The Geneva of Africa

I am in Arusha in northern Tanzania for a week of meetings. I was last in this part of Tanzania in 2006 during my masters degree, when I was a mere slip of a thing. As I got off the plane my colleague announced that Arusha is known as ‘the Geneva of Africa’ which was a new one on me.

The moniker recognises the peace-building role of Arusha as a venue for the signing of various accords and host of international tribunals. I suppose it is also in homage to the mountainous backdrop, as Mount Meru does loom overhead quite dramatically. As I can’t remember 2006 Arusha, if 2023 Arusha is anything like Geneva I prepared to pay outrageous fees for a coffee but to see delightfully stocked supermarkets with meat and cheese dangling from every corner.