Radio Hekima FM 102.7, winning hearts

For Tanzania’s Mbinga Diocese, with a high Catholic population and situated more than 700km by road from Dar es Salaam, having a Catholic radio station was a dream that started in 2013.

Jul 29, 2022

Fr Innocent Kihwili, Assistant Director of Radio Hekima FM 102.7 in Mbinga, Tanzania.


By Paul Samasumo
For Tanzania’s Mbinga Diocese, with a high Catholic population and situated more than 700km by road from Dar es Salaam, having a Catholic radio station was a dream that started in 2013.

Radio Hekima was inaugurated in March 2020, right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the radio station hit the ground running. There was so much misinformation about COVID-19 at the time that the radio’s timely and authoritative information won the hearts of listeners.

The Ordinary of the Diocese, Bishop John Chrisostom Ndimbo, is the figure behind the radio station. According to the bishop, the Diocese of Mbinga, which is part of the ecclesiastical province of Songea, is home to the highest number of Catholics in the country.

“Ninety-five per cent of the population here are Catholics. This implies a lot in terms of evangelisation. The demand for evangelisation is high. The priests we have do not suffice to cater for all Catholics in the Diocese of Mbinga. Given the demand and following up on Church documents about social communications, we found that radio would be an ideal supplementary pastoral effort towards evangelisation,” said Bishop Ndimbo.

“Already in 2013, we came up with a resolution that we set up a radio station which would supplement the efforts of the priests. This resolution was incorporated into our five-year strategic plan from 2013 to 2017. So, we started working on it. We got in contact with SIGNIS Services Rome, and we were grateful. In fact, we are still grateful for the technical support we have received from SIGNIS Services Rome,” said the prelate.

Last year, Radio Hekima told SIGNIS’ Maria Victoria La Terza how the radio station, which means “wisdom” in the local KiSwahili language, came in handy during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Radio Hekima quickly adapted and started spreading awareness and information about the virus; how to protect oneself, explain the situation to children, know about the risks, and so on. --Vatican News

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