Calls for Investigation After Churches Bombed in Zanzibar

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

ZANZIBAR CITY, ZANZIBAR (Worthy News)– A bomb exploded at the main entrance of Christ Church Cathedral in Zanzibar’s Stone Town last week. According to Christianity Today, eyewitnesses said the bomb was detonated remotely.

Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said the use of a remote detonator indicated that the instigators of religious violence in Zanzibar were “attaining new levels of sophistication and planning”.

Two weeks ago, another bomb had exploded towards the end of a Sunday worship service at the Evangelistic Assemblies of God. Altogether, at least 20 churches have been looted, set afire, or otherwise damaged by mobs, but to date no one has been convicted of these crimes.

Zanzibar has seen an increase in violence against clergy and other church leaders; in February of last year, assailants murdered a Protestant pastor and a Catholic priest, and in September another priest was severely wounded in an acid attack.