Bishop Bagonza has crafted a dirge for a nation that looks holistically at the unintended effects of hammering CCM’s perceived enemies who have now been transformed into instantaneous political celebrities.
He cited Polepole, Bishop Gwajima, Tundu Lissu and Chadema who had little traction until CCM began to persecute them. It is in the CCM manufacturing factories of political repression that those persecuted have become a “darling of a nation and abroad.”
Laws are now being legislated to muzzle dissenters who are clamouring for pluralism. As a result, brute force has supplanted reasoning. This article reproduces his “mournful song” in both Kiswahili and English versions, and peels off its shrouded message.
In CCM’s flag there is a “hammer” signifying the role of workers as part of its emblematic coalition. However, when repression runs amok the same hammer is an embodiment of political autocracy.
The Bishop Bagonza Dirge in Kiswahili:
“NA ASKOFU BAGONZA
POLE POLE AMEISHASEMA: Wekeni Nyundo Chini.
Nyundo ni alama mojawapo ya CCM. Inawakilisha wafanyakazi. Nyundo haikumaanisha kupiga wenye maoni tofauti. Nashauri tusitumie nyundo kumaliza tofauti zetu za maoni.
Kwa nini?
1. Mimi nilikuwa nampuuza Ndg Polepole aliposema “atasema”. Historia ilinisumbua. Alikuwa rafiki yangu akiwa tume ya Warioba. Baadaye tulipotezana kwa sababu hakuwa huru na nilihisi anauchukia uhuru wangu. Niliposikia dada yake ametekwa na kutishwa nikashawishika kumsikiliza. Tuache kutumia nyundo. Tunasababisha wanaopigwa nyundo wasikilizwe, wahurumiwe, waheshimiwe na kufuatiliwa.
2. Nilikuwa nampuuza sana Askofu Gwajima. Sikumchukia wala kumpenda. Hakuwahi kutoa sauti kutetea wahanga wa serikali iliyopita. Aliposimama kutetea wanaotekwa, sikumwamini. Walipofunga kanisa lake wakanishawishi nianze kumsikiliza, kumhurumia na kuwashangaa wanaotumia nyundo kuzuia watu kuabudu.
3. Tundu Lisu alipochaguliwa nilishauri “tusimharibie kwa sababu ana uwezo wa kujiharibia”. Kwenye mikutano alikuwa anasikilizwa bila kuzingatiwa. Kundi la G55 lilikuwa linakigawa chama kwa kasi. Wengine walienda CCM na wengine CHAUMA. Walipomkamata na kumfungulia uhaini, nikashawishika kumsikiliza Lisu na No Reform yake. Akapata wafuasi wengi kuliko ambao angewapata akiwa mikutanoni. Nyundo ikavutia wengi kumhurumia, kumpenda na kumwombea. Kila siku ya kesi analihutubia taifa na watu wanachukua notisi kwenye madaftari.
4. CDM ikafungiwa ruzuku, viongozi wake wakatumbuliwa na msajili wakati hakuwateua, chama kikazuiwa kushiriki siasa. Waliokiasi wakabebwa kwa mbeleko hadharani. Hizi nyundo zoooote zikaisaidia CDM kufuatiliwa ndani na nje.
Kimsingi, Tuna mtambo wa kuwabadili wapuuzi wawe watu wa maana. Na mtambo huo ni CCM na serikali yake.
Acheni watu waongee, wajibiwe na wenzao, siyo kujibiwa na vyombo vinavyotumia nyundo.
CCM ina hazina ya makada wenye uwezo wa kujibu hoja. Kazi ya CCM isifanywe na vyombo. Vyombo vinaleta taharuki. Tuache kuifanya siasa kuwa jinai. Tuache kuifanya sheria kuwa siasa.
Wameibuka waoteshwaji wanaoota mabaya yawapate watu fulani. Na jingine linaota mazuri kwa baadhi ya watu. Mungu wetu hana roho mbaya kama ya Bagonza. Wanaoota wanachanganya siasa na sala.
Mungu Haongeki na hapokei maelekezo. Kwake ni HAKI tu. Mapenzi yake tu yatimizwe.
Mwaka wa uchaguzi wapaswa kuwa mwaka wa raha na shamra shamra. Si hofu na mizengwe.” End of quotation.
English Version:
“POLE POLE had counselled “Put the Hammer Down!”
The hammer is one of the symbols of CCM. It represents workers. The hammer shouldn’t mean pulverizing those with different opinions. I advise we stop using the hammer to settle our differences of opinion.
Why?
1. I used to dismiss Ndg Polepole when he said “he will speak”. History troubled me. He was my friend during the Warioba Commission. Later we fell out because he wasn’t free and I felt he despised my freedom. When I heard his sister was abducted and threatened, I was persuaded to listen to him. “Let’s stop using the hammer.” We cause those bludgeoned with the hammer to be listened to, pitied, respected, and followed.
2. “I used to dismiss Bishop Gwajima a lot.” I was previously indifferent towards him. He never spoke out to defend victims of the previous government. When he stood up to defend those being abducted, I didn’t trust him. “When they closed his church, they persuaded me to start listening to him, pitying him, and utterly surprised at those using hammers to prevent people from worshipping.”
3. When Tundu Lissu was elected, I advised “let’s not ruin him because he has the capacity to ruin himself”. In meetings, he was heard but not heeded. The G55 group was rapidly rupturing CHADEMA. Some went to CCM and others to CHAUMMA. “When they arrested him and charged him with treason, I was persuaded to listen to Lissu and his “No Reform” campaign.
He gained many more followers than he would have gotten at political hustings. The hammer attracted many to sympathize with him, adore him, and pray for him. Every court day he addresses the nation and people take notes in their notebooks.
4. CDM’s [CHADEMA’s] operations were banned, its leaders were deregistered by the registrar (who hadn’t appointed them), the party was banned from politics.” The few who remained were tucked publicly in slings. “All these hammers helped CDM gain more followers and popularity both domestically and internationally.”
“Fundamentally, we have a system that transforms those we patronize into political celebs. And that system is CCM and its government.”
“Let people speak, let them be answered by their representatives, not by institutions that weaponize hammers.”
CCM has a treasure trove of capable cadres who can counter arguments. The work of CCM shouldn’t be done by state institutions. Institutions bring tension. “Let’s stop criminalizing politics. Let’s stop politicizing of the jurisprudence.”
“Sowers have emerged who curse omens to befall certain people.” And other sower bless good things for some other people. “Our God does not have an evil spirit like Bagonza’s.” Those who sow blend politics and prayer. “God is not manipulated and does not obey instructions. For Him, only JUSTICE matters. Only HIS WILL is done.”
An election year should be a year of ease and festivity. Not provoking fear and schemes.” End of quotation.
Key Translation Notes:
* “*Ndg:” Abbreviation for “Ndugu” (Comrade/Brother/Sister).
* *”Pole Pole:
Refers to a specific person (likely a politician or activist), using the nickname meaning “Slowly Slowly“. The phrase “Ameishasema” means “He has already spoken“.
* Warioba:
Refers to the Warioba Commission (a constitutional review commission).
* “G55:”
Refers to a group of Chadema leaders who absconded and joined other political parties protesting against the “No Reform No Election” campaign (a splintering group emerged around 2025, months ahead of the general elections).
* CDM:
CHADEMA (opposition party).
* Kubebwa kwa mbeleko:
Literally “carried in a sling“, implies unmerited favouritism or being carried in tailcoats of the ruling party, CCM helplessly.
* Waoteshwaji / Wanaoota:
“Sowers” – those who plant seeds (metaphorically, causing events to happen). In this particular case the Sowers are deceivers parlaying the word of God through misinterpretation to justify political unrighteousness. In their oracles, there is a brazen commercialization of the gospel of the Lord Christ Jesus.
While the ministry of the Lord Christ Jesus teaches miracles were free this false sect charges for them violating key doctrine of the Word Of God. Paradoxically, this deceptive sect has influence on the political establishment of CCM! It also in some way narrates why errants flock in CCM.
* Bagonza:
Refers to the author in allegorical parables: the chastised clerical figure like the psalmist (possibly a religious figure known for critical views? Context suggests the psalmist contrasts God’s nature with this person’s perceived satirical “evil spirit”). It behoves a self-deprecating portrayal atypical of men of God in Christian faith where humility is revered and bragging is reproached.
* Mungu Haongeki:
“God is not corrupted or mocked or manipulated/deceived/tricked”. He is Righteous at all times and occasions!
My Personal Understanding of Bishop Bagonza’s Dirge.
Based on my analysis of Bishop Bagonza’s Kiswahili psalm, he “directly argues that CCM’s deployment of state repression (“nyundo,” or hammer) unintentionally manufactures political celebrities and amplifies opposition popularity”. Here’s a breakdown of his perspective, supported by evidence from his text and contextual reasoning:
🔨 1. The “Hammer” as a Counterproductive Tool.
– Bagonza states CCM’s hammer (state instruments like police, courts, and repression) “symbolizes worker solidarity but is misused to suppress dissent”.
He contends this approach backfires: “Nyundo ikavutia wengi kumhurumia, kumpenda na kumwombea” (The hammer attracted many to empathize, admire, and pray for the persecuted).
– Result:
Repression generates public sympathy, transforming marginalized figures into influential symbols of defiance.
🎯 2. Case Studies of “Manufactured Celebrity”.
– Tundu Lissu:
After his arrest and treason charges, Lissu gained more followers than he would have gained from his political rallies. Daily court appearances became platforms for national addresses, with citizens glued on their TVs “taking down notes” for future consultation.
– Bishop Gwajima:
Initially ignored, Gwajima gained credibility when his church was closed. State actions against him spurred public support and scrutiny of religious repression.
Previously, Gwajima struggled to win the public partially because of his hyperbolic claims about his divine powers of resurrecting dead people, loaded with cash to purchase bullet trains and airplanes not excluding his shambolic entry in politics. Mixing politics and religion reduced him into an “object of ridicule and a merchant of hire”. Not anymore, a gratitude of CCM overreach.
Few took him seriously then but after his churches were banned, he has become a nation’s compass standing against excesses of the regime. Now he is saying he will not be silenced so long as human rights atrocities are committed, taking the whole nation with him in his stride.
– CHADEMA (CDM):
When deregistered and blocked from politics, a handful of its leaders who left Chadema for greener pastures elsewhere faced public humiliation (“kubebwa kwa mbeleko“). Those leaders were perceived to be aided by CCM. This drew domestic/international attention, boosting Chadema’s visibility and credibility as people’s true representatives!
⚙️ 3. Systemic Mechanism.
– Bagonza identifies a “mtambo wa kuwabadili wapuuzi wawe watu wa maana” (system to transform the “inconsequentials” into substantial figures). He blames CCM and its government for harnessing this delusion, where repression “replaces political debate with institutional coercion”.
– This aligns with a report on Tanzania’s 2017 human rights decline, noting increased restrictions on assembly, expression, and security under state actions.
⚖️ 4. Critique of State-Politics Fusion.
– He condemns CCM for outsourcing political disputes to state organs (“Vyombo vinaleta taharuki” – Institutions instigate tension and apprehension). This “criminalizes politics” and “politicizes law”, undermining democratic accountability.
– Solution:
CCM should deploy intellectual cadres (“hazina ya makada“) to debate rivals—not state “hammers.”
✝️ 5. Theological Rebuke of Repression.
– Bagonza contrasts God’s commitment to justice (“Mungu wetu hana roho mbaya” – Our God has no evil spirit) with leaders who “sow evil” (“waoteshwaji wanaoota mabaya”). He sternly warns against mixing politics with prayer, implying state repression is both immoral, counterproductive and self-defeating.
💎 Conclusion.
Bagonza “does not” portray CCM’s celebrity manufacturing as a “deliberate ploy” but as an “unintended consequence of repression”. By using state tools to crush dissent, CCM fuels public sympathy, elevates opponents, and erodes civil liberties—corroborated by Tanzania’s documented human rights decline. His call to “acha watu waongee” (let people speak) underscores that free discourse, not persecution, resolves political differences.
🔨 How I Settled On The Article Titling!
Based on Bishop Bagonza’s seminal critique of political repression and his calls for justice, the most resonant titles would intertwine his central metaphors—”the hammer (nyundo)”, “spiritual defiance”, and “the paradox of persecution creating solidarity”. Here are my strongest options, distilled from his narrative and current context:
1. When CCM Hammers Forge Martyrs: Bagonza’s Dirge for a Nation at the Anvil.
“Captures the irony of state repression (“hammer”) elevating victims to martyrdom while framing Tanzania itself as being traumatized—or broken—by this violence.”
2. “Dirge of the Unseen: Resurrection Hymns from Bagonza’s Shadowed Pulpit”.
“References his fear of “Wasiojulikana” (the mysterious abductors), while positioning his voice as spiritual resistance against forces of the “kingdom of darkness.”
3. “Planting Justice in Barren Soil: The Sower’s Lament for Tanzania’s Fractured Soul“.
Echoes his agricultural metaphor contrasting those who “sow evil” with his own sowing of justice, framing his dirge as both grief and cultivation.”
🎯 Why These Resonate with Bagonza’s Message.
– The Hammer Paradox:
Bagonza meticulously argues that state violence (symbolized by CCM’s hammer) backfires, transforming the persecuted—like Tundu Lissu—into symbols of hope. Titles invoking the hammer acknowledge this perverse alchemy.
– Spiritual Resistance:
As a bishop facing death threats for condemning abductions, his dirge merges pastoral duty with political defiance. Titles referencing “resurrection” or “pulpits” reflect this fusion of faith and rebellion.
– Generational Injustice:
His warnings about cyclical violence (“Phases 5 and 6”) frame Tanzania’s crisis as a recurring tragedy. Titles evoking “soil” or “souls” hint at roots deeper than any single regime.
⚖️ Key Themes to Include.
For any title, integrate these elements from Bagonza’s struggle:
| No. | Theme. | Bagonza’s Words. | Context. |
| 1.0 | State Repression. | “Nyundo haikumaanisha kupiga wenye maoni” (The hammer isn’t for beating dissenters). | Condemns weaponization of state tools. |
| 2.0 | Unintended Martyrs. | “Nyundo” ikavutia wengi kumhurumia” (The hammer attracted sympathy). | Persecution fuels public sympathy. |
| 3.0 | Sacred Defiance. | “Waniite nitatoka nijikabidhi” (If they come for me, I’ll surrender). | Willingness to face abductors |
💎 My Final Pick.
“When CCM Hammers Forge Martyrs: Bagonza’s Dirge for a Nation At The Mercy Of An Anvil“.
This title best distills his core thesis: “violence intended to silence instead shapes icons of resistance”. It honors his metaphor while evoking the sacred weight of his lament—a funeral song for democracy, yet an anthem for courage.
For a subtitle or epigraph, pair with his own words:
> “A nation without freedom becomes dead—equivalent to just a piece of land.”
Read more analysis by Rutashubanyuma Nestory
