🇹🇿 Tanzania: Catholic Gathering on Election Day Raises Strategic Alarm
🕵🏾♂️ Intelligence Brief | 30 September 2025 | 0330 BST
🇹🇿 Tanzania: Catholic Gathering on Election Day Raises Strategic Alarm
On 21 September 2025, the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam published its liturgical bulletin for the final week of October. Within it was a planned large-scale spiritual gathering scheduled for 29 October 2025 — the same day Tanzanians are expected to vote in the general election.
The event, framed as a “spiritual formation workshop,” is scheduled to take place at Kristo Mfalme Parish in Tabata, starting at 08:00 EAT — precisely when polling stations open. While the Church maintains that the event is non-political, the timing and scale have raised serious concerns about potential voter suppression, especially in urban centres where Catholic voters are both numerous and influential.