Tanzanian Bishop, Josephat Gwajima has come forth to breath fire over ongoing incidents of abductions, enforced disappearance and killings, currently tarnishing the image of the once peaceful East African nation.
Bishop Gwajima, who is also a serving Member of Parliament of Kawe, which one of the Dar-es-salaam constituencies, has listed down more than 85 cases of enforced disappearances, including the recent killings of the opposition leaders, activists and other people.
The outspoken church leader behind the ‘Ufufuo na Uzima,’ a christinan ministry based in Dar-es-salaam, told members of the press that, he does not believe that all these horrid incidents have been occurring without the knowledge of security organs.
“Because if these episodes are taking place within the country, without authorities knowing anything about the culprits, then the entire country is not safe,” pointed out Gwajima.
He asked why cases of people disappearing are simply taken for granted and wondered if the same lenience will be applied if any of the leaders’ sons or daughters were to undergo similar ordeals.
Bishop Gwajima also expressed concern regarding the recent cases of foreign nationals, including a Kenyan and Ugandan activists who were pulled out of their hotel rooms by people who identified themselves as the police, only to have the individuals dumped at borders, after being brutally tortured.
“This makes people around the world to believe that hotels in Tanzania are not safe, therefore jeopardizing the country’s tourism industry,” Gwajima maintained.
Still, the politician said he maintains trust with security organs, including the police, because he is sure that, the abductions or killings do not form part of their job descriptions and if they participated, then it should be after being forced by some powerful people to do so.
Gwajima advised that the National Assembly should also have a hand in the choice and dismissal of the top security personnel, for more transparency.
In another development, the bishop said he was sad that online media outlets a full of Memes created to insult the country president, Samia Suluhu Hassan and said it was high time the trend stopped.