Roman Catholic Church condemns child killings
The Roman Catholic Church Bishop for Njombe Diocese Alfred Maluma
What you need to know:
- Top Catholic Church leader in Njombe region has joined the fight against the reported killing of children, saying it is against God’s wishes and that the Church was shocked by the incidents.
Njombe. The Roman Catholic Church Bishop for Njombe Diocese Alfred Maluma said yesterday that the religious body condemned the brutal killing of children in Njombe and called upon residents to return to ‘their God’ if they are to coexist peacefully.
Meanwhile, the killings took a new turn at the weekend with some residents turning their anger on suspects.
Given Nyachi who is currently admitted at St Joseph Hospital in Wanging’ombe after being attacked by angry villagers said they suspected him of being one of the child killers.
Explaining the incident, Nyachi said he was a bodaboda rider and was hired by a passenger to take him to Lugoda Village. While on their way he was stopped by his passenger who said he wanted to speak to a women they met on the way.
“When I was waiting for the conversation between my passenger and a woman to end, I started hearing people shouting that I was a thief while others said I was responsible for the killing of children. That’s when they started beating me,” he said.
He said he was rescued by village leaders but his passenger was beaten to death.
Njombe Regional Commissioner Christopher Ole Sendeka said three people were killed by an angry mob in Njombe and Ludewa districts over allegations they had taken part in the child killings.
“I order people to stop mob justice because it is against the law,” he said.
And preaching during a Sunday prayer at the Roman Catholic Church in Njombe, Bishop Maluma expressed the church’s shock at incidents that have so far claimed the lives of about ten children within one month.
Bishop Maluma also called on religious leaders in Njombe Region to sit down and search their souls on why love had disappeared from the hearts of people.
‘Within our hearts, each religious leader should investigate why these killing are happening now. Why have our prayers not helped to avoid such incidents?” he queried.
“We have to think about what we preach to people, and whether our preachings have helped to change people’s lives,” he said.
Bishop Maluma also called on church members to unite during the difficult time instead of blaming each other.
He said the church would continue to condemn such incidents, saying people who were involved in the killings would not remain safe for the rest of their lives.
“I believe that security apparatus is going on with their its duties and I call on people to cooperate with state instruments to fight against the killers,” he said.
Eda Luvanda, a church member and resident of Mgendela Village in Njombe said it was painful to see how people were abandoning God to join Satan.
