Let us have freedom of worship. Let people be allowed to set up structures which enable them to manage their worship effectively and within the law of the country.
Let us not set up micro governments to govern peoples of a certain worship group according to laws based on their religious beliefs. If we do we will have a very complex federal government whose ideal structure would be that every definable society should have their own geographic area which can be governed according to laws and rules based on their faith.
Let's take a sample, Sukumas. This consists of two principal groups. Un adulterated Sukumas, that is those who are pure Sukumas, no education, no new religion such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. Of course they believe in god that is why they called him "Mulungu". They believe in witchcraftry, which the Christians also do, but they differ in how to deal with it. The un adulterated Sukumas believe in instant justice; killing the red eyed old women witches. The adulterated Sukumas who are Sukumas converted to Christianity have a way of dealing with witch-craftry, they call it spiritual warfare, they have spiritual weapons which can deal with any power of witchcraftry. They use the name of Jesus and they send the evil spirit running ultra Olympic style. In Christian terminology they have authority over all evil powers and nothing is supposed to harm them.
For each of these two principal groups to live peacefully each administering their laws, rules and regulations according to their faiths, Sukumaland would have to be divided into two areas one for Sukumapure, and Sukumachrist.
But hardly each group would have moved into their area would they realise a problem; in these two areas there would be, alas, though not so many, some Moslems and some Buddhists. So some areas would have to be created for these and any other similar groups to be settled into.
But there would be further complications. Firstly the Sukumapure would realise that they themselves have different denominations also; the bagika, bagalu, bazwilili, bachweji, etc. Each would have to live in their own sub district to be able to administer their laws effectively.
Suckumachrist would face a similar problem. Groupings would differ in doctrine and they would like not only to worship differently but also govern themselves accordingly.
So there would be the SDA area where meat of animals whose hooves are not split and fish without scales would not touch the markets. Also cars, cookers, fridges, air conditioners, trains, aircrafts, heart pacemakers etc would be programmed not work on Sabbath (known as Saturday in Tanzania). All hospitals would be closed because healing is not supposed to be done on Sabbath.
Then in Sukumachrist you would have the Protestants. Many of them are not supposed to drink, smoke, use snuff, etc. Priests have to be married as a rule.
The job of creating the districts and tarafas and katas and vijijis is really complicated in this new constitution. In Protestantsshire you would have the mainliners, i.e. the Moravians, Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans. Actually although these could co exist in an area called CCT it would be better that each would be in their own sub district .
Then you would have the Charismatics, groupings in this areas have very subtle differences, amazingly these may not need only distinct areas; each area may have to be fenced.
Time up to describe Protestansshire. Then there would also be the Catholicshire. This is an area where priests are not allowed to marry but can mingle with women at will. Liquor can be absorbed in any quantities provide it does not show. Please confirm the following with the nearest Paroko otherwise treat it as hear say: if you are rich and are not living right to the mark and die and get consigned to pulgatory, some district in hell, your relatives can incur the cost of a mass in which you can be prayed out of hell. In Charismaticshire you would qualify persona non grataship if you were caught praying for salvation of the dead.
Tired of Sukumapure and Sukumachrist? Sample the Sukumaslamic. Here you would find quite some diversity of laws. Start with the really marketable ones. You can marry a reasonable number of wives. Difficult part about this is you would be required to treat them impartially. Consolation though is that partiality is not punishable here on earth. Something also pleasant in the marriage set of laws is that you can divorce any time provided you have pen and paper at your disposal.
Now the more serious laws of the Sukumaslamic. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Difficult to imagine the sub section of the law which prescribes appropriate punishment for the lady who tempers with a man's generator; Kadhi wouldn't be the job for me.
If you consulted chronicles or Hon retired president Mwinyi on Moslems in Bukoba, I suspect he would strongly advise that even Sukumaslamic should be divided into at least two sub areas.
A very interesting subject under the sun is marketing. I have evidence it is like electricity, it can be switched on and off. You cannot understand until you visit the tiny districts of Buddhashire and Hindushire in restructured Sukumaland. The people here are serious business men. They can market anything and they can enter into any business and succeed. If the restructured Sukumaland will allow intershire trade Buddhashire and Hindushire will be manufacturing and supplying most of these areas. But I doubt if the laws will permit. Even high marketing skills may not succeed under this regime. This will not be the first time though when marketing skills could not be exploited in existing Sukumaland by these groups. They have been so poor at marketing their religion to anybody to the extent that people have come to believe that in this sector marketing has been banned or switched off like electricity.
Because other people are not evangelised into these sects and therefore cannot report openly proceedings of these societies, people have come up with all sorts of unbelievable stories which one can only print to demonstrate how unbelievable they are. You cannot believe this can you? That a girl from these communities gets deported from under the sun should she conceive foreignly. I am not a lawyer by the way, but the approximate absolute absence of mixed marriages with these sects in current Sukumaland is not legal evidence of anything, I should caution!
By the way, if you are close to President Karume, I advise you chat with him. One of his regrets may be that his Oldman was made to leave too early, otherwise President Karume may perhaps by now have in his family a mixed marriage.
Under these circumstances if Sukumaland will remain a unit it will have to have an overall federal government so that all these districts are governed together as a unit.
Of course there may be a grouping which will be happy to adopt federal laws only. Such a group will have also to be allocated a district too.
This is far from the whole treatise on the issue, but considering it is the small hours of the morning and I need to turn in I should stop by observing as follows:
In the olden times there was the Sukumaland Federation which consisted of nine chiefdoms. Its seat was initially at Usagara some 18 km from Mwanza on the way to Shinyanga. Later this was shifted to Malya. I believe the current District Council there is housed in the old federation premises. It was headed by a Paramount Chief, the last Paramount Chief being Majebele. This Federation was not without problems. Will federating the above areas under the restructured Sukumaland pursuant to Mahakama ya Kadhi Constructional Amendment which will give equal rights to every society to govern themselves according to laws based on their religious beliefs be easy?
