“Listen to and Address the Grief!”

Tanzania held its presidential and parliamentary elections on October 29, 2025. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with over 97% of the vote amid the exclusion of opposition candidates and allegations of irregularities.

Protests against election irregularities have been met with force, including curfews and internet shutdowns. According to the United Nations, at least ten people have been killed. Members of the opposition claim that the number may be in the hundreds, but these figures cannot currently be independently verified due to media restrictions and communication blackouts.

A long history of peace

Throughout its history as an independent country, the Republic of Tanzania has made a reputation nationally and internationally as a nation of peace, where armed conflict was rare and, if it happened, brief.

This is the backdrop against which the Tanzanian society is now receiving news about alleged election irregularities and protests ending in violence. For the United Evangelical Mission (UEM), developments like these are more than political news. They affect our member churches directly and influence the communities they serve. When a church such as the ELCT speaks out, it offers both moral direction and a path toward reconciliation—key priorities for the UEM’s holistic understanding of mission.

Message by the church

In the wake of these happenings, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT), a member church of UEM, has decided to address the public with the following message. It is written by Bishop Dr. Alex Gehazi Malasusa, the leader of ELCT/ECD* and Presiding Bishop of the whole ELCT:

 

Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you in Christ Jesus.

Our country held its national general election on October 29, 2025. We all remember that day and the days that followed, our country has gone through a difficult situation that has never happened in its history. There were riots that caused loss of life, disability and destruction of public and private property. There is no reason that is sufficient to explain the loss of life and destruction of property. Some families have not yet been able to find their relatives who were killed during the riots to bury them in a social and religious manner. This situation has left various families in a deep state of grief and indescribable mourning.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has been deeply affected and hurt by these unusual events.

Call to the Government and its agencies:

1.) The Church calls on the government to listen to and address the grievances of the people in a manner that builds national unity and social cohesion.

2.) The Church calls on the government to do justice to all citizens who have lost or been affected.

3.) The Church reminds us that the use of excessive force against anyone cannot bring blessings and the Word of God warns that “Man’s anger does not work God’s justice.” (James 1:20) and “When the righteous have a command, the people rejoice” (Proverbs 29:2a).

God bless Tanzania.

 

In this situation of unrest and grief, the congregations and local groups in the ELCT are preparing meetings of prayer and worship in their local communities, to find a way through all that is happening. We ask you and the whole UEM communion to join our member church ELCT as they pray for peace, dialogue and mutual respect in Tanzania.

Our press release about the current situations in Tanzania and Cameroon is available here.

 

*ELCT/ECD = Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania, Eastern and Coastal Diocese