Prophets of doom, please sit down

WITH general elections scheduled for October 29, some Tanzanians have already voted in the court of public delusion, armed with hashtags, megaphones, pulpits and worryingly, zero evidence.

Here, armed with vague visions and dramatic dreams, these spiritual influencers are declaring political outcomes like they are ordering food: “God told me candidate X will lose horribly,” or “the heavens showed me party Y is collapsing next Tuesday, just wait.” Let us be clear: Prayer is powerful. But prophecy is not an alternative to the National Electoral Commission.

When preachers and “faith leaders” become part-time pollsters and full-time panic merchants, they do more harm than holy work. We respect religion.

Tanzania is a deeply spiritual nation. But spirituality should not be weaponised to spread fear, fan flames, or push political agendas. There is no verse in the Bible or the Qur’an that says: “Thou shalt guess the election results and post them on TikTok.”

To those predicting “unrest”, “divine judgment”, or “explosive outcomes”, kindly provide sources, other than your dreams after a suspiciously heavy dinner. Let us not forget: Tanzania has a solid, admirable history of peaceful elections. We argue, we campaign, we sometimes get heated, but when the time comes, we queue, vote and return home.

Ask the ballot box, not your breakfast vision. Patriotism means preserving that peace, not preheating chaos with fake prophecies. We also need to address the whisper campaigners, especially the ones spreading juicy (and unfounded) gossip like: “Soand-so from Party X is defecting tomorrow!” or “Party Y is eating itself alive!” Let us ask: Who benefits from these stories? The voter? The country? Or the person who gains five new followers after going viral with their fictional “scoop”?

It is one thing to debate politics, and it is another to manufacture imaginary earthquakes under your opponent’s camp. If a politician is defecting, we will hear it from them. Not from a blurry video on WhatsApp captioned “Leaked!” by someone with a cartoon profile picture. We must seriously note that elections are not Instagram drama series.

Tanzania is not an unstable republic hanging on divine predictions and party gossip. We are a mature democracy. Yes, we have our issues. But our strength lies in our ability to solve them without selfappointed doomsday narrators and political fiction writers masquerading as spiritual guides.

The elections are coming. Campaigns will intensify. Emotions will rise. But this is not a spiritual thriller, nor a social media showdown. It is democracy. It is voting. It is a nation choosing its leaders.

And we have done it before with maturity, dignity and peace. So, here is a humble suggestion to the prophets of politics: Maybe take October off. Fast from foretelling. Abstain from announcing dreams that conveniently align with your personal preferences. To the rumourmongers: Be patriotic. Gossip is not a civic duty.

And to every Tanzanian: Let us embrace the election season with the grace we are known for. Be critical, be engaged, but most importantly be peaceful.