Bishop Josephat Gwajima has called on the government and his party, the ruling CCM, to allow for minimal reforms and the participation of the opposition party, CHADEMA, in the upcoming election. Gwajima, who has remained at odds with his party and the government following his press conference on May 24, 2025, and a subsequent church sermon regarding abduction incidents, broke his silence today, July 16, 2025, speaking from an undisclosed location.
“Chama Cha Mapinduzi has more than ten million members, so we have nothing to fear, so I advise that we decide to allow those from CHADEMA to be given minimal reforms—after all, they are just asking for reforms,” Gwajima said.
He continued: “Let us try to identify which reform can be affordable at this moment, and give them a minimal reform, it doesn’t take much time. Let’s give them the reforms they want so we can go into the election with them.”
Gwajima argued that such a move is essential to ensure the legitimacy of power and to maintain calm and unity after the election, rather than having a divided country.
“Whenever you think about political victory, you must also think about winning in a way that will make it easier for you to govern the country and bring development to the people,” Gwajima argued.
“Why should we enter into a game while the person we’re supposed to play with isn’t participating?” Gwajima asked, drawing a comparison between the upcoming election and the rivalry match between Tanzania’s most popular football clubs, Simba and Yanga.
“I know that parliamentary activities have ended, but the Parliament is still legally alive, I believe, until the 3rd of August, if I’m not mistaken. Let’s find two or three weeks within that period to make the reforms they are asking for, even if not all of them. Let there be a few reforms that will encourage them to enter the election, and then once they’re in, we will defeat them.”
Gwajima’s call comes as the ruling party is set to announce the names of its nominated candidates for constituency seats in the upcoming election. CHADEMA, Tanzania’s main opposition party, has called for reforms ahead of the election, citing incidents of violence, disqualification of its candidates, and the structure of the Electoral Commission as the basis for their demands.
In line with this stance, CHADEMA did not appear during the signing of the Electoral Code of Conduct regulations on April 12, 2025, which all political parties are required to sign. In response, the National Electoral Commission announced that CHADEMA is barred from participating in any election for the next five years, an issue that has remained contentious among legal scholars.
Although Gwajima, the current Member of Parliament for Kawe constituency (CCM), has not collected a nomination form to run again in the upcoming election, he used the press conference to dispel claims that he might leave CCM for another party. He emphasised that he will remain in the party, describing CCM as a democratic institution.
Gwajima’s remarks come as his church remains deregistered following his June 1, 2025, sermon on abductions, a sermon the government said in a deregistration letter pits citizens against the state.
The church’s efforts to appeal the deregistration and seek relief through the courts have faced challenges, particularly concerning the letter used to deregister the 31-year-old church. The letter was unsigned and referred to the institution as “Glory of Christ Church” instead of its official name, “Glory of Christ Tanzania Church.”
In today’s press conference, Gwajima reiterated that he would continue speaking out on the abduction issue, declaring that he would not hesitate to speak “even if the church is closed for 100 years.”
On the upcoming election, Gwajima stressed that participation from all political actors in the election process is vital for national unity.
“I strongly advise that anyone who loves their country should understand that while you may have love for your political party, love for the country must come first,” Gwajima remarked. “The country comes before parties and everything else.”
“We don’t want a situation where, after an election, we have a broken nation where we can’t even greet each other,” he continued. “I would really love for us to have a united country after the election, so that the president in office has the ability to bring us development.”
