Christians, religious organisations threatened by government officials

oge okonkwo

April 28, 2015 6:50 PM

Minister Mathias Chika said that though leaders of religious institutions had the right to participate as individuals, it was illegal for them to use their positions to influence the votes of their flocks

Church in Tanzania

The Tanzanian Minister of Home Affairs threatened that churches and other religious organizations that publicly oppose the country's new constitution will be unregistered beginning on April 20, Worthy News reports.

According to Barnabas Aid, Minister Mathias Chika said that though leaders of religious institutions had the right to participate as individuals, it was illegal for them to use their positions to influence the votes of their flocks.

It was gathered that the Tanzanian Christians have already opposed a bill that will introduce Kadhi(Islamic) courts across the country's mainland.

Already existing in the Muslim-majority Zanzibar archipelago, the bill to introduce Kadhi courts into mainland Tanzania were intended to only deal with familial matters — e.g., marriage, divorce and inheritance issues — within the nation's Muslim population.

But with the approaching referendum as well as a general election scheduled for October, relations between Muslims and Christians are already tense.

oge okonkwo