Dar es Salaam – The Tanzanian government has formally lifted the suspension on the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church (Kanisa la Ufufuo na Uzima), effective immediately, following a directive issued by Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba on Monday, November 24, 2025.
The Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to cease the closure of the Dar es Salaam-based megachurch, criticising the policy of penalising thousands of worshippers for the alleged political actions of their leader, Bishop Josephat Gwajima.
Speaking during an event in Dar es Salaam, Mr Nchemba, who was appointed to the premiership earlier in November 2025, stressed that worship is a deeply personal, constitutional right.
“Worship is a relationship between a human being and their God, not their bishops or sheikhs,” Mr Nchemba stated. “It is not right to burden the faithful with the mistakes of their religious leader, nor to deny them their worship and fellowship with God.”
The order overturns the Registrar of Societies’ decision of June 2, 2025, which had revoked the church’s registration. While the church, with its reported 70,000 members and thousands of branches, is now permitted to resume operations, it will be placed under six months of official supervision.
From pulpit to police line
The original ban was a direct result of public statements made by Bishop Gwajima. During his tenure as the Kawe Member of Parliament for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in the 12th Parliament, the Bishop had publicly condemned a series of alleged kidnappings, enforced disappearances, and murders plaguing the country.
On June 1, 2025, he announced a seven-day prayer campaign aimed at addressing these human rights issues.
The government responded swiftly, citing the violation of the Societies Act (Cap. 337) and accusing the cleric of using the pulpit to deliver “sermons with a political orientation” intended to create discord between the state and the people. The church’s premises were immediately sealed off by police.
The closure triggered a sustained six-month confrontation. Despite the police cordon around the Ubungo church compound, worshippers continuously attempted to hold Sunday services outside the premises. This persistent defiance culminated on June 30, 2025, when police used tear gas to disperse the gathering and arrested 52 congregants.
Concurrently, the 52 members, alongside the church’s legal team, launched a significant constitutional case at the High Court, challenging the ban as an illegal infringement upon their fundamental freedom of worship.
The legal proceedings were marked by procedural confusion, as state attorneys raised technical objections over naming discrepancies in the initial deregistration letter, leading some to describe the judicial back-and-forth as a “Herod and Pilate circus.”
Political de-escalation
The timing of the government’s reversal is significant, occurring as the nation attempts to stabilise following the contentious October 2025 general election, which saw massive nationwide protests and an internet shutdown.
Prime Minister Nchemba’s order to reopen the church came shortly after President Samia Suluhu Hassan commissioned a high-level inquiry to investigate and restore faith in public institutions.
The reinstatement is widely interpreted as a strategic move by the new administration to de-escalate political and religious tensions and project an image of reconciliation and respect for constitutional rights in the post-election environment.
Moving forward, the Prime Minister has mandated that the Ministry of Home Affairs establish clear and ethical procedures for the registration and operation of all religious institutions.
The reopening is a profound victory for the congregants and religious freedom advocates, but the six-month supervisory period ensures that the future activities of the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church, and its prominent leader, will remain under close governmental review.
In his last public address from an undisclosed location, Gwajima vowed to continue to criticise the government on the issue of abduction regardless of whether his church is open or not. Gwajima was one of the ten people the police announced that they were looking for in connection with the October 29 protests.
The Church Deputy Secretary, Bishop Mwnachumu Kadutu, announced that he had fled the country in September 2025, citing that an unknown assailant had been following his trail for the purpose of abducting him.
