Lowassa pleads with the public to maintain peace

Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa (pictured) yesterday called on the public remain calm through the difficult political times the country is going through following the farcical election re-run in Zanzibar and urged them to maintain peace and tranquility in the country.

He made the call at the Azania Front Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dar es Salaam where he attended Easter Monday mass and used the occasion for thanksgiving prayers.

Lowassa, who moved to the opposition and vied for the Union presidency in last year’s general elections via Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) said preserving peace is the only means of avoiding unnecessary disputes. 

   

“Every individual has the responsibility to maintain the existing peace, clerics always tell us about the importance of maintaining the prevailing peace, so we ought to act on their sermons knowing that peace is the only gift we are blessed with,” he said.

Responding to reporters’ questions on the current situation in Zanzibar following the election re-run, Lowassa called on people to be patient until further notification.

“Let us wait for a while, we’ll be notified,” he said.

Earlier, Bishop Jacob Mameo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) Diocese of Morogoro urged people to pray for the country’s peace and build a habit of being grateful for who they are and what they have.

CHADEMA National Chairman, Freeman Mbowe was among the members and leaders from the opposition who attended the Easter Monday mass at Azania Front.

A day before, President John Magufuli urged Tanzanians of all faiths, races and ethnicities to uphold brotherly and sisterly co-existence in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the country.

 The head of state made the call at the Azania Front Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dar es Salaam where he attended Easter mass despite being a Roman Catholic. 

“For us to make any progress as a nation, we must unite and respect each other, after all, we are one and the same before God,” the president asserted.

He stressed that if people opt to unite and work hard, Tanzania as a country will neither remain poor nor continue to depend on aid from rich countries.

He used a quote from the Bible to drum his message home by thus saying: “One who is unwilling to work, shall not eat,” quoting from 2 Thessalonians 3:10, amid thunderous applause from the church congregation.

“The country is so rich in resources that if everybody played their roles in a responsible manner, it could turn the corner and even become a donor member instead of recipient,” the president said.

Magufuli was welcomed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Archbishop of Eastern and Coastal Diocese, Dr Alex Malasusa, to greet the congregation at the end of the mass.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN