Mara – The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Musoma, Michael Msonganzila, on March 10, 2026, publicly condemned the Tanzanian police for firing tear gas within the grounds of the Musoma Cathedral, describing the act as a violation of a sacred space and an excessive use of force against unarmed women.
Speaking at a press conference, Bishop Msonganzila said he was compelled to “curse” the incident, declaring: “It is not an act that should be accepted by anyone with wisdom, intelligence, and reason. It is an act of oppression. It is a cruel act.”
The incident occurred on March 8, 2026 — International Women’s Day — when police used tear gas to disperse members of BAWACHA, the women’s wing of the main opposition party CHADEMA, who had gathered in and around the cathedral after being blocked from using their originally planned venue.
The Bishop said the tear gas affected not only the BAWACHA women but also children and elderly women arriving at or leaving the church for Sunday Mass.
“Those who were affected were not only the BAWACHA women,” the Bishop explained. “There were small children leaving the church, and others entering. There were elderly grandmothers leaving the church, and others entering the church at the time of Mass.”
Bishop Msonganzila revealed that the church had formally granted BAWACHA permission to use the cathedral grounds for their International Women’s Day forum through a routine administrative process.
READ MORE: Tanzania Police Force Bans CHADEMA Women’s Day Commemoration in Musoma
However, police subsequently contacted the church administrator and pressured him to revoke the permission. According to the Bishop, a police officer warned that if the church did not issue a withdrawal letter, officers would “sleep there” and that “any consequences would be your problem.”
No reason
The Bishop was unequivocal that none of this justified the use of tear gas. “There is no reason to use the force of firing tear gas in a place of worship — even if it were a mosque — when these people were not causing any disturbance and had no weapons,” he said.
“If I were a police officer that day, I would have bought a kanga and a kitenge and simply tapped the women gently and told them to leave. These people had no weapons. Why use excessive force?”
He also referenced a previous crackdown on October 29, 2025, saying the country had not yet healed from those wounds, during which hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others injured when security forces used excessive force in preventing youth-led anti-government protests.
“We are wounded. We came from the wounds of October 29. People have not healed. We are starting to bring new wounds,” the Bishop said. “I am concerned about the direction of the Police Force. I am very concerned.”
The Bishop called for fundamental reform within the Police Force, emphasising the need for wisdom over force. “We need to move away from these environments of force all the time,” he said. “We need to use more wisdom and intelligence in following orders.”
He also expressed concern about the politicisation of the police force itself. “The Police Force should not be used as a tool of political suppression. We have politicised the police to the point of beating people. This is not a sign of maturity. We need philosophers in the Police Force, sociologists in the Police Force, anthropologists in the Police Force.”
Police ban
The events leading up to the March 8 incident began on March 1, 2026, when Mara Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Pius Lutumo, publicly banned BAWACHA from holding their planned celebrations in Musoma Municipality.
Lutumo cited a court injunction issued on June 10, 2025, which he said barred CHADEMA from conducting political activities pending the conclusion of a civil case.
The injunction arose from civil suit number 8323 of 2025, filed by former CHADEMA vice-chairperson Said Issa Mohamed and two other party trustees from Zanzibar, who alleged that the party’s assets had not been equitably distributed between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.
CHADEMA’s legal team maintained that the injunction had expired on December 10, 2025, as Tanzanian law requires such orders to be renewed within six months.
In the days before March 8, police intercepted multiple convoys of CHADEMA women travelling to Musoma from across the country, including groups from Kinondoni, Temeke, Ubungo, and Kagera. A group of 51 women from Kagera was stopped at Geita at around 2 a.m. on March 7 and held at a police station overnight.
On March 8 itself, police fired tear gas to disperse women who had gathered near the Musoma-Bunda road. Mara Regional Police Commander Lutumo later stated that 27 suspects had been arrested on charges of engaging in violent acts. BAWACHA Secretary Pamela Massay was among those arrested and was subsequently released on bail.
Official national commemoration
While CHADEMA women faced tear gas and arrest, other Tanzanian women celebrated freely. The government’s official national commemoration was held in Geita, where the Minister of Community Development launched a US$100 million World Bank project known as PAMOJA, aimed at advancing gender equality.
President Samia Suluhu also issued a congratulatory message to women across the country, calling the day an opportunity to “recognise, take pride in, and celebrate the achievements in education, health, the economy, and leadership.”
Bishop Msonganzila, who has served as bishop for 18 years, closed his remarks by reiterating the church’s position that political activities are not permitted on its premises, whilst making clear that this principle in no way excused the police’s conduct.
“The church must remain neutral,” he said, “but that does not mean we accept cruelty. We must leave the church to continue its mission, which touches all areas of life — faith, politics, morality, discipline, health — and that is what our Lord Jesus Christ did.”
