By Frank Kimboy

There appears to be no respite for Bishop Zacharia Kakobe’s church in Dar es Salaam, which has been slapped with a new order by the Tanzania Roads Agency (Tanroads), coming hot on the heels of its just ended protracted showdown with Tanesco. A fresh confrontation looms, with the Tanroads, which has directed the Full Gospel Bible Fellowship (FGBF) church to uproot its two huge billboards at its headquarters at Mwenge on Sam Nujoma Road.

The roads agency has given the church a seven-day notice to remove the billboards located in front of its sanctuary.
Attempts to reach Bishop Kakobe for comment failed, as his cell phone went unanswered.

Tanroads wants the billboards removed to facilitate the construction of a 132KV power transmission line in a multi- million project being undertaken by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).

The notice comes hardly a week after the outspoken bishop gave up his fierce bid to prevent Tanesco from building the transmission line bypassing his church premises. This followed a 77-day standoff, which saw tens of FGBF members take turns to guard the church day and night and block any attempts by Tanesco technicians to erect electricity pylons.

Speaking to The Citizen in his office yesterday, Dar es Salaam Tanroads regional manager James Nyabakari said Bishop Kakobe, other institutions and individuals who had placed obstacles along the route of the high-tension power line under construction, should remove them immediately.

It is the same project, which saw Bishop Kakobe lock horns with Tanesco and the minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, for over two months.

Bishop Kakobe had maintained that the high-tension power line would pose grave danger to his followers during prayers at the church. He said the project also posed a threat to church structures, citing the said billboards. He also said it would interfere with his plan to establish a television station.

Yesterday, Mr Nyabakari said the authorities might be forced to move in and remove billboards or any other structures that might interfere with the project, should their owner fail to heed the notice within the specified time.

He said Tanroads had given Tanesco the green light to get rid of the billboards on the expiry of the seven-day notice, warning that the owners of the structures would bear the cost of their demolition.

“If they will not remove the billboards in seven days, we have instructed Tanesco to uproot and bring them to our offices and send the bill for the demolition cost to the owners, who should refund Tanesco,” he said.

But the clergyman and hundreds of his followers are vehemently opposed to Tanesco knocking down the church’s billboards to create room for the high-tension power line.

When the saga started last December, Tanesco engineers and technicians were met with stiff resistance from Bishop Kakobe’s followers, when they went to the FGBF Church to survey the route.

The company plans to route the high-voltage cable from Ubungo power station to the company’s new sub-station at Makumbusho.

Until early this week, the worshipers had camped outside their church clad in yellow T-shirts to block Tanesco’s technicians from carrying out any demolitions.

The construction of the power line is part of a major donor-funded project to improve electricity transmission in Dar es Salaam and two other regions.

“I am ready to die defending my church. Even if they send the army here, I will not allow them to pass high tension power cables over or near the church buildings,” Bishop Kakobe had vowed then.

The billboards contain the church’s name and addresses, including telephone numbers, email, website and Post Office box number. According to Bishop Kakobe, they were put up at a cost of Sh120 million.

Tanesco communications manager Badra Masoud had assured the church that other residents that there was no plan to demolish any properties or premises along the road. She said Tanesco only intended to construct a 132kV line “at internationally recognised standards in urban centres.”

For his part, Bishop Kakobe said their only worry was that the 132kV cable would pose a grave danger to worshipers if constructed in the vicinity of the church.

“Many worshippers often gather outside the church when waiting for a service or after coming out, as they wait for transport. This is where they intend to route the cables. The high tension power line will be a great risk,” he said during an interview with The Citizen.
His fears were, however, dispelled by experts who explained that the power cables would not pose any danger to people living or working near them.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has funded the Sh34 billion project.

After Bishop Kakobe called off his worshipers’ vigil outside the church, Tanesco technicians moved quickly to construct two pylons.

The work appeared to have stopped as they were apparently waiting for the removal of the billboards to erect more pylons.

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