STATEMENT:Why fuss about bishops’ stand?

Presidents Jakaya Kikwete and Ali Mohamed Shein launch the proposed Constitution after it was presented to them by Constituent Assembly chairman Samuel Sitta in Dodoma last year. PHOTO | FILE 

By Mwassa Jingi

In Summary

This situation was evidenced by the government’s reaction after what transpired on March 10, when bishops from the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) and the Council of Pentecostal Churches in Tanzania (CPCT) under their auspices of the Tanzania
Christian Forum (TCF) reiterated their call on the government not to rush in holding a referendum at this moment, when the country was divided on the contents of the proposed Constitution and also other challenges pertaining to updating of the voters’ register through a biometric system.

Dar es Salaam. Of late, there have been misunderstandings between government officials and religious leaders on a campaign for or against the proposed Constitution before the time assigned for it.

This situation was evidenced by the government’s reaction after what transpired on March 10, when bishops from the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) and the Council of Pentecostal Churches in Tanzania (CPCT) under their auspices of the Tanzania Christian Forum (TCF) reiterated their call on the government not to rush in holding a referendum at this moment, when the country was divided on the contents of the proposed Constitution and also other challenges pertaining to updating of the voters’ register through a biometric system.

Those bishops went even as far as asking their followers to vote against the proposed Constitution if the government did not listen to stakeholders’ views to improve the registration process and postpone the referendum scheduled for April 40.

Following such a pronouncement by eminent bishops, the government through the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, expressed how she and the whole government found such religious leaders’ stand irksome and disturbing. She, however, commented that religious leaders had no mandate to direct their followers and Tanzanians in general how to vote during the referendum. What actually Dr Migiro meant was that the time for Yes or No campaign had not yet arrived, thus it was wrong for bishops to pre-campaign.

Furthermore, the government stand was echoed by Rev Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, who blasted his fellow bishops for directing Tanzanians how to vote for the referendum. He said people were to be left free to decide on the referendum issue and as such his fellow bishops had no such right to tell the people how to vote on the referendum day.

His stand is well known from the beginning. He has decided to go alone against his fellow bishops within TEC, when it comes to the constitution-making issue for he is for a two-government Union structure, as is for the ruling party.

As per the law, it is true that time for Yes or No campaign is not yet announced. But while the government has been irked by the religious leaders’ campaign before the campaign, the same government has forgotten that it has begun its Yes campaign before and after the issuance of the proposed Constitution. Immediately after the members of Constituent Assembly (CA) finished their work of framing the document, they concluded their session by dancing and celebrating their achievement right in the National Assembly auditorium and then pledged to go out and a run campaign for a YES vote until the referendum day.

Exceedingly, the launch of the proposed Constitution was more than a YES campaign for the referendum. The way the handing-over of the proposed Constitution to the Presidents Jakaya Kikwete and Dr Ali Mohamed Shein was well prepared and coloured with every kind of affectation under the chairmanship of Samuel Sitta, one would think that was a day of launching a new Constitution and not just the proposed Constitution that would wait for its approval through a referendum.

Both speeches by our Presidents were very clear, urging all Tanzanians to vote for the proposed Constitution on the referendum day. From there onwards, the government and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) leaders at all levels had been conducting a YES campaign throughout the country and nobody has raised an issue. Now if the then members of the CA, government officials and ruling party cadres at all levels have been conducting a YES campaign before the campaign time, they should, therefore, understand that such behaviour has logically legitimated the opposite campaign to take place as well before the legally set time for the campaign.

From the foregoing, both the government and Cardinal Pengo have no moral authority to pointing an accusing finger at the bishops and other leaders, who may publicly come out and tell people to vote against the proposed Constitution. Worst enough, the government has been using its media to air a YES campaign throughout the country, influencing people for a YES vote on the referendum day.

With the ever going on YES campaign since October 8 last year to date, there is every reason for those opposed to the proposed Constitution to campaign and vote against it so that the CA is held again to work on and improve it before holding a referendum.

Constitutionally, every person is free to express their opinion on any national issue like this of constitution-making process. Our leaders must know that the law should always remain a double-edged saw that can cut whosoever negligently touches it. Since the government launched a YES campaign on day one, it should tolerate when other Tanzanians urge their followers to vote against the proposed Constitution

It should, however, be understood that the way the constitution-making process was conducted, it has already angered the majority of the citizenry and that is why the bishops from mainstream denominations are against the proposed document. Since our political leaders in the ruling party have decided not to listen to stakeholders by hijacking the constitution-making process, let them now face a music coming from religious leaders, who cannot just keep quiet, leaving the ruling class to manipulate the entire constitution-writing process for political interests.

These political leaders were been told from the beginning that the country’s Constitution, by and large, was a consensus issue, that no one group should absolutely manipulate the process by ignoring the rest. Because our leaders have decided to drag the whole nation into their own way of making the constitution, that is why the country is rifting every day as days for the referendum draw nearer.

The author is a lawyer/journalist. He can be reached at mwassajingi@yahoo.com, 0756 440 175.