The Diocese of Kagera

Diocesan Office :

PO Box 18, Ngara, Kagera Region
Phone : +255 (0)28 222 3624
FAX : +255 (0)28 222 2518
E-mail : act-kagera@africaonline.co.tz

Bishop : Rt. Revd. Aaron Kijanjali
Phone : +255 (0)28 222 3624
Mobile : +255 (0)784 484 075
FAX : +255 (0)28 222 2518
E-mail : act-kagera@africaonline.co.tz

Acting Diocesan Secretary : Revd. Captain Godfrey Mbelwa

Development Officer : Mr. Ahia Ntamubano

Diocesan Accountant : John Makello

Mothers' Union Worker : Maureen Butababaje

The Diocese of Kagera, established on 11 August 1985, was carved out of the Diocese of Victoria Nyanza. It occupies an area of 39,627 sq km covering the North-West corner of Tanzania on the shores of Lake Victoria. It borders Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. It is located 1,500 kms from Dar es Salaam, the business capital of Tanzania.

The diocese has 20 deaneries and 70 parishes with 315 churches served by 78 pastors and 485 evangelists. Its departments include Finance, Development, Administration, Mission and Evangelism, Mothers' Union, Youth and Health

Due to its geographical location this diocese has been hosting refugees from neighbouring countries since the 1950s. However, it never reached a scale as in 1994 when hundreds of thousands of Rwandese fled the violence in their country following the assassination of the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. By the end of 1994 over 700,000 refugees settled in various large refugee camps in areas served by the Diocese of Kagera. The negative aspects of the refugee impact are :
a. Compromise on food security
b. Environmental degradation
c. Poaching game animals
d. Influx of diseases and increased spread of AIDS
e. High levels of crime and insecurity
f. Burden to existing infrastructure and development resources
g. Increase in the cost of living and steep price inflation
h. Some Tanzanian households had to move from their farms and homes
i. The large presence of aid organisations is negatively affecting the self-reliance of communities.
 

The work of the diocese includes primary health care, a home and hospital based HIV/AIDS programme, the Katoke vanilla cash crop project, the Katoke reduction of malaria project, Kabagunda fishing project, dairy cattle project and the diesel powered grain mills and hullers project.