CHURCHES REJECT PROPOSED CONSTITUTION OVER FLAWED PROCESS

Mainstream churches in the country have declared that they do not support the Proposed Constitution, and they have announced that they will be asking their faithful to vote ‘NO’ to reject the document when a referendum is called. The religious leaders also reiterated their opposition to the Kadhi Court being entrenched in law and blamed the government for the continued killing of people living with albinism and terror-related insecurity.

In a strongly worded statement released yesterday, the heads of the three main Christian Churches said they reached the far-reaching decisions, following joint consultations on Tuesday. The statement was signed by Bishop Alex Malasusa on behalf of the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), Bishop Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) that brings together all Catholic bishops and Bishop Daniel Awet on behalf of the Council of Pentecostal Churches of Tanzania (CPCT).   

In rejecting the proposed new constitution, the bishops said the document had divided the country down the middle, and that it was passed by the Constituent Assembly in a manner that lacked integrity. “The approval process was characterised by intrigues and arrogance,” they said. The bishops further noted that the Proposed Constitution did not answer the complaints and aspirations of the people on the government structure, leadership ethics and integrity, human rights, the powers of the president and the separation of powers between the Executive, Parliament and Judiciary.  

The religious leaders equated to corruption  a promise by the government to introduce the Kadhi Court in the new Constitution in order to win approval votes. “It is surprising that the government is ready to bribe to attain its objectives. In this scenario, the Church cannot support the passing of the proposed new Constitution,” said the bishops. They urged their faithful to register in large numbers in the ongoing voter-registration exercise and take part in public education on the document in preparation for the referendum. “We urge you to come out in big numbers at the time and vote ‘NO’ for the proposed law owing to the enumerated reasons.”

On the Kadhi Court’s inclusion in the country’s laws, the Bishops said they stood by their earlier rejection as the matter was against Chapter 19 of the supreme law that says Tanzania was a secular state, without preference of any religious inclination. Their stance would appear to contradict a statement issued on Wednesday evening by the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda who said the Bill on the amendment of the relevant laws to recognize the Kadhi Court will be re-introduced in Parliament later this month.

Mr Pinda told a press conference that a compromise had been reached by all the parties on the Bill that was withdrawn from Parliament in the last session after meeting stiff opposition from the churches and a section of the Muslim faithful. The government has defended its decision, arguing the courts would only apply matters of marriage and inheritance among Muslims. But the bishops warned that continued discussion of whether or not to recognize the Kadhi court on political platforms and in Parliament will polarize the country and divide its people, the government, Judiciary.

Posted by Mmasi Irene.