Catholic priest in court over sexual abuse of students in Tanzania
Tuesday September 27 2022
A Catholic priest was arraigned in a Tanzanian court on September 26, 2022 over allegations of raping and sexually assaulting children. PHOTO | NMG
A Catholic priest was arraigned Monday at the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Moshi over allegations of raping and sexually assaulting more than 10 children.
He had been in police custody since September 20.
His arraignment came after he was accused of giving a Standard Six pupil and a Form One student Tsh3,000 ($1.29) and Tsh5,000 ($2.14), respectively, for sexual favours.
The children had been attending First Holy Communion and Confirmation classes.
Regional Commissioner Nurdin Babu said “it is a disgraceful incident”.
Parents had raised the alarm that the priest had abused many students and planned to march in protest to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa’s office before the priest was arrested.
Sources said that the parents had reported the allegations to the leadership of the Catholic Church in Moshi and to the police.