The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the deregistration of Ufufuo na Uzima Church, headed by Bishop Josephat Gwajima, following his press conference on May 24, 2025, and his remarks about abductions in the country during a sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
Following the announcement, police surrounded the church later that night, leading to an overnight standoff between law enforcement and church members. The situation escalated as congregants barricaded Morogoro Road, which runs adjacent to the church.
In a deregistration letter, the Ministry underscored that the 31-year-old church was being deregistered following remarks from its leader that sought to pit the government against citizens.
“In recent days, through the media and social networks, you have been seen… delivering sermons with a political tone and an intention to incite discord between the Government and the citizens,” the letter of deregistration reads.
It continued: “These actions are contrary to the Societies Act, Chapter 337, and may threaten peace and stability in the country.”
While Gwajima had announced a seven-day prayer of fasting on Sunday against abduction and to pray for Tanzania’s institutions, the letter circulated while he was organizing the prayers in the evening. In the opening of prayer, Gwajima intoned that the Church of God cannot be closed in response to the circulated message, and argued that the government cannot do so.
But later at night, police surrounded his church looking for him, which led to members of his church returning and having a several-hour standoff with the police.
“It is 11:15 PM here in Dar es Salaam, and these Bishops have arrived at this late hour because of the panic that has arisen. As you can see, the police have surrounded the Resurrection and Life Church here in Ubungo, and the Bishops rushed here to find out what is going on,” Gwajima said in a message circulated on his social media, surrounded by fellow church leaders.
“I also don’t know what’s happening. I can see about three police vehicles outside—they have come to surround the church. We don’t know what’s going on, so we want our fellow Bishops, all pastors, and all believers to know that tonight at 11:15 PM, on June second, we are surrounded by police, and we don’t know what they intend to do,” he continued.
Hundreds of church members showed up with many singing Christian songs and messages against abductions. This led to the police increasing their response force and the use of tear gas. This went on until around 4 pm when police arrested several members of his church who were outside.
Ufufuo na Uzima church reports having about 70,000 members with 2000+ affiliate churches; the main church hosts about 10,000 members. Police are yet to release a statement regarding the incident. Several reports indicated that Gwajima is not in police custody as of this morning.
While several members of parliament criticized Gwajima for his May 24, 2025, remarks against abduction during a press conference, the highlight came during the CCM congress on May 30, 2025, when the ruling party Chairperson, President Samia Suluhu, cautioned the party against people like Gwajima.
“Unity, solidarity, and love. I kindly ask—or perhaps instruct—the committees responsible for vetting candidates to do so with justice. Let them act justly. If someone is suitable, let it be said clearly that they are suitable. If someone is not suitable, let us say that this person has one, two, or three shortcomings,” President Samia said.
“If we give room, my brothers and sisters, and allow people who are only seeking positions, we will end up with individuals who, once in power, turn the party into a Gwajimanized version of itself. So under no circumstances should we be Gwajimanized, and we must leave these Magwajima [informal version of many people like Gwajima] out of our party,” she emphasized.
