2.4. Description of the Study Area and Rationale for Choosing It
Tanzania is a country that is constituted by 30 regions. The data-collection for this study was conducted in Mwanza Region specifically in Nyamagana and Misungwi districts. The region lies in the northern part of Tanzania, located between latitude 10 30' and 30 south of the Equator.
Longitudinally, the region is located between 310 45' and 340 10’ east of Greenwich. Mwanza is bordered by Kagera region to the west, Shinyanga to the south and south east; to the north east Mwanza is bordered by Mara region, while to the northern part Mwanza is bordered by Lake Victoria which separates the region from neighbouring countries of Uganda and Kenya (see East African and Tanzania and Mwanza maps below).
MAP 1: The Map of East Africa
25 MAP 2: The Map of Tanzania and Mwanza
Mwanza is a relatively small region occupying 2.3 % of the total land area of Tanzania mainland.
The region occupies a total of 35,187 sq km., out of this area 20,095 sq km. is dry land and 15,092 sq km. is covered by Lake Victoria. Thus 43% of the region’s surface area is water. Land wise, Mwanza is the fourth smallest region in Dar es Salaam after Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Mtwara. The region has a total of 8 districts, seven Local Government Authorities, 33 divisions, 174 wards, 683 villages and 481 streets (the lowest administrative areas resulting from subdividing wards within townships, municipalities and cities). Although Mwanza is among the smallest region in terms of dry land area, it has a population of 2,772,509 with a population density of 292 people per sq.km according to 2012 National Population and Housing Census. Mwanza is the second densely populated region to the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam. Mwanza is the third most urbanised region of Tanzania with (18.6%) of its population urbanised. The first two mostly
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urbanised regions in Tanzania are Dar es Salaam and Morogoro with urban populations of 89.6%
and 21.1% respectively.
Ethnic-wise Mwanza Region is predominantly populated by the Sukuma ethnic group which constitutes over 90 % of the region’s population. Other ethnic groups found in the region are the Zinza, Haya, Sumbwa, Nyamwezi, Luo, Kurya, Jita and Kerewe. These groups constitute small proportions and are mainly found in Mwanza Municipal area where the district of Nyamagana is located. The presence of the non-Sukuma ethnic groups is felt in Geita and Sengerema where the Sumbwa and Zinza are mostly found (Mwanza Social Economic Profile, 2008).
Case selection in qualitative research requires a researcher to determine study cases which are unique in some way or cases which are considered typical and may also select cases to represent a variety of geographic regions, a variety of size parameters to mention a few (Cresswell, 2009).
Mwanza was picked to provide the dissertation’s case study for a number of reasons. The first and foremost is that Mwanza is the centre of the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, the Sukuma, who constitute around 13 % of the country’s population (Malipula, 2014). Other regions with predominant Sukuma are Geita, Shinyanga, Simiyu; and Tabora that is predominantly the home of the Nyamwezi but with a substantial number of the Sukuma. It is imperative to note that the Nyamwezi and the Sukuma are culturally and lingually identical. This is because history suggests that the Sukuma is a breakaway of the Nyamwezi. In light of this fact in some cases, the two are analysed in oneness making the percentage of Sukumas rise up to 17. An interesting element of the Sukuma ethnic group is that despite being the largest ethnic group numerically it has never been known for their political activism and is only quite modestly represented in the halls of political power despite their size (Weber, 2009; Nyang’oro, 2006). Another important element related to Mwanza is the impetus that political parties and their candidates place in the region as the centre of the Sukuma to tap votes and influence support from other Sukuma dominant regions mentioned above, which through varied interactions and media sources can be reached. Harnessing the Sukuma peasant’s vote is reaching the mainland’s rural heart.
The second factor that makes Mwanza interesting is the fact that the levels of political support of the ruling party CCM in the 2010 elections as well as those of other comparatively good performers in the region, CUF and UDP, decreased. While the support of CCM, CUF and UDP fell, CHADEMA’s support rose drastically compared to the previous three multi-party elections. In
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2010 CHADEMA scooped the urban constituencies in Mwanza town and one in Ukerewe, and fared well in most constituencies across the region; something that has never happened before. In this regard, Mwanza provided an interesting political environment for analysing ethnicity in a context that electoral results reflect a changing environment where the dominance of the ruling party was put to test.
Finally, Mwanza region is the home of the second largest city in Tanzania, but also harbours large sparsely populated rural areas within it and more predominantly rural areas in its districts, therefore the region permits a mapping of both urban and rural attitudes in analysing the influences of ethnicity on determining voters’ choices. Since case selection requires a researcher to determine study cases which are unique in some way or cases which are considered typical and may also select cases to represent a variety of geographic regions, a variety of size parameters to mention a few. This study has opted to be moved partially by the urban-rural geographical reality of Mwanza to select Nyamagana and Misungwi. The districts of Nyamagana and Misungwi found in Mwanza Region came into picture to represent the urban and rural areas of the region respectively.
Likewise, as indicated earlier the district of Nyamagana at the time of research was led by an MP from the opposition while the one in Misungwi is led by CCM.this provides information from people within constituencies that have support from the major political parties in the region based on the 2010 election results. In this sense the two districts usefully provide scenarios reflective of the region and therefore contribute positively in potraying the base for exploring the influences of ethnicity in determining electoral choices. It is against these backgrounds that Overall, the region and the two districts selected (Nyamagana and Misungwi) does provide a very fitting context for analysing the core research issues of this dissertation.