TIG Post

Tag: Church leaders

  • You can’t be quiet about it – Mahama to Church leaders on electioneering concerns

    You can’t be quiet about it – Mahama to Church leaders on electioneering concerns

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has called upon the church, regarded as the moral compass of society, to voice concerns regarding issues surrounding the 2024 electoral process.

    Expressing apprehension over various aspects of the Ejusu by-election and the ongoing limited voter registration exercise, he urged the church to address these matters.

    In a discussion with the Christian Ecumenical Council on Monday, Mahama highlighted the importance of the church advocating for neutrality and ensuring a transparent and equitable election process.

    He emphasized the pivotal role of the church in upholding democratic principles and fostering fairness within the electoral system.

    “This is a president who is appointing politically exposed people into positions of trust where they are supposed to be neutral and non-partisan and so people who have been communicators for the party, people who have been IT backstops for the party, today are Commissioners of the Electoral Commission. How do you expect them to be neutral and fair in what is happening?

    “People who were patrons of TESCON on campus are today Commissioners of the Electoral Commission. But we want to wake up the conscience of the nation that the right thing must be done so that the outcome can actually be the will of the people.

    “So going up to the election, We will continue to play our part. We will raise the red flags anytime we think things are not going very well. And we believe that the church community should also keep an eye and be vigilant in terms of making sure that the right thing is done.”

  • Church leaders in Tanzania were arrested for hoarding ill people

    Church leaders in Tanzania were arrested for hoarding ill people

    Authorities in Tanzania have detained two church leaders on suspicion of holding a number of sick individuals and promising to treat them through prayer and local plants.

    The more than 100 people were being kept in so-called traditional wards (mud-walled huts with brick beds) built around the church in Nyamhinza village, Misungwi district, in the north-western region of Mwanza – with no medical treatment or food being provided.

    Some had been there for up to a month and they were required to find food for themselves until they fully recovered.

    They were found after locals alerted the police that some people were dying after leaving hospitals, including a woman who had joined the church soon after giving birth to twins.

    At the end of last week, the police took the sick people back to hospitals for treatment. They are now investigating possible deaths and whether there are bodies buried nearby.

    Mwanza regional police commander, Wilbroad Mutafungwa, told journalists on Wednesday that initial investigations didn’t show there were people buried there but they were still keeping a close watch.

    He confirmed the arrests of the suspects, church leaders William Masum and his wife Kabula Lushika, saying they didn’t have permits to conduct worship and prayer activities, or to provide traditional healing services. They have not commented on the accusations.

    “We are now doing a detailed investigation, including interrogating the suspects. Meanwhile I ask locals with classified information that will help the investigation to come forward and talk to the police,” he said.

    The church is said to have been in operation for more than five years.