Joseph Isangura
Despite the recent deregistration of his church, Bishop Josephat Gwajima, the current Member of Parliament for Kawe, has been cleared by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to seek re-election in the upcoming 2025 Tanzanian General Election.
The clarification came from Kinondoni District, located in Dar es Salaam, where party leadership held an internal meeting on June 11, 2025. Following the meeting, District CCM Chairman, Mr. Shaweji Mkumbura, announced that Gwajima, like every other party member, is eligible to collect nomination forms and participate in the selection process scheduled to run from June 28 to July 2.
“Collecting nomination forms is the constitutional right of every CCM member,” Mr. Mkumbura told Mwananchi Newspaper. “Bishop Gwajima enjoys equal rights. We are focused on promoting transparency and internal democracy.”
Mr. Mkumbura’s remarks came amid party debates over Gwajima’s performance as an MP. Several CCM members raised concerns that some of the promises Gwajima made during his 2020 election campaign were never fulfilled and were not aligned with the official CCM manifesto. However, Mkumbura clarified that no formal directive has been issued from the party’s top leadership to block his nomination.
The controversy intensified after the Registrar of Societies, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, deregistered Gwajima’s church — the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church, also known as Ufufuo na Uzima — on June 2, 2025. The decision followed a series of sermons in which Bishop Gwajima sharply criticized state security agencies, accusing them of involvement in abductions and enforced disappearances of civilians.
Also Read; Ahmedabad Air Disaster Claims 265 Lives, Modi Mourns
The Bishop’s legal team filed a case at the High Court in Dodoma, seeking to overturn the deregistration. But on June 13, the court dismissed the case, citing inconsistencies in the church’s name on the registration and court documents. Presiding Judge Juliana Masabo ruled that the petition lacked legal precision.
Adding to the complexity, Mr. Mkumbura revealed that Bishop Gwajima has been largely absent from both constituency engagements and official party activities, including the CCM National Congress, held on January 18, 2025. Despite several attempts to reach him through the party office, no response has been received.
Bishop Gwajima is not just a politician but also one of Tanzania’s most prominent Pentecostal church leaders, with more than 2,000 church branches nationwide and abroad. While critics accuse him of blending politics with the pulpit, his supporters argue that he represents the voice of ordinary Tanzanians, especially on issues of accountability and justice.
As CCM opens the nomination process in late June, Gwajima’s fate within the party may ultimately rest on both the vetting committee’s judgment and the outcome of his ongoing legal battles. Until then, he remains a controversial—but legally eligible—figure in Tanzania’s political landscape.
