As the region welcomes the year 2014, bombing incidents that occurred in different places and time last year have still etched deep scars in Arusha City residents’ minds.
Mr Magessa Mulongo
Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Magessa Mulongo, stated that the blasts which rocked the Olasiti Catholic Church on the outskirts of the city last May and those which exploded at a political rally in Kaloleni area a month later, were the most unfortunate happenings to have ever been experienced in the city.
The Olasiti Parish church was bombed by unknown people when its newly built church was being consecrated by the Vatican envoy to Tanzania, Archbishop Fransisco Padilla.
The incident happened on Sunday May 5, last year. The Kaloleni explosions rocked the city centre grounds of AICC Soweto where Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) party was holding its campaign rally on the June 16, last year, resulting in the deaths of four people.
“But those bombs, despite killing several people and seemingly targeted to throw the people of Arusha into religious and political animosity, failed to divide the masses and if anything, the residents’ solidarity has been reinforced,” assured Mr Mulongo.
The bombed church, which is now also a pilgrimage site, was re-inaugurated last week by the same envoy on the eve of the Arusha Catholic Archdiocese 50th anniversary.
On a positive note, the regional commissioner pointed out that Arusha had made great strides in improving the city centre’s infrastructure, including roads and bridges, with more efforts being made to construct new roads, especially highway bypass corridors to help cut down congestion in the city centre.
The 2012 National Population and Settlement census, whose findings were made public here in 2013, indicated that Arusha region has 1.7 million people while the city itself had 500,000 permanent residents.
Arusha city, according to the RC, is poised to host a number of major international meetings and conferences this year, to cement its position as East Africa’s hub for leisure and conference tourism.
By MARC NKWAME, Tanzania Daily News
