Q: What was your first job?A: My first job was working as a teacher in Moshi District in Kilimanjaro Region – in the northern part of Tanzania; on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Q: Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?A: There are many. But if I had to select one person I would pick Shaaban Robert, a true patriot of Tanzania and a legend of the Swahili language. His books gave me strength (and hope) to write my first novel.

Q: What parts of your job keep you awake at night?A: Writing and reading.

Q: What are the top reasons why you have been successful in your career?

A: Pushing the envelope: Perseverance, hardworking and discipline.

Q: What are the best things about Tanzania?A: Peace, national parks, weather, Zanzibar islands, people, foods, natural resources, beaches, Lake Victoria (the largest lake in Africa and the second freshwater lake in the world), and Mt Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa and highest free-standing mountain in the world).

Q: And the worst? A: Poverty, political system, dangerous traffic and bad vehicles, illegal drugs, health concerns, electricity, dusty roads, unemployment and malaria.

Q: Your future career plans? A: To become best author in Tanzania and to own a publishing company for my books and the books of others.

Q: How do you relax? A: Pretty much the same as Dan Brown does: Exercises and sleeping.

Q: What is your message to the young people in Tanzania?A: No matter how talented or skilled you are, you will never reach your full potential without expert guidance.

Q: How can Tanzania realize its full potential?A: By educating its own people, and running government according to the foundations of the country’s constitution.