Samia Suluhu shuts down megachurch for condemning abductions
President Suluhu under fire after her gov't shuts down megachurch for condemning abductions.
President Suluhu under fire after her gov’t shuts down megachurch for condemning abductions.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan is under fire after her government deregistered one of the country’s biggest Pentecostal churches. Glory of Christ Church, Ufuo na Uzima, and its over 2,000 branches have been shut down.
Its founder, Kawe MP and Bishop Josephat Gwajima, has been openly condemning enforced disappearances.
The government says his sermons are inciting the public against the state and threatening national stability.
“People are vanishing. And when you stay silent, you don’t know if you’re next… even sheikhs are taken from their homes and found dead. Who’s next?” Bishop Josephat Gwajima said.
A strong warning from the pulpit — in one of many fiery sermons by outspoken Kawe MP and founder of Glory of Christ Church, Josephat Gwajima, in the heart of Dar es Salaam.
For months, Gwajima has used his altar as a political platform, decrying abductions and disappearances of government critics.
He claims more than 80 people have either gone missing or been found dead, a dark record Tanzania hasn’t seen in decades.
“CCM under Nyerere — even Magufuli — never endorsed abductions. Those behind this are doing it for their own reasons. I’ve named 83 people — some missing, some dead,” Gwajima stated in a message that rattled Mama Suluhu’s government.
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On Sunday, in a swift move, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the church’s registration, accusing Gwajima of using politically charged sermons to incite citizens against the state.
By Sunday evening, the church was shut down, forcing thousands of faithful to pray on the streets. Tension flared overnight as armed police sealed off the premises, fired teargas, and arrested defiant worshippers. Stones flew. Teargas filled the air.
But the embattled bishop won’t back down. He declared seven days of prayers in more than 2,000 church branches — while hurling fresh jabs at President Suluhu.
“The police chief and everyone under him are appointed by President Suluhu. If people are abducted and never seen again — what’s happening in this country?” he pointed out.
The Secretary General of the Tanzania Catholic Church Episcopal Conference, Father Dr. Charles Kitima, led a thanksgiving mass after surviving a brutal attack by unknown assailants, who left him for dead at his parish in Dar es Salaam last month.
“Silence means giving evil a license. They’re abducting religious leaders and citizens alike. Kitima was beaten within an inch of his life. I won’t be silenced until we account for every missing soul,” he added.
The opposition is now demanding President Suluhu carry the weight of these unanswered questions.
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