News-Latest

Philemon Mushi was short of words and seemingly could not explain what had happened.

As hundreds milled around the Catholic Church premises after the grenade attack last Sunday with the bomb experts busy collecting various samples, he was indeed  a shocked man.

"It is a great loss.  We don't know who is behind this and the motive", he said as he leaned against one of the doors of the church at Olasiti church shortly after the 10:40 am blast.

For Mr. Mushi, a senior research scientist with the Arusha-based Selian Agricultural Research Institute, there are reasons why the attack had devastated him and the church.

He is the chairman of the parish for which the new church had been built and like hundreds of other church followers, they were waiting for the opening with high hopes and prospects.

Police detectives investigating a bomb blast at the Olasiti Catholic Church last Sunday.

Apparently it has taken him and other church officials a long time to have the  building constructed after raising millions of shillings from well wishers in Arusha and beyond.

Although the church building was not blasted, the impact of what bomb experts and other security officials say was a grenade attack, the deadly attack was devastating.

"It has taken us months to prepare for this event. We had invited between 3,000 and 4,000 guests for a luncheon. Now  we don't know what to do", he said.

However, he was emphatic there were some policemen in charge of the security in the area, especially given the presence of the Vatican Ambassador to Tanzania Franciso Padilla "as the normal protocol demands".

Mr. Gesso Bajuta, a leading agro-vet dealer based here and who was among the first people to reach the scene, warned that the attack would have serious consequences to Arusha and the country as a whole.

"It has never happened. This is very dangerous for our country. The government should act fast on this because it is intolerable", he pointed out. Daniel Sabuni, a sales executive with the Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL)  who lives not very far from the attacked church, said many people ordered their respective families home after the attack.

"I attended the mass at Sombetini parish. My family was on the way to the church but I have to order them back home after receiving a phone call about the blast. I rushed there only to find people running here and there some of them bleeding", he said.

The Catholic Church in Arusha came out strongly to condemn the fatal attack.

National and regional leaders at the scene of the bomb blast at Olasiti.
Seated from right is the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda; Lazaro Nyalandu,
Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism; Namelok Sokoine,
Special Seat MP; Stephen Wassira, State Minister President's Office;
Catherine Magige, MP Special Seats; and Edward Lowassa former
Prime Minister and MP for Monduli.

"Who is behind  this act of terrorism? Our government should tell us and ensure our security", lamented  Archbishop Josephat Lebulu of the Arusha Diocese when he talked to reporters at the Mt. Meru Regional Hospital on Monday  where scores were admitted for treatment.

He called on the Tanzania government to improve security around the churches and other places of worship given the increasing attacks on the innocent believers despite repeated pleas by the clergy on the deteriorating situation.

" We value the human life", he said, insisting, however, that security must be tightened "so that there are no such attacks on the places of worship again".

Archbishop Lebulu spoke after visiting scores of people admitted at the hospital for injuries sustained during the blast outside the newly-completed Catholic church on the outskirts of the city shortly before its official opening by the Vatican ambassador to Tanzania Francisco Padilla.

A blast went off outside the main door of the church as the envoy, who was the chief guest, was about to cut a tape to inaugurate the building at around 10:40 am. Scores of people had converged at the main door to witness the event  scampered for safety.

The Vatican envoy, who escaped unhurt, spent some time on Sunday at the Arusha regional hospital to console the victims  but declined to speak. Security was tight during the hour long visit.

Remarks by Archibishop Lebulu were the first to be made by the leadership of the Catholic Church since the attack on the new parish building which has sent shock waves across Arusha and beyond with some people now believing the houses of worship were no longer safe.
 

Mount Meru Regional Hospital Doctor in-Charge, Joseph Mlay receiving 30 mattresses worth Tsh.3.7 million,
from the AICC staff, for hospital use by victims of the church bombing on May 5

Until Tuesday three deaths had been  confirmed  and that those admitted have dropped from 66 on Sunday to 41. Some of them have been admitted at the KCMC Hospital in Moshi and St. Elizabeth and Selian Lutheran hospitals, both in Arusha. Many of the casualties were admitted at the Mount Meru hospital.

Business continued as usual in Arusha for the rest of the week as many people pondered on the incident. Until Tuesday, nearly 10 suspects had been arrested, four of them foreigners.

A hotelier Mr. Walter Maeda, and an elder with the Lutheran Church here, said he was worried many people would fear going to church buildings to attend Mass.

Simon Mapolu, a business consultant in Arusha said many people had been outraged by the attack  and urged the government to explain who is behind it. "The government should also tighten security".

Rev. Elibariki Gayewi, a Lutheran Church pastor from Hanang argued that the government authorities should act hard against people attacking places of worship, adding that he believed not much has been done to address the worrying situation.

Courtesy: Arusha Times