MARITAL DISPUTES: Samia stresses divine role

RUKWA: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has called on religious leaders in the country to devise measures of addressing increasing marital disputes in a bid to build a better nation.

President Samia made the statement on Sunday in Sumbawanga District, Rukwa Region through a speech read on her behalf by Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr Jerry Silaa, during a mass to install Reverend Imani Kiboba as Bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) in Lake Tanganyika Diocese.

Bishop Kibona replaces Bishop Ambele Mwaipopo, who has retired from service.

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In her speech, President Samia stated that many families face various challenges that needed spiritual interventions. In a 2022 report on families, there was an indication that from 2020 to 2022, more than half of Tanzanians with right ages to marry did not do so.

According to the president, this number represented 61 per cent in urban areas and 55 per cent in rural areas.

“Those who are in marriage engage in conflicts. From the year 2020 to 2023, a total of 39,579 marital disputes were recorded,” she stated, adding, in the first quarter of 2023/24 there were 28,773 marital cases.

Dr Samia said the situation has been largely contributed by failure to follow God’s teachingssomething which fuels brutal acts and immorality within society.

For instance, statistics from the police force show that in 2023, there were 30,569 cases of gender violence. President Samia went on calling upon parents and religious leaders to ensure they fulfil their responsibilities and prioritise resolving challenges facing the families.

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“Faith leaders have to rethink about this because of the increasing number of these incidents. If families are destroyed, this means that we are producing poor societies and this affects the whole nation,” she stressed.

On his part, Bishop Kibona stated that the church must come forward and condemn family conflicts because the issue retards country’s development.

He said the social media is supposed to be used as platform to spread the word of God, which carries a message of love, hope and peace in the globe. Bishop Kibona advised the government to ensure it takes legal measures against individuals, who use social media platforms for mayhem in the society and insulting religious leaders.

On the other hand, he thanked President Samia for investing heavily on transport infrastructures, a situation which has improved transportation services countrywide.

Commenting, Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), Bishop Dr Alex Malasusa, commended government’s efforts in unifying the nation regardless of ethnic, religious and political differences.

Dr Malasusa said the situation has enabled religious leaders of different faiths to come together in different occasions and play together.