Uhuru Stadium

Uhuru Stadium

Uwanja wa Uhuru (Swahili)
Uhuru Stadium Location of Uhuru Stadium
Former names	Tanzania National Stadium
Address	Taifa Road
Location	Miburani, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Coordinates	6.855675°S 39.272671°E / -6.855675; 39.272671
Public transit	Kurasini Station (4 km)
Owner	Tanzanian government
Type	Stadium
Capacity	23,000[1]
Surface	Artificial turf
Construction
Built	1961
Tenants
Young Africans S.C., Simba S.C., JKT Ruvu Stars, Ruvu Shooting Stars[2]
Website
www.habari.go.tz

Uhuru Stadium (formerly known as the Tanzania National Stadium) (Uwanja wa Uhuru in Swahili) is adjacent to the National Stadium in Miburani ward of Temeke District in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

History

Tanganyika's independence ceremony was celebrated at this stadium on 9 December 1961.[3] The independence anniversary has been celebrated at the stadium each year since then.^[citation needed] It also has been the venue for the inaugural address of all past presidents.^[citation needed]

The funeral service of Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president, was held at the stadium on 21 October 1999.[4] Shortly after his death in office, president John Magufuli was laid-in-state at the stadium on 20 March 2021.[5] Forty-five people were killed in a stampede at the stadium on March 21, 2021.[6][7]

References

1. "Uhuru Stadium".
2. "Stadiums in Tanzania". World Stadiums. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
3. James Clagett Taylor (1 January 1963). The Political Development of Tanganyika. Stanford University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-8047-0147-1.
4. Godfrey Mwakikagile (2007). Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era. Intercontinental Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-9802534-1-2.
5. "Mourners line Tanzania streets at ex-President Magufuli funeral". BBC News. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
6. Biryabarema, Elias (March 23, 2021). MacSwan, Angus (ed.). "At least five people dead in Tanzania stampede as crowds view body of dead president". Reuters. Five people from the same family have died in Tanzania in a stampede that occurred at a stadium in the port city of Dar es Salaam where hundreds of people were paying their last respects to the late President John Magufuli, according to local TV.
7. "Tanzanian police say 45 died in stampede at Magufuli tribute". Al Jazeera English. March 30, 2021. "There were a lot of people who wanted to get in the stadium, and some were not patient. They tried to force their way in and that resulted in a stampede. Forty-five died in the accident," Dar-es-Salaam regional police commander Lazaro Mambosasa told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

External links

• Tanzania's New National Stadium and the Rhetoric of Development by Steve Sortijas