The Nationalization of Lonrho's Business Interests in Postcolonial Tanzania

On June 2, 1978, the Tanzanian government under President Julius Nyerere ordered the British multinational corporation, Lonrho Limited, to leave the country. The "official reason" provided for this action was Lonrho's "continued defiance of the United Nations mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia and the expansion of its business interests in South Africa." Using newly available materials, mainly from the National Archives London, this paper attempts to document the rise of Lonrho in Tanzania up until the nationalization, the factors that influenced the compensation negotiations process between Lonrho and the Tanzanian government, and the role the British government played in the entire episode.