n
According to her younger sister, Rehema, who is the last born in a family of one son and six daughters, the only health problem Halima had before this unfortunate incident was some incidences of pressure, which she says her sister inherited from their parents. Halima was placed in one of the Muhimbili National Hospital’s (MNH) normal wards at first but this was followed later on with a move to a more private one there.<\/p>\n
She stayed there for one month before she was discharged and sent home. Now, this was not at her home in Karakata, near the Dar es Salaam JK Nyerere International Airport either, for obvious reasons. Instead she had to spend her time with her elder sister, who lives in the Kinondoni area. It was there that the interview with the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ took place.<\/p>\n
There she received assistance from her sisters, both Rehema and the eldest, when necessary. Needless to say, this was an ordeal for the announcer, who had been divorced from her husband and father of her three children at an earlier time, prior to experiencing failure in her health. At the time her children were still staying with their eldest aunt. However, they were not present at the time.<\/p>\n
The eldest child, Amina, a seventeen-year-old Form V daughter is followed by a 12-year-old son, Yekin, who was finishing Standard V and Naseem, a daughter in Standard III. One of the factors Halima said then that went a long way towards keeping her spirits up was the positive attitude, to her condition shown by her work colleagues, who never stopped paying her regular visits.<\/p>\n
“This is one of the things that helps keep me with a positive face for the future. It’s very comforting to see how my work colleagues make it their business to come to spend time with me, every now and then,” she told the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ then. However, she also admitted that at times this couldn’t wipe out the negative feelings completely.<\/p>\n
With reference to this she added, “The thing I miss the most is my work more than anything else.” In this respect she made use of the televised football matches and radio commentaries whenever available. At the time she was closely following up on the Africa Cup of Nations championships in Ghana, through both mediums when possible.<\/p>\n
“I see these tournaments as being very tight this time round, so find it hard choosing between the teams,” she replied to a question in regards to who might win it. When pushed to name three of the strongest teams she believed are participating in that year’s event and stand a good chance to win overall, she didn’t take much time to say, “Ivory Coast, Ghana and Egypt,” in that order.<\/p>\n
Her love for the Game was permanent It was Halima’s love of everything concerning football that got her so much involved in it right from when she was a little girl. Her father, who passed away when she was close to completing primary school, was also a lover of the sport. He would take a comfortable sit by his radio to listen to a match and not allow any of the children to be present so that they could distract him from his listening to even the shortest section of the game.<\/p>\n
Halima had said that at a later date, after his passing away, she often tried to imagine what his reaction would have been in response to her taking-up such a working role in the sport. Her elder sister, who was the second child played netball but Halima, the one but last child, was the only one completely crazy about football.<\/p>\n
Out of her three children she singled out her second, a son, as being the only one who has shown some signs of being involved with the Game and might just play football. According to her, “he seems to also like the game very much.” On a more personal note she had openly said, “Nothing would give me more pleasure than to get back into football commentary again.”<\/p>\n
After all, she had put so much of her time and perspiration into preparation for it. She had visited the US, Israel and China for short study courses and had been sent by RTD to cover outside broadcasts both within and without the country. One of these was to Mozambique, for recording a Simba Soccer Club match for broadcast here in Tanzania.<\/p>\n
The fact that Halima was born at the Ocean Road Hospital, in Dar es Salaam, although her parents were from Bagamoyo District in Coast Region, might have something to do with her genuine love for football. Her father was the Head Teacher of Ubungo Primary School here, which she attended from Standard I to Standard VI.<\/p>\n
After his death she was sent to Arusha Region so as to join her eldest sister there. However, she soon ended up back in the City, within a very short time, because her sister had received a work transfer here. This all resulted in Halima sitting for her Standard VI examinations at Karume Primary School here, before continuing with Standard VII at Boma Primary School, also here.<\/p>\n
With reference to the latter of these two schools she said, “We had a lot of problem to get into Boma Primary but I was fortunate to pass my Standard Seven examinations and then was sent to Ashira Secondary School in Marangu, Moshi. By this time she had noticed that she had a special liking for both English and Swahili. She passed her Form IV examinations, then went to Korogwe High School for Form V and VI.<\/p>\n
This was followed with a short spell at home before joining Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD) in 1993, and after a short time there she went to study journalism for three years. During the conversation last year there were times when Halima would seem to be struggling with a situation, which gave her difficulties to say exactly what she wanted to say.<\/p>\n
However, she continued never-the-less until she got it out, without losing the smile on her face neither. It is from listening to people like Charles Hilary and Edda Sanga on the radio that she took certain steps in her life, she admitted. Another such person is a former colleague of hers, the late Mchacha, who gave her the challenge to go for her first recording session, when an opportunity came at the radio station.<\/p>\n
Her second love, after football, she openly said was music and a desire to study for her to become a successful International Relations Officer. Not being able to dance then, for obvious reasons, was also a great loss to her but she said the best thing to do was to accept things the way they were, in hope that they would be better at a later date.<\/p>\n
Given the brave face put out by Halima then, it is easy to conclude that her passing-on will leave a gap that will remain vacant. For sure, the memory of sharing time with someone, who refused to stay down in time of misfortune will continue strengthening all those who came in touch with her.<\/p>\n
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