Tanzania - Late Bishop Justin Samba Initiated Beatification of President Nyerere (CISA, 26/08/06)

Bishop Justin Samba of Musoma who died on Wednesday initiated the cause for beatification of Tanzania’s founding president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. CISA correspondent John Mbonde in Dar es Salaam says the bishop was enthusiastic to see Mwalimu Nyerere canonized a saint. The Vatican approved the bishop’s request, and on January 21, 2006, the diocesan phase of the process opened in Butiama Village on the shores of Lake Victoria, where Nyerere was born in 1922 and was buried in 1999. A devout Catholic and leading African intellectual and statesman, Mwalimu (Teacher) Nyerere became the first prime minister of mainland Tanganyika in 1961. When Tanganyika and the Zanzibar islands united, he became president of the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964. While he is credited with, among many other things, making Tanzania one of the most politically stable and peaceful countries in the continent through his socialist philosophy of Ujamaa (collectivization), critics say the system stunted the country’s economic development. Bishop Samba who died at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam will be buried inside the Cathedral of Mary Mother of God Cathedral in Musoma on Thursday. He has been suffering from kidney problems for a long time. Bishop Samba, 55, took over Musoma Diocese in 1989. He served as president of Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) from 1994 to 2000. (CISA,  26/08/06)

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Tanzania - Bishop Justin Tetemu Samba of Musoma Dies (CISA, 24/08/2006)

Bishop Justin Tetemu Samba of the Catholic Diocese of Musoma is dead. Bishop Samba died at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, at 5.00 am, East Africa Time, the diocesan spokesperson Fr Andrzej (Andrew) Madry C.R. told CISA. He was 55. “The Catholic Diocese of Musoma regrets to announce to all priests, religious and the faithful of the diocese, the family, friends and all concerned that His Lordship Bishop Justin Tetemu Samba died on August 23, 2006, at about 5.00 am,” Fr Madry said in a statement. His health worsened on August 22. “From now the Diocese of Musoma is mourning the death of our bishop,” Fr Madry said. Bishop Samba’s body will be flown from Dar es Salaam to Musoma on Wednesday, August 30, at 9:00 am. There will be a vigil at Mary Mother of God Cathedral, followed by the funeral mass on Thursday, August 31, starting 10.00 am and interment of the body in the cathedral. Bishop Justin Tetemu Samba was born December 12, 1950, at Mkuu Rombo, Tanzania. He was ordained a priest for Musoma on June 21, 1974. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop on January 6, 1989 to replace Anthony Mayala who was appointed archbishop of Mwanza. (CISA,  24/08/2006)

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