Tanzanian MPs join Kenyan counterparts in song at prayer breakfast

A section of MPs, including a former Tanzanian Prime Minister, is part of a delegation from Tanzania attending this year’s National Prayer Breakfast.

Their presence comes amid online tensions between Kenyans and Tanzanians following the detention and deportation of Kenyan activists from Dar es Salaam.

This week, the Tanzanian Parliament also held a heated sitting during which MPs criticised Kenyan activists and claimed they would have been jailed for allegedly interfering in Tanzania’s internal affairs.

Some Tanzanian MPs reportedly switched off their mobile phones after Kenyans flooded them with WhatsApp messages.

On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, National Assembly Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro(South Mugirango) confirmed that a section of Tanzanian leaders was present at the prayer breakfast. 

He did not reveal the name of the former PM and the MPs from Tanzania.

He invited the delegation to join Kenyan MPs in a song on the podium at the Safari Park Hotel.

“We have the Ugandan delegation, but we also want to invite our Tanzanian counterparts to join us in this special song. They were with us yesterday for dinner with the former Tanzanian Prime Minister,” Osoro said.

“Bwana ni Mchungaji Wangu (The Lord is My Shepherd),” the MPs sang as Osoro led the joint choir.

The joint song was seen as an effort to help thaw relations between some Kenyans and their Tanzanian counterparts.

A section of Kenyan leaders has condemned Tanzania's Parliament for backing President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the arrest and deportation of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire.

Reports indicate that the activists were tortured, held incommunicado, and later deported, prompting widespread condemnation from Kenya, regional bodies, and international organisations.

This followed remarks by Tanzanian MPs during a budget debate on Monday, where they accused Kenya of meddling in Tanzania’s internal affairs.

During the tense session, Geita MP Joseph Musukuma claimed that Kenyans were interfering in Tanzania’s domestic matters.

Musukuma even asserted that Tanzania is "far ahead of Kenya politically and intellectually."

“We top in everything. Speaking good English isn’t a priority for us,” Musukuma said, dismissing Kenyans who were criticising President Suluhu on social media.