Mwita is the founding bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tarime - one of the smallest in Tanzania (in geographical size and number of Christians), but vibrant and fast growing. He was consecrated as Bishop of Tarime in July 2010.

Prior to this, he served as the national General Secretary/Provincial Secretary (CEO) of the Anglican Church of Tanzania for almost ten years. Some of his key achievements during his tenure include the planning for and establishment of St John’s University of Tanzania in 2007, and putting in place a robust national scholarship programme that saw over 200 men and women trained in theological education and secular fields from 2002-2007. He worked with staff and relevant church organs to formulate national policies on education, health and community development that lead to the formation of the corresponding strategic plans and implementation of many projects and programs. Also, he oversaw the revision of the Church’s constitution and canons.
After a three-year Diploma course at St Philip’s Theological College, Tanzania, Mwita was ordained in 1985. He served in two parishes in the then Diocese of Mara before embarking on further studies overseas. He earned a BA (Honours) degree in theological studies at Trinity College, Bristol (England (1991). Thereafter he served as a parish priest, Principal of a diocesan Bible College in Mara and Bible Translator for the Bible Societies of Tanzania and Kenya – all these posts at the same time for three years before returning to the UK for further studies in 1994. He earned a Master of Theology degree (1995) and a PhD in African History and Mission Studies (1999) - both from Edinburgh University, Scotland (UK). His key academic area of interest is the historical interaction of the ‘West’ and Western Christianity with African religious, social and cultural heritage especially from mid-19th century to early 20th century as well as the role of oral data in the reconstruction of African history, memory and consciousness.

Currently, he is a Visiting Lecturer (Research Professor) of Mission and African History at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto where he has been offering his services since 2007. He is an Associate Member, Graduate Centre for Theological Studies, Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. Mwita is also an external examiner for Uganda Christian University in Uganda, mainly examining doctoral degrees.

Some of his publications include:
(1) Mwita Akiri, ‘Education Reforms in Colonial Africa: Dynamics, Challenges and Impact on Christian Missions’ in Reformation Worlds: Antecedents and Legacies in the Anglican Tradition, eds. Sean Otto & Thomas P. Power. New York: Peter Lang, 2016.

(2) Mwita Akiri, ‘Magical Water Vs Bullets: The Maji Maji Uprising as a Religious Movement’, The African Journal for Transformational Scholarship (AJTS). Volume 3, 2017 (online).

(3) Online biographical articles on the Dictionary of African Christian Biography (DACB).

Mwita has a range of national and international experiences. He served as a member of the Anglican Consultative Council (of the Anglican Communion) from 2005 to 2014, and was a member of St John’s University Council (2007-2010), Vice-Chairperson of the HIV/Aids Board of the Council of the Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) from 2002 to 2005, and board member of the Clearing and Forwarding Agency of the Christian Council of Tanzania (2001 – 2009). He is an international preacher and speaker on various subjects including evangelism, theological education, Christian mission, African history and culture.

Some of Mwita’s key passions in the life include evangelism, discipleship for all groups in the church (children, youth and adults), theological education, poverty alleviation, formal secular education for girls, and empowerment of individuals, vulnerable groups and communities through development projects.

His hobbies include reading, global affairs and news, listening Christian songs, and watching soccer with a slogan: ‘a better team wins the game’. That is to say he does not support any particular soccer club.
Pre-school kids at Bugumbe church
Women from the community collecting water at Bugumbe Church
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Pre-school kids at Bugumbe church
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Drinking Water for Communities in Tarime
Lack of safe drinking water in Tanzania and many other parts of the developing world is a cause for many waterborne diseases. As part of its efforts to alleviate this problem, the Diocese of Tarime has now installed rain water harvesting systems at nine church buildings in 9 parishes out of 27. The parishes that have benefited are Bugumbe, Kemairi, Manga, Mangucha, Nyangoto, Nyankuguru, Kitagasembe, Rebu and Gamasara. This is the beginning of a realization of the Bishop’s plan to ensure that church buildings are used effectively not only as places for worship and teaching, but also for pre-school instruction for kids from the local communities and for providing the local communities with safe drinking water regardless of their religious and political affiliation.

Bishop Mwita Akiri prefers water harvest to boreholes in Tarime because it is more affordable and a reliable means of accessing water given that Tarime district has two rain seasons a year. Boreholes can provide water for larger groups but are expensive. The process begins with water survey with no guarantee of getting water underground. And even when water is found, the cubic volume may not be sufficient to merit installation of water pump.

The diocese of Tarime is indebted to our overseas partners in England, UK for providing resources for this vital project since 2013. However, this project is facing two challenges. First, we need more funds to enable us to install water harvesting systems at all our remaining church buildings. Secondly, we are looking for simple, affordable and effective water purification technologies and methods to enhance the safety of water.

Gender Programs

The Sewing Centre in Tarime
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class of 2015
Students busy learning
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The Diocese of Tarime now has a new sewing centre at Rebu on the outskirts of Tarime town - thanks to our partners in Canada, New Zealand, and Tanzania. This new centre became operational in May 2016. Prior to this the centre was located in Tarime town centre but the room was small.
The aim of the centre which is managed by the Mothers Union (Diocesan Women’s Organization) is to provide opportunity to more girls to learn practical skills in order to empower them socially and economically.
The new centre can accommodate one hundred students (100) the majority of whom are ex-primary school girls as well as those who complete secondary education but cannot proceed to high school or college for various reasons. Over three hundred young girls have acquired sewing skills since the centre started in 2012.
sewing centre april 2016 - front view
sewing centre in april - front view
wall  roof april 2016 - side view
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Many young girls in Tarime tend to marry below the age of eighteen (18). Female circumcision (female genital circumcision - FGM) a rite of passage that is common in the area and economic hardship propels girls into under-age marriage.
The course duration has been reduced from eleven months to six months (intensive) to enable the centre to enroll students twice a year. The fee is only $10 per month, yet man parents are too poor to pay this amount. Occasionally the diocese provides scholarships to poor girls and orphans but find it challenging to do this every year.

Address: PO Box 410 , Tarime , Tanzania
Office / FAX: +255 (0)28 2690 153
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