HEAD of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT), Bishop Dr Alex Malasusa has called for an end to the alarming rise in abductions and disappearances countrywide.

He was delivering an episcopal message at the funeral service for the late Bishop Dr Chediel Sendoro of the Mwanga Diocese who died from a car accident on September 9, when his Toyota Prado crashed head-on with a Scania truck at Kisangiro, Mwanga District, around 1:30 a.m. 

The late Bishop Sendoro was the son of retired Bishop Elinaza Sendoro, the first bishop of the East and Coastal Diocese, also sombrely present at the Mwanga Parish Cathedral service, where he did not make any remarks.

The ELCT head urged Dr Doto Biteko, the deputy prime minister who graced the occasion with two cabinet ministers, to communicate the concerns of the church to top leadership.

He pointed at the need for setting up a dialogue platform for resolving the widening crisis of individual safety and integrity of law enforcement, noting that the troubling incidents have become more frequent and concerning.

“They must come to an end, people including children in various corners of the country are reported to have been abducted and killed,” he declared.

Expressing collective church sorrow over the distressing news emerging, he said the episcopacy is overwhelmed with reports of deaths, particularly on the roads connecting our nation. “If we all take responsibility, we might be able to mitigate or even eliminate these problems,” he asserted.

At a different level, he talked of witnessing unprecedented incidents involving the terms ‘abduction’ and ‘disappearance,’ insisting that it is crucial that these practices end. 

“The church must pray over this situation,” he urged the gathering, underlining that spilling innocent blood is a curse on those who it. “We must pray fervently to prevent such a curse on our land.”

He called upon pastors and bishops to start holding special prayers in the coming Sundays to address the pressing issues, affirming that collective action and dialogue.

He pointed at the need to combat the rise in violence and abductions, including child theft and assaults on individuals, elaborating that other ELCT bishops need to voice their concerns and offer solutions on the matter.

Tanzania faces a period of anxiety and unrest, he said, with participants recalling that last week, the leading opposition party, Chadema issued calls for big demonstrations in the streets of Dar es Salaam in two weeks if there is no progress in investigations on the recent disappearances.

They must be thoroughly investigated and the missing party members either be returned alive or their bodies retrieved, with party chairman Freeman Mbowe telling a gathering at head offices that five party officials are missing.