By Caroline Katana
Once separated by mistrust and religious tensions, communities in Kenya and Tanzania are using structured dialogue to build trust, strengthen social cohesion and transform constitutional freedoms into everyday realities.
For years, the constitutions of Kenya and Tanzania have guaranteed citizens the right to freely practice their faith and live according to their beliefs.
Yet in some communities, religious differences continued to fuel mistrust, stereotypes and social divisions, revealing a gap between rights protected by law and realities experienced on the ground.
Today, Respect, Protection and Promotion of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) in the Swahili Coast Regional Program is helping bridge that gap.
By bringing together religious leaders, community members and civil actors from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the program is using dialogue as a practical tool for building trust, preventing conflict and strengthening peaceful coexistence among people of different faiths.
The initiative’s impact is already being felt in communities that once struggled with religious tensions.
Speaking in Diani ,Kwale County, during a regional exchange programme involving participants from Kwale and Isiolo counties in Kenya and Tunduru District in Tanzania, Bishop David Nzioka, Program Officer for Freedom of Religion and Belief in Kenya, said the project was established to raise awareness about religious freedom while creating opportunities for communities to learn from one another.
According to Nzioka, one of the program’s most significant achievements has been witnessed in Isiolo County, where religious divisions previously created barriers between communities.
“Isiolo was one of the areas where there were significant religious tensions. Some places had effectively become areas where people from certain faith groups felt uncomfortable or unwelcome. Through this program, we have seen positive change, with communities increasingly learning to live together peacefully,” he said.
While acknowledging that challenges still exist in areas yet to be reached by the initiative, Nzioka said the progress demonstrated the value of dialogue in addressing religious mistrust.
The program’s approach is built on a simple principle of creating opportunities for people to engage with one another before allowing differences to define them.
For Sheikh Amani Mwachirumu, a member of Kenya’s Interfaith Advisory Committee (ADC), the initiative has helped transform attitudes that once hindered peaceful coexistence.
“Before this project, many people believed their religion was better than others. That perception created misunderstandings and divisions among communities. Today, we are witnessing greater respect and appreciation among people of different faiths,” he said.
Mwachirumu said the exchanges between participants from Kenya and Tanzania had also revealed striking similarities between the two countries.
“We have enjoyed learning from our brothers and sisters from Tanzania. We share many things, including language, culture and values. These similarities strengthen our relationship and make it easier for us to work together in promoting peace,” he said.
He also pointed to the growing role of women in leadership, noting similarities between Tanzania, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Kwale County, which is led by a female governor Fatuma Achani.
For participants from Tanzania, the exchange offered an opportunity to showcase how the program is fostering social cohesion in their own communities.
John Galawa, the Freedom of Religion and Belief Manager in Tunduru, Tanzania, said the initiative had become an important platform for promoting unity and peaceful coexistence.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to visit Kenya and learn from the experiences of our colleagues. The project has strengthened peace, love and unity among our communities. It has encouraged people to see one another as neighbours rather than as members of different religious groups,” he said.
Galawa added that the program was helping strengthen Tanzania’s longstanding culture of peace by promoting dialogue and mutual understanding.
The program is also rooted in the constitutional protections that safeguard religious freedom in both countries.
Kahaso pendo Emmanuel, the Swahili Coast Regional Program Coordinator, said both Kenya and Tanzania have strong legal frameworks that guarantee freedom of religion and belief.
He noted that Article 32 of Kenya’s Constitution protects freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion, while Tanzania’s Constitution of 1977 similarly protects freedom of faith, conscience and belief.
“Our constitutions provide a strong foundation for religious freedom. However, rights become meaningful when communities understand them and put them into practice through peaceful coexistence and mutual respect,” he said.
Emmanuel added that constitutional protections help ensure equality among all faiths while protecting citizens from discrimination.
As Kenya moves closer to another election cycle, program leaders have urged political actors to safeguard the gains achieved through interfaith dialogue.
Joshua Kelele, Head of Programs at Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK), warned against the use of religion and ethnicity as tools for political mobilization.
“This program has helped build valuable social capital and unity among communities. As we approach the election period, leaders should avoid dividing citizens along religious or ethnic lines and instead promote peaceful coexistence and national cohesion,” he said.
Kelele noted that the FoRB program is being implemented in several regions across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, creating platforms for communities to address tensions before they escalate into conflict.
For development partners, the initiative demonstrates the power of collaboration and shared learning.
Margaret Mshendu of International Aid Services (IAS) Denmark said the programme evolved from separate country-based projects into a regional initiative after partners realized that communities across East Africa faced many of the same challenges.
Initially, organisations implemented individual projects within their respective countries.
However, partners later recognised the value of bringing communities together to exchange experiences and learn from successful interventions.
“We discovered that many of the challenges faced by communities are similar. By creating opportunities for people to learn from one another, we strengthen our collective impact and increase the chances of achieving sustainable change,” she said.
Mshendu explained that the Freedom of Religion and Belief program is a six-year initiative implemented in three phases of two years each and supported by the Center for Church Development (CKU) Denmark.
Beyond Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, similar programmes are currently being implemented in Nigeria and Somaliland, while plans are underway to extend the initiative to Singida in Tanzania.
“The expansion of the program reflects growing confidence in dialogue as an effective tool for promoting religious freedom, preventing conflict and strengthening social cohesion,” she said.
The experiences shared by participants from Kenya and Tanzania point to an important lesson that constitutional protections alone cannot guarantee peaceful coexistence.
While laws provide the framework, it is dialogue that helps communities understand one another, challenge stereotypes and build lasting trust.
In places where suspicion once created barriers, people of different faiths are increasingly working together, learning from one another and recognising their shared humanity.
As communities across East Africa continue to navigate social, political and economic challenges, the Freedom of Religion and Belief initiative offers a practical example of how dialogue can transform diversity from a source of division into a foundation for peace.
And in a region where cohesion remains essential for development, that transformation may prove to be one of the programme’s most enduring achievements.
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