The two have been missing since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023.
Dar es Salaam. Families of Tanzanian nationals kidnapped by Hamas have talked about the difficult times they endure as they wait impatiently for positive news concerning their loved ones.
Joshua Mollel, 21, and Clemence Mtenga, 22, went to Israel in September this year for an internship programme in agriculture.
The two have been missing since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023.
They are among at least 240 persons taken hostage by Hamas fighters, according to the Israeli government.
The pair were in the country for an agricultural internship programme, the Israeli government said on X, formerly Twitter, on October 29.
The government of Tanzania has yet to confirm if they were taken hostage, but it has said that two nationals in Israel are missing.
“We are living uncertainly, waiting to hear good news about him,” Clemence’s older sister, Ms Christina Mtenga, told The Citizen.
Clemence is a graduate of a horticulture degree and went to upgrade his skills in the agriculture sector. Christina, 29, last communicated with Clemence on October 1 and has since had no idea of her young brother’s whereabouts.
“We are just waiting because this is beyond our powers. We are passing through tough times, but we trust and pray that they come safely,” she said, adding that the family was blaming nobody for now.
Christina, who lives in Arusha, said the family members have been in frequent communication about the incident, but ultimately “we leave it to God.”
Praying for a truce
The father of Joshua said he is praying for a truce in Gaza as his family endures “sleepless nights” over the missing son.
“I would love to see the two fighting sides agree to end war and release all hostages,” Joshua’s father, Loitu Mollel, told AFP by phone.
“I feel bad all the time because my son is not a warrior. He just went for training but is now in trouble,” he added. Mr Mollel said his 21-year-old son was living in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz close to Gaza that was one of the areas attacked by the Palestinian militant group. The 50-year-old said he last spoke to his son on the evening of October 5, just two days before the Hamas onslaught.
Israeli authorities say more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in an attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, from the Gaza Strip. In response, the Israeli military has pounded Gaza, where the Hamas-controlled health ministry says more than 8,500 people have been killed by Wednesday, many of them children.
‘Difficult moments’
“As parents, we are having very challenging times living without any clue about the safety of our son,” Mr Mollel said.
A teacher by profession who works as an education officer in the northern Manyara region of Tanzania, Mr Mollel described his son as “polite, obedient, and serious” about his work.
Joshua, the oldest of five children, had finished a diploma in agriculture studies from a college in the eastern Tanzanian city of Morogoro and then left for Israel in September.
Mr Mollel said once the Israeli internship was finished, Joshua wanted to find his fortune in agriculture as either a farmer or an expert in the field.
“My relatives and friends have been consoling us, and we ask them to keep Joshua in their prayers so that he returns home safely,” he said. The two families confirmed that the government of Tanzania has been in regular contact with them during the traumatic situation.
Last week, the ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation issued a statement saying it was aware of the “two missing Tanzanian nationals who are among 260 Tanzanian students studying modern agriculture methods and techniques in Israel.”
“The government has been working with relevant authorities and other parties to ascertain their whereabouts and bring them to safety,” the ministry said in the statement.
“These efforts are ongoing, and the ministry is in constant communication with their families to update them on these efforts,” it added. So far, nine Tanzanians living in Israel have returned home with the assistance of the government, it said.
