Churches critical of the president of Tanzania, John Magufuli risk closure after the country issued a threat of revoking registration of religious groups.
Tanzania has said that churches risking closure and being critical of the country’s president are mixing “religion and politics”.
A cleric recently criticised President Magufuli’s leadership in a Christmas sermon after several reports of intolerance for dissent from the government under Magufuli.
Another cleric Zachary Kakobe 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.”
“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 in a statement.
He added in the statement that “Any violation of the law could lead to cancellation of the registration of the concerned religious society”.
Freedom of worship is protected by Tanzania’s constitution but religious groups must register at the country’s Home Affairs Ministry to get a license to operate legally.
Source: Africafeeds.com
