"Stop jeopardizing the sanctity of religious spaces" - Tanzania President told

TARIME, Tanzania

The Vice Chairperson of the main opposition party in Tanzania (CHADEMA), Tundu Lissu, has accused the president of Tanzania, Samia Hassan, of 'bribing' the bishops of various churches in the country with millions of shillings jeopardizing the sanctity of religious spaces.

Speaking at the launch of the local government elections campaign on Thursday November 21 in the town of Tarime, Mara region, Lissu claimed that the President is bribing churches with stolen money.

"She is bribing everyone including churches! She bribes people with stolen money; the money of our sold ports, the money of our sold forests, she sold 9,900,000 hectares of the forests of this country to the Arabs... she sold all the ports of this country to the Arabs." Lissu, adding that the president has expelled people from their native lands.

He urged the Churches to play their role as a neutral institutions free of external influence, as well as their obligation to reject any contributions that jeopardize their integrity or perpetuate unethical behavior.

Recently, the President was reported to have given 'offerings' of millions of shillings to various churches, a move that caused heated debates among the community.

According to the reports circulating on social media, beneficiaries of the offerings include Bishop Solomon Massangwa, the Catholic Church in Musoma, Mufindi, Dodoma, Arusha, Zanzibar and Babati.

Other churches are Arise and Shine, Africa Inland Church Dar es Salaam, Seventh Day Adventist Singida, Pentecost Church East Province, Anglican Church Kagera and Mennonite Church Dar es Salaam.

The Lutheran Churches of Hai, Mafinga, Tanganyika, and Dodoma also benefited from the donations.

In his speech, Lissu who ran for the presidency in the 2020 election and lost to John Magufuli questioned the legitimacy of President Hassan to give the money during the election period and where she got the money from.

"She bribes bishops, she bribes churches! Where did she get that money from? her salary?" Questioned Lissu adding that the bishops who received the money are like the Judas Iscariot (of the Bible) who was bribed and received ‘blood money’ to betray Jesus.

In the neighboring Kenya, the Catholic Bishops returned a donation of $21.6 thousand by President William Ruto to the church emphasizing the importance of preserving the Church's independence and sanctity, as well as the ethical concerns surrounding political contributions.

In their statement, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasized the Church's strong opposition to using its platforms for political gain, urging politicians not to use the pulpit for rhetoric, claiming that such actions jeopardize the sanctity of religious spaces.