Tanzania’s Lutheran Church revises constitution and introduces leadership term limits

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has overhauled its constitution, creating a federal structure and an internal body to resolve church disputes.

The revised constitution was approved at a special general assembly on September 3, 2026. It formally establishes a council of bishops, sets common retirement procedures for bishops and pastors, and limits the church leader to two four-year terms. After serving two terms, the leader cannot run again.

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This is not a new constitution. It improves the matters we work on together.

The provision affects Bishop Alex Malasusa, who led the church from 2007 to 2015 and was elected again in 2023. He will not be eligible to seek the position again under the revised rules. Bishop Fredrick Shoo held the role between Malasusa’s two periods in office.

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We have created a new dispute-resolution body, where all church disputes will now pass through internal mediation bodies.

Bishop Benson Bagonza of the Karagwe Diocese told Mwananchi that the revisions aim to improve the church’s operations, strengthen unity and create common systems for matters handled at federation level. Hospitals, schools and seminaries will receive new oversight, while issues not handled jointly will remain the responsibility of individual dioceses.

The new dispute-resolution body will handle church conflicts internally before those involved seek redress outside the church system. Bagonza said anyone who refuses to use the internal bodies gives up their church rights in order to pursue a case in court. The revised constitution also sets a common retirement age for pastors and bishops, between 65 and 70, replacing differing diocesan thresholds of 60 or 65.

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The church leader is elected from among serving bishops and must not have previously been the church leader. He serves two four-year terms.