AFRICA/TANZANIA – Doubts arise over a petition filed against the leadership of the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference by a group of alleged Catholics

Dar es Salaam – An attempt to deliver a “formal petition to the Holy Father via the Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania,” accusing the leadership of the Tanzanian Bishops’ Conference of interfering in the country’s political life, is being described in various local social media outlets as an attempt to exert pressure on the Bishops’ Conference.
On January 5, so-called “members of the Catholic Church” appeared at the gates of the Apostolic Nunciature in Dar es Salaam to deliver the petition, which accuses the Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi, and the Secretary of the Tanzanian Bishops’ Conference , Father Charles Kitima, of interfering in the country’s politics.
“We, Macledeo Shilinde and Lucy Michael, belong to the Catholic Church,” the initial signatories of the petition declared in a statement. “On behalf of over 120 members of the Catholic Church from Dar es Salaam and other regions, we are submitting a petition to the Pope against Bishop Ruwa’ichi.”
According to local media reports, Lucy Michael is the secretary of the youth wing of the ruling Revolutionary Party in Temeke. As sources in Dar es Salaam told Fides, on January 5, a group of about one hundred people appeared in front of the nunciature to deliver a letter. However, since the nunciature is located opposite a building of the National Intelligence Service, the officers on guard there immediately intervened and removed the group within a short time without using force. Severe doubts have been raised on social media as to whether the petition signatories actually belong to the Catholic Church. For example, it was highlighted that most of the women were wearing clothing commonly worn at local feasts, popularly known as “Vijora.” Critics pointed out that Catholic women—and Christian women more broadly—typically wear traditional “Vitenge” clothing for church activities. In the Catholic Church, women often wear Vitenge, which is marked with the symbols of their respective ecclesial communities. It was also noted that the chants of the crowd gathered in front of the nunciature were more typical of Pentecostal churches rather than the Catholic Church. The initiative is seen as one of the responses to the statement issued by the Tanzanian Bishops’ Conference following the violent suppression of the October 29 protests and the subsequent security measures that resulted in the deaths of civilians. In their statement, the bishops condemned the killings, demanded clarification of responsibility, urged an independent investigation, and called for the return of the victims’ bodies to their families. The protests were directed primarily against outgoing President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was re-elected with 97.66% of the vote. The main opposition candidates had been excluded, one of whom was arrested and the other disqualified by the electoral commission . The secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, Father Charles Kitima, who was among those targeted by the petition, had already been brutally attacked on April 30 at the Bishops’ Conference headquarters in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam.

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