THE government considers imposing stricter religious regulations following a stampede that killed 20 people, leaving more than a dozen injured in a religious event in Moshi, Kilimanjaro region Saturday night.
Home Affairs Minister George Simbachawene made the remarks yesterday, saying the mushrooming religious denominations must be better regulated.
In his first conference since following his appointment as Home Affairs minister last week, Mr Simbachawene said Tanzania needed to learn from other countries such as Rwanda that in March 2018 shut down more than 700 churches and some mosques.
Apart from closing down the churches, the tiny East African country also instituted new guidelines for how faith groups must operate.
“We think it’s high time that we review the procedures and adopt seriously requirements for an individual to register a church,” the minister told reporters.
He was briefing on steps taken by the state in addressing the Moshi tragedy that saw 20 believers die and 16 wounded when they scrambled for anointed oil during a church congregation in Northern region Saturday night.
According to the minister, police are holding Boniface Mwamposa, the church leader and Elia Mwambapa who had applied for the permit among other leaders of the ministry.
Previously, authorities in Moshi had denounced the incidence declaring the Rev Mwamposa a wanted suspect. Sources within the police force say Mwamposa had escaped mysteriously from the region.
But Simbachawene confirmed that the leader was arrested in Dar es Salaam early yesterday. The minister accused Mwamposa on negligence and the fact he attempted to escape after the incident.
“He did not take enough precaution,” he said, “We are planning to transfer him (Mwamposa) to Moshi where he would answer all the charges against him.’’
The assembly was lawful according to the minister and the church was granted a permit to hold the service from 12 to 6:00 pm between 30th and February 1 this year.
However, records show the incident happened at around 7:30 pm. Critics question whether the police were not to blame. Mr Simbachawene denied any wrongdoing on the side of the police saying the religious belief is a constitutional right and church leaders were required to be more vigilant.
The minister expressed concerns that said religious denominations have increased beyond imagination and argued it was high time the sector was strictly regulated.
The government said that it was establishing reasonable evidence before aligning the suspects in the court of law. It was not immediately established the number of suspects linked to the incidence in custody or when they would be charged at the court of law.
