Catholic Priest Hospitalised After Acid Attack

A Roman Catholic priest was hospitalized on
September 13, 2013, Friday after acid was
thrown at him in Zanzibar. The incident in the semi-autonomous, mainly
Muslim islands of Tanzania follows warnings
by President Jakaya Kikwete that religious
tension threatens peace in the nation of 45
million people. Mr. Mohamed Mhina, Zanzibar police
spokesman, said Joseph Mwang’amba had
been attacked on leaving an internet cafe in
the Mlandege area. “He sustained burns in his face and shoulders.
The acid burnt through his shirt,” the
spokesman said. He also added that the priest was admitted to
a Zanzibar hospital for emergency treatment. Two Christian leaders were killed in Zanzibar
earlier this year in separate attacks and there
have been arson attacks on churches. A Zanzibar Muslim leader, Sheikh Fadhil
Suleiman Soraga, was hospitalized with acid
burns in a November incident. A separatist group in Zanzibar, Uamsho
(Awakening), has been blamed by some but
authorities have not linked the group with the
violence. Uamsho wants the archipelago to end its
1964 union with mainland Tanzania, which is
ruled as a secular state, and wants to
introduce Islamic Sharia law in Zanzibar. Police said no suspects had been arrested
following the attack on Priest Mwang’amba,
who is of Tanzanian origin, and the motive
was unclear. “An investigation has been launched
following this incident. At this point we have
made no arrests and it is unclear who carried
out the attack,” said Mhina. It would be recalled that Friday’s attack came
a month after two British teenage girls were
victims of a similar acid attack in Zanzibar. A
radical Muslim preacher wanted for
questioning over that attack was shot, as he
fled police trying to arrest him.