The Mwl. J.K. Nyerere Memorial House is a historic site located at 2 Ifunda Road in Magomeni Usalama, in Dar es Salaam. Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanzania’s founding father, built this house in the 1950s. He lived here with his family for eight months after resigning from his teaching job at St. Francis Secondary School (now Pugu Secondary School) and go into politics full time. In 1961, he became Tanganyika’s first Prime Minister but resigned after just six weeks in January 1962 to focus on building TANU.
Nyerere and his wife, Maria, had seven children. Only five lived with them in this house. The home is filled with items used by the family, like radios, sofas, beds, kitchen tools, and photos. A gallery walk shows pictures of Nyerere’s work during and after the fight for independence. The house was also a meeting place for discussions on ending colonial rule.
A Street of Pioneers
The Magomeni Usalama area was home to many of Tanzania’s early leaders. On the same street as Nyerere’s house lived figures like Abasi Kandoro, Amiri Abeid Kalluta, Rashid Kawawa, Mzee Songambele, Lucy Lameck (Tanzania’s first female minister and a respected global figure), and John Rupia. This area was a hub for political and social change during the fight for independence.
Interesting Facts About Mwl. J.K. Nyerere
- Known as the “Father of the Nation” for leading Tanganyika to independence from Britain in 1961.
- Served as Prime Minister for only six weeks (9 December 1960 – 22 January 1961) before stepping down to focus on building TANU.
- Became Tanganyika’s first president in 1962 and helped form Tanzania by uniting with Zanzibar in 1964. He stepped down in 1985 after 23 years as president.
- A devout Catholic, he translated parts of the Bible into Zanaki and Shakespeare’s plays – “Julius Caesar” and “The Merchant of Venice” – into Kiswahili.
- The first Tanzanian to study at a UK university, and the second to earn a higher education degree outside Tanzania, earning a Master’s degree in History and Economics from the University of Edinburgh in 1952.
How to Get There
The museum is a few kilometers from Dar es Salaam’s city center in Magomeni. You can reach it by road using public transport or private vehicles. Signages along the way provide directions, and locals are always willing to help if you get lost.
