A Memorial Tribute to a Selfless Leader
by Mussa J. Assad – University of Dar es Salaam Business School
Prof. Joshua Mkhululi [former name Ken Edwards] died on Wednesday 18th March, 2009 at Arusha. He was 64 – a young age by modern standards. It was sudden and unexpected for most of us. It was later explained that he had a liver problem and that was what he succumbed to. But as recent as Monday 16th March 2009 Prof. Ken Edwards had spoken to a mutual friend in Dar es Salaam, full of hope and anticipation of things to come. For this was a person of ideas and implementation. One of his final acts was mobilizing support for establishment of the Africa University of Economic Management to which he devoted a lot of time and resources, especially in the past year.
Therefore, it was with deep sorrow that we received the news of the demise of Prof. Ken Edwards. At the University of Dar es Salaam Business School [formerly the Faculty of Commerce and Management], an institution that is his brainchild, we had a quick meeting to plan our way of honoring this great man. We would be at Arusha to lay him to rest in large numbers – by all means necessary.
Prof. Ken Edwards was born in Jamaica on 22nd January, 1945. He loved and listened to reggae – after all he was a Rastafarian. He had the unique privilege of being a personal friend to Bob Marley with whom they had attended early school together. He was a graduate of California State University and Stanford Graduate School of Business. These are top US schools – a qualification from which would open all doors for a graduate and guaranteed success. However, rather than take a good position across the Atlantic he came home to Africa and initially settled in Dar es Salaam.
Prof. Ken Edwards was a teacher in the true sense of the word – concerned not only with the content and delivery but also the welfare of the student. As a leader his dedication and sense of purpose was unparalleled. He was one of a special kind – giving everything in what he believed in. He was tough and intolerant of lousy conduct but he was fair and just. There are many tales of his feats but at one time there was a case of examination leakage involving only two people – a student and a lecturer. The student was the daughter of a politically powerful person and the lecturer was a good friend of Ken Edwards. To cut a long story short despite the political flak he was subjected to he ensured the student was discontinued from studies and he sacked his friend. How many of us would do this kind of thing?
My personal experience with Prof. Ken Edwards was in 1988 [I had just started as a Tutorial Assistant] after he had left the University of Dar es Salaam. We bumped into each other on the ground floor of the Arts Tower Block Building, Mlimani Main Campus as we approached the lift – a tall jovial person emerges and he says ‘Yea Man’ and I acknowledge the regard with respect. He inquires about my CPA results and he wants to know whether I had admission and scholarship to a Masters programme. He was not formally with the University of Dar es Salaam and he did not have to know how I was doing but this was Ken Edwards. His concern was welfare of the people he cared about and that included everyone. ‘Go buy yourself something’ he says giving me One Thousand Shillings [not a small sum in 1988] as a present upon hearing that I had cleared the CPA 1 examinations single sitting and scooped the top award. He also offered me contacts in the US of Deans and Chairs of Departments to whom he would put a word in consideration for a place for a Masters programme. He was a true leader and an excellent motivator. I am eternally inspired by this gentleman for he was a true gentleman.
I know those of you who had encounters with Prof. Ken Edwards would have your own tales to tell.
During his time at the University of Dar es Salaam he was the inspiring lead in spinning off the Faculty of Commerce and Management from the Department of Administration and Management of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He was the first Dean of the Faculty and what that entailed was - he developed, largely from scratch, the academic programmes, the administrative structures and the staffing required to mount everything that the Faculty of Commerce and Management did and can be proud of today. Of course he had the assistance of some of our oldmen who are now retired. They take credit too but today it is Prof. Ken Edwards’ efforts that we want to recognize. It was, for example, Prof. Ken Edwards who made the solicitation tour of European universities that generated fully funded links with top European universities [KU Lueven, Dublin City University, Lancaster University and Sheffield University, etc] to which most of the staff of the Business School went to study and graduated from.
Prof. Ken Edwards was into sports and was a good trail runner. I recall the Faculty Days when we would do all kinds of sports just to build camaraderie and a close knit family of students and staff. He was very active at the community level - he started and financed a football team for youths at Kunduchi Mtongani. He was literally the sole sponsor, coach and manager. Most of the days, after working hours he would drive all the way to Kunduchi to be with his team. But he would come back to the office afterwards. As a true business academic he also organized the football team members into a cooperative society. His manual on Basic Accounting includes the example of the football team cooperative as a model for organizing a cooperative.
Prof. Ken Edwards worked tirelessly for this country and I must mention one other large contribution that he made to the Accounting profession. He started from the idea stage, solicitation and mobilization of funds, up to implementation the Institute of Accountancy at Arusha and he was its first Principal. This is what took him from Dar es Salaam to Arusha and he dedicated himself to IAA for 22 months without a formal contract and largely unpaid. And this is the sad part that I must highlight. As recent as the end of 2005, nearly 17 years after he left IAA he had not been paid a single cent of his outstanding salaries, his gratuity and any of his entitlements. He trusted people in decision making positions would do justice and they consistently failed to do that! I did his claim on a simple MS Excel model and his dues ran into a large amount of money as at the end of 2005, when we last did the computations. I have the old Excel model with me now on my screen. I am informed that he was offered and had to settle for a small sum of money not long ago. This is not what we would have wanted to pay back somebody who did so much for this country.
But even a sadder note is he never got issued a Tanzanian passport – and he had longed and asked for one. I hear in his final days he could not be taken for immediate medical care partly because he did not have a Tanzanian traveling document. In fact he did not have any other traveling document. He had dedicated himself wholly and truly to this country! I still struggle to see what were the reasons for not issuing this true son of this nation a Tanzanian passport. Many of us are ashamed that this could be perpetrated on a person of his repute. Were it possible to issue a ceremonial passport to the dead many would have petitioned for his case.
We shall overcome this grief of losing Prof. Ken Edwards but we must now consider ways of honoring this great man. And here are some suggestions:
A once off commemorative half day of intellectual activity as soon as possible but in any case before the end June 2009 to celebrate what he stood for at the first institution he started and worked with – University of Dar es Salaam Business School. Anticipating a good reception this could turn into the Prof. Ken Edwards Memorial Lecture Series to be held on an annual basis;
Sponsoring the Prof. Ken Edwards Prize for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 Overall Best Students in the Bachelor of Commerce Degree Programme at the University of Dar es Salaam. And perhaps at IAA too; Prof. Ken Edwards Chair in Accounting and Finance;
Now if one can sponsor a long term Prof. Ken Edwards Scholarship for an MBA student contracted to becoming a business studies academic it would be a real bonus.
Prof. Ken Edwards is survived by a widow, four daughters and two sons. He will be laid to rest on Saturday 28th March 2009 at Arusha.
by Mussa J. Assad – University of Dar es Salaam Business School
Prof. Joshua Mkhululi [former name Ken Edwards] died on Wednesday 18th March, 2009 at Arusha. He was 64 – a young age by modern standards. It was sudden and unexpected for most of us. It was later explained that he had a liver problem and that was what he succumbed to. But as recent as Monday 16th March 2009 Prof. Ken Edwards had spoken to a mutual friend in Dar es Salaam, full of hope and anticipation of things to come. For this was a person of ideas and implementation. One of his final acts was mobilizing support for establishment of the Africa University of Economic Management to which he devoted a lot of time and resources, especially in the past year.
Therefore, it was with deep sorrow that we received the news of the demise of Prof. Ken Edwards. At the University of Dar es Salaam Business School [formerly the Faculty of Commerce and Management], an institution that is his brainchild, we had a quick meeting to plan our way of honoring this great man. We would be at Arusha to lay him to rest in large numbers – by all means necessary.
Prof. Ken Edwards was born in Jamaica on 22nd January, 1945. He loved and listened to reggae – after all he was a Rastafarian. He had the unique privilege of being a personal friend to Bob Marley with whom they had attended early school together. He was a graduate of California State University and Stanford Graduate School of Business. These are top US schools – a qualification from which would open all doors for a graduate and guaranteed success. However, rather than take a good position across the Atlantic he came home to Africa and initially settled in Dar es Salaam.
Prof. Ken Edwards was a teacher in the true sense of the word – concerned not only with the content and delivery but also the welfare of the student. As a leader his dedication and sense of purpose was unparalleled. He was one of a special kind – giving everything in what he believed in. He was tough and intolerant of lousy conduct but he was fair and just. There are many tales of his feats but at one time there was a case of examination leakage involving only two people – a student and a lecturer. The student was the daughter of a politically powerful person and the lecturer was a good friend of Ken Edwards. To cut a long story short despite the political flak he was subjected to he ensured the student was discontinued from studies and he sacked his friend. How many of us would do this kind of thing?
My personal experience with Prof. Ken Edwards was in 1988 [I had just started as a Tutorial Assistant] after he had left the University of Dar es Salaam. We bumped into each other on the ground floor of the Arts Tower Block Building, Mlimani Main Campus as we approached the lift – a tall jovial person emerges and he says ‘Yea Man’ and I acknowledge the regard with respect. He inquires about my CPA results and he wants to know whether I had admission and scholarship to a Masters programme. He was not formally with the University of Dar es Salaam and he did not have to know how I was doing but this was Ken Edwards. His concern was welfare of the people he cared about and that included everyone. ‘Go buy yourself something’ he says giving me One Thousand Shillings [not a small sum in 1988] as a present upon hearing that I had cleared the CPA 1 examinations single sitting and scooped the top award. He also offered me contacts in the US of Deans and Chairs of Departments to whom he would put a word in consideration for a place for a Masters programme. He was a true leader and an excellent motivator. I am eternally inspired by this gentleman for he was a true gentleman.
I know those of you who had encounters with Prof. Ken Edwards would have your own tales to tell.
During his time at the University of Dar es Salaam he was the inspiring lead in spinning off the Faculty of Commerce and Management from the Department of Administration and Management of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He was the first Dean of the Faculty and what that entailed was - he developed, largely from scratch, the academic programmes, the administrative structures and the staffing required to mount everything that the Faculty of Commerce and Management did and can be proud of today. Of course he had the assistance of some of our oldmen who are now retired. They take credit too but today it is Prof. Ken Edwards’ efforts that we want to recognize. It was, for example, Prof. Ken Edwards who made the solicitation tour of European universities that generated fully funded links with top European universities [KU Lueven, Dublin City University, Lancaster University and Sheffield University, etc] to which most of the staff of the Business School went to study and graduated from.
Prof. Ken Edwards was into sports and was a good trail runner. I recall the Faculty Days when we would do all kinds of sports just to build camaraderie and a close knit family of students and staff. He was very active at the community level - he started and financed a football team for youths at Kunduchi Mtongani. He was literally the sole sponsor, coach and manager. Most of the days, after working hours he would drive all the way to Kunduchi to be with his team. But he would come back to the office afterwards. As a true business academic he also organized the football team members into a cooperative society. His manual on Basic Accounting includes the example of the football team cooperative as a model for organizing a cooperative.
Prof. Ken Edwards worked tirelessly for this country and I must mention one other large contribution that he made to the Accounting profession. He started from the idea stage, solicitation and mobilization of funds, up to implementation the Institute of Accountancy at Arusha and he was its first Principal. This is what took him from Dar es Salaam to Arusha and he dedicated himself to IAA for 22 months without a formal contract and largely unpaid. And this is the sad part that I must highlight. As recent as the end of 2005, nearly 17 years after he left IAA he had not been paid a single cent of his outstanding salaries, his gratuity and any of his entitlements. He trusted people in decision making positions would do justice and they consistently failed to do that! I did his claim on a simple MS Excel model and his dues ran into a large amount of money as at the end of 2005, when we last did the computations. I have the old Excel model with me now on my screen. I am informed that he was offered and had to settle for a small sum of money not long ago. This is not what we would have wanted to pay back somebody who did so much for this country.
But even a sadder note is he never got issued a Tanzanian passport – and he had longed and asked for one. I hear in his final days he could not be taken for immediate medical care partly because he did not have a Tanzanian traveling document. In fact he did not have any other traveling document. He had dedicated himself wholly and truly to this country! I still struggle to see what were the reasons for not issuing this true son of this nation a Tanzanian passport. Many of us are ashamed that this could be perpetrated on a person of his repute. Were it possible to issue a ceremonial passport to the dead many would have petitioned for his case.
We shall overcome this grief of losing Prof. Ken Edwards but we must now consider ways of honoring this great man. And here are some suggestions:
A once off commemorative half day of intellectual activity as soon as possible but in any case before the end June 2009 to celebrate what he stood for at the first institution he started and worked with – University of Dar es Salaam Business School. Anticipating a good reception this could turn into the Prof. Ken Edwards Memorial Lecture Series to be held on an annual basis;
Sponsoring the Prof. Ken Edwards Prize for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 Overall Best Students in the Bachelor of Commerce Degree Programme at the University of Dar es Salaam. And perhaps at IAA too; Prof. Ken Edwards Chair in Accounting and Finance;
Now if one can sponsor a long term Prof. Ken Edwards Scholarship for an MBA student contracted to becoming a business studies academic it would be a real bonus.
Prof. Ken Edwards is survived by a widow, four daughters and two sons. He will be laid to rest on Saturday 28th March 2009 at Arusha.
Rest in Peace my Dearest Brother. He was such a lovely man and I am glad I knew Ken well during my days at the University of Dar es Salaam! Can still hear his voice saying 'Hi Sis' although I last saw Joshua Nkhululi almost over 20 years ago! Such a Unique personality. Chemi you know exactly what I mean! Nelly Temu Williams, London.
ReplyDeleteNelly, yes, I remember well. He was always friendly. God Bless Him! I also last saw him more than 20 years ago. Everyone at Chuo knew Prof. Ken Edwards.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P Prof.
ReplyDeleteLong live the Spirit of Joshua Mkhululi: A tribute to a tireless defender of freedom and justice.
ReplyDeleteHorace G. Campbell
Our brother Joshua Mkhululi joined the ancestors on March 18 but he is with still us in spirit. This is the spirit of peace and love, the creed of the movement that he accepted and practiced without a hint of intolerance towards others. It must be explicitly stated that our brother was a Rasta. His selfless faith was manifest in how he worked with others. Hailing from Jamaica, our brother believed in the making of sacrifices in order to support the full emancipation of all peoples. As a member of the mansion of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, our brother known by his slave name, Ken Edwards, took the name of Joshua. Like the other famous member of the twelve tribes, Robert Nesta Marley (who took the name Joseph) our brother had been nurtured to serve. He was born in Jamaica and studied in the United States at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Brother Joshua graduated from Stanford Business School in California with an MBA. This education in an elite business school opened doors for him in the corporate world and in high paying international organizations. Instead of joining the world of capital and speculation, our brother chose to relocate to Tanzania and became a strong force to support the independence of Tanzania and the Liberation of Southern Africa. He was the first Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Management at the University of Dar es Salaam. At that historical moment the issues of an independent path in commerce and management was being fashioned in a context where Tanzania was shouldering the major task of supporting the independence struggles in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Our brother worked at his calling as the Dean with gusto making untold sacrifices to ensure that the Faculty grew, expanded and trained the next generation of teachers, researchers and scholars. The professionalism that was displayed by Joshua ensured that even those who carried petty prejudices against those with dreadlocks had to respect the major contribution that he was making to Tanzania and Southern Africa. While serving as Dean, he also served as the Chairperson of the Liberation Committee at the University of Dar es Salaam. This was the committee that worked very hard to educate the society on the issues of the decolonization process in Rhodesia. This committee exposed the limitations of the Lancaster House agreement and it was the sense of the committee that independence did not just arrive with a flag. Joshua shared the sentiments of Bob Marley who performed at the Zimbabwe Independence Celebrations in April 1980 in his tribute to the struggles for freedom in Zimbabwe, Bob had warned, “Soon, we will find out who are the real revolutionaries.”
Joshua never sought to benefit from his support for the independence of Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The nature of his last years showed that he wanted to continue to serve his people in his adopted home of Arusha in Tanzania.
I first met our Brother when I joined the University of Dar es Salaam in August 1981. He immediately recommended that I join the committee to work for the liberation struggle. My working relationship with our brother was one of the most rewarding aspects of my sojourn in Tanzania. Our work along with George Rubiik and countless others endured the machinations of Ronald Reagan, Chester Crocker and the neo-conservatives in the United States that wanted to defeat the liberation project. Specifically, inside of Tanzania, there had been efforts to impose the Washington Consensus (in the form of the IMF structural adjustment Program) while seeking to infiltrate the society to spread the view that Tanzania could not afford to support independence in Southern Africa. Our work in the Namibia liberation committee is now part of the history of the Liberation of Africa. We can now say that this work withstood threats, intrigue and efforts to make mischief.
Brother Joshua worked hard with community forces. From his Faculty there were efforts to strengthen the spirit of sharing and cooperation. In the midst of the IMF economic war against the people of Tanzania the Faculty of Commerce established Coooperative at the University to ensure that goods were equitably distributed. Working with Jan Jasper this was truly one of the better examples of Scholarship in Action.
As a community activist Brother Joshua worked hard with his youth group in Kunduchi. He was the trainer, coach, manager and supporter of this community.
In our last two meetings we reflected on our dream of building a Pan African University in Tanzania, specifically in Arusha. During my last visit to Arusha in July 2007, we discussed at great length the need for an institution grounded in the principles of wealth creation for Africa and the values of self reliance.
The nature of his illness and his passing is a strong indictment on the new values and ethics that have overtaken the land of ujamma. Our brother was selfless. He welcomed all into his home. He was father and brother to countless numbers. His home was a refuge for those who wanted to reflect and have peace. Many at this ceremony will not know the importance of Brother Joshua as the senior ambassador for the Rastafari movement. In a sense, he should not be called an ambassador because he was at home in Africa. It is fitting that his mortal remains will lie close to his family and colleagues in Tanzania. To his family we say please draw strength from the fact that this was a man of love. Like Che Guevara, Brother Joshua Mkhululi was guided by the spirits peace and love.
Horace Campbell