Vice-President Ali Mohamed Shein lit the torch and gave it to the first runner of the five-kilometer distance, Information, Sports and Culture Minister George Huruma Mkuchika.

The vice-president said he was happy that Tanzania had been chosen as the only African state to welcome the Olympic torch race. He said that was a rare opportunity and an appeal to the national government and people to pay more attention to

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Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai from Kenya refused to take part in the torch race in protest against ‘the human rights situation in China.’

Later in the day the torch will be brought to Oman and the Asian leg of the race will start.

The torch was lit in Greece, the native land of the Olympic movement, on March 24 and brought to Beijing on March 31. Part of the Olympic flame stayed in Beijing, while the rest began the round-the world race.

Kazakhstan’s Almaty was the first of 22 cities to welcome the Olympic torch. The torch visited the Turkish city of Istanbul on April 4, and the Russian city of St. Petersburg on April 4.

It reached London on April 6 and Paris on April 7, arrived in St. Francisco on April 9 and move down to South America and Africa. The Asian leg of the Olympic torch race will begin on April 14, and the torch will arrive to the Australian city of Canberra on April 24. The race will go through South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam and Xianggang (Hong Kong) and return to China on May 3. The torch will be carried through more than 65 Chinese cities and arrive in Beijing on August 6-8.

The current Olympic torch race encountered certain problems, but International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said they would not stop it.

One should not mix up sports and politics, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

”Some politicians mix up politics and history, and some mix up politics and sports. Let historians deal with history and athletes deal with sports,” he said in comments on the recent incidents during the Olympic torch race.

”The position of Russia is very simple. They should not mix up sports and politics, let alone make sports political,” he said.

PRETORIA, April 13 (Itar-Tass)