INTELLIGENCE BRIEF: Police Siege on Gwajima’s Church Escalates Tanzania’s Political and Religious Crisis
Ujasusi Blog Intelligence Desk | 3 June 2025
I. Executive Summary
On the night of 2 June 2025, Tanzanian police forces surrounded the headquarters of the Glory of Christ Church (Ufufuo na Uzima) in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam. This development followed an official government order to revoke the church’s registration earlier that same day. Eyewitness reports have since confirmed that over 30 heavily armed police officers, using at least three marked vehicles and several unmarked ones, were deployed to the scene. According to activist Maria Sarungi and verified social media videos, officers later fired tear gas canisters at peaceful congregants who had positioned themselves across the road from the church in protest.
These events are unfolding just 24 hours after Bishop Josephat Gwajima—a prominent Member of Parliament and senior CCM official—publicly renewed his vow to continue denouncing abductions, disappearances, and what he described as the state's increasing tolerance of authoritarianism. The aggressive police mobilisation, the use of crowd-control weapons, and the fact that a Christian sanctuary is at the centre of this operation have significantly intensified public outrage. The incident threatens to damage the perception of religious freedom in Tanzania and destabilise already fragile trust between religious institutions and the state.