Tanzania (MNN) — Tanzania is reeling after a deadly election season. The incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was declared the winner of the October 29 election with 98 percent of the vote — a result the opposition called fraudulent.
A busy street around the markets of Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. (Photo, caption courtesy of Aron Marinelli/Unsplash)
Protests erupted, and the UN human rights office says hundreds of protestors have been killed. Many more were detained, and at least 240 have been charged with treason.
Egide Bandyatuyaga with Trans World Radio (TWR) says, “Treason charges are very heavy and very serious charges. I don’t know the provision from the Tanzanian law, but from what I know from other places, treason charges may carry the death penalty or a life sentence.”
For Tanzanian civilians and families, the unrest has made daily life harder.
“When there is unrest in the country… shops will not open,” Bandyatuyaga explains. “The market — on which many people rely for the purchase of the goods they use at home — will also not open. So the ordinary people [are] affected.”
TWR serves Tanzania with Gospel radio broadcasts in multiple languages, even in remote areas.
Bandyatuyaga believes the crisis could open new doors for faith in Tanzania, where 50% of the population does not follow Jesus.
“When people are faced with difficulties, there is this tendency of being open to the Gospel because, for example, if someone is desperate or he can’t find any other solution to his problem, he tends to turn to divine intervention.”
Trans World Radio has been broadcasting Gospel hope in Tanzania since 2010. (Photo courtesy of TWR)
He asks, “Please be with us in prayer as we continue to minister to the people of Tanzania. Pray with us for the provision of needed funds so that we can reach more people in the country of Tanzania, and pray with us so that their hearts can continue to be drawn to listen to the Gospel.”
Learn more about TWR’s ministry.
Header photo: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Photo courtesy of Peter Mitchell/Unsplash)
