Over the weekend, a Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohamed Abdallah Mawinda, sparked debate among Tanzanian netizens with remarks he made on July 5, 2025, stating that it is better for a person to be beheaded than to lose a nation’s peace.
Sheikh Mawinda was among the guests at the launch of a new building for the Arise and Shine Church, led by popular Christian preacher Boniface Mwamposa. The event was officiated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Speaking in his capacity as Vice Chairperson of the Dar es Salaam Reconciliation and Peace Committee, Mawinda made controversial comments that continue to stir public discussion long after the event.
“Don’t get to a point where you think peace is just nonsense,” Mawinda said, referring to CHADEMA national chairperson Tundu Lissu’s phrase Tukinukishe. “Someone said [Tukinukishe]. We should stir things up— fine, but once things go wrong here, where will you go?”
Tukinukishe is a Swahili word that means to “make it smell,” which can be used figuratively to mean to stir things up. It is one of the popular remarks from Lissu before his arrest and being tried for treason.
“So, now someone said [tukinukishe] let’s stir things up, and we heard it, fine,” the cleric continued. “But the authorities said maybe we didn’t understand this [tukinukishe] thing properly. So we take this man to court so that we can understand — has that become a problem now? Isn’t that procedure? Our country is governed by law.”
Mawinda continued with the most controversial part of his statement.
“So, we must get to a point where we don’t joke with the peace of our country,” he warned. “Let someone even behead you, for the country to remain safe. Let someone do whatever they want to your body — it doesn’t matter, as long as this country remains peaceful.”
Most people online have interpreted the statement as the cleric’s call for the beheading of Lissu, who remains in custody pending his treason and publication of false information trials. Many have also associated his speech to be more than a slip of the tongue, considering Mawinda is also a ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party member and leader in one of the wards of Dar es Salaam.
Speaking to The Chanzo on July 7, 2025, Mawinda clarified his statement, outlining that he was not calling for the death of Lissu.
“I did not mean that Tundu Lissu should be killed,” the cleric said. “I only spoke about Tundu Lissu from one perspective. He made his statement, and the security organs saw that he was wrong — but are they the judges?
“No, they are not the judges. What they have done is that he has been taken to the legal institutions, and there it will be determined what is what. If he is guilty, he will be convicted; if he is not guilty, he will be released,” Mawinda explained in a phone interview.
Mawinda’s remarks came just days after CHADEMA claimed that they had received information about a plot to poison its leader, Tundu Lissu, in prison, something that the government has refuted, calling it “a malicious statement to tarnish the reputation of Tanzania.”
In a statement following Mawinda’s remark, CHADEMA said the statement represents a broader culture of impunity where political violence is celebrated and dissent demonised in Tanzania.
READ MORE: Tanzania Denies Claims of Plan to Poison Opposition Leader Tundu Lissu in Prison
When The Chanzo asked Mawinda to respond to claims that his statement was politically motivated due to his position as a CCM leader and member, he emphasised that he made the remarks in his personal capacity.
“Being in a political party is not a crime; there is absolutely no offence in that,” the cleric told this publication. “I spoke out of my own will, perspective, and based on how I understand things and the responsibility I’ve been given in the Reconciliation and Peace Community to wish this country safety.”
“Being in CCM is not a crime,” he emphasised. “When you attack me just because I’m in CCM, you are interfering with my personal life.”
