Abstract

By far, the greatest and startling religious news of this century from East Africa has been the unravelling of the complicated process towards canonization and possible papal declaration of Julius Nyerere, a Catholic saint. Both the political and religious worlds have joined ranks to make sure that the former president of Tanzania is beatified, an intriguing event surrounded by controversy. This paper reports in detail the core values and contribution to Tanzania’s nation building efforts of this exceptional African statesman but questions his proposed candidacy for sainthood.

Key words: Canonization, catholic, church, Nyerere, religion, socialism, saint, values.

Abbreviation

Acronyms: CCM, Chama cha Mapinduzi; RC, Roman Catholic; TANU, Tanganyika African national Union; TEC, Tanzania Episcopal Conference