Tanzania has threatened to revoke the registration of
religious organisations that “mix religion and politics” after a cleric
criticised President John Magufuli’s leadership in a Christmas sermon.
Opposition leaders in Tanzania say tolerance for dissent has
been rapidly disappearing since Magufuli took office in late 2015 with pledges
to reform East Africa’s third-biggest economy and crack down on large-scale
corruption.
Tanzania’s constitution protects freedom of worship, but
religious organisations must register at the country’s Home Affairs Ministry to
get a licence to operate legally.
“Recently, some leaders of (religious) societies have been
using their sermons to analyse political issues, which is contrary to the law,”
the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Projest Rwegasira,
said late on Thursday.
“Any violation of the law could lead to cancellation of the
registration of the concerned religious society,” he said in a
statement.
The warning was issued just days after the head of a
Pentecostal church in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam criticised
Magufuli’s leadership, saying his government was closing democratic
space.
Zachary Kakobe, self-proclaimed bishop and founder of the
Full Gospel Bible Fellowship Church, accused the Tanzanian government of
“quietly turning the country into a one-state rule by systematically banning
political activity.”
The Home Affairs Ministry responded by issuing a public
notice to religious organisations after the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
party accused Kakobe of mixing religion and politics.
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