He obtained the title of president as a result of a revolution which led to the deposing of Jamshid bin Abdullah, the last reigning Sultan of Zanzibar, in January 1964.

[2] He left Zanzibar in the early years of his life, travelling among other places to London, where he gained an understanding of geopolitics and international affairs through exposure to African thinkers such as Hastings Banda of Malawi.

Karume was willing to work within the electoral framework of the new government, and actually informed a British police officer of the revolutionary plot set to take place in January.

Many more were raped and images of mass-killings and mass-graves invocative of genocidal episodes were published in the world media causing immediate alarm and embarrassing the Nyerere Government.

Other Zanzibaris in foreign territory were also invited back, most notably the Marxist politician Abdulrahman Mohammad Babu, who was appointed to the Revolutionary Council.

[5] Karume used his political skills to align the leaders of neighboring African countries against Okello and invited Tanganyikan police officers into Zanzibar to maintain order.

Karume's second important political move came when he agreed to form a union with the Tanganyikan president Julius Nyerere in April 1964.

The Marxist leader was eventually forced to flee Tanzania after being charged with masterminding the assassination of Karume in 1972.

"[8]On April 7, 1972, four gunmen shot Karume to death as he played bao at the headquarters of the Afro-Shirazi Party in Zanzibar Town.