The first three pastors of the Bethel Mission in Usambara

Lic Trittelvitz
Mission Inspector of the Bethel Mission

The history of the North Eastern Diocese (previously known as the Church of Usambara - Digo) goes back to the 6th of July 1890 when the first German missionary, Kramer, arrived in Tanga from Zanzibar, to start mission work. The indigenous people of Tanga area were the Digo people but Kramer also met a lot of Arabs and some Sudanese. Just two weeks after Kramer had started his work, he managed to open a school in Tanga with about nine children. In spite of opening this school, there were no Africans who converted into Christianity.

On the 6th of February, 1891, Johannsen and Wohlrab left Europe for Africa and came to Tanga. When they learned that Kramer hadn't succeeded in his work, Johannsen and Wolrab left Tanga for Mlalo via Digoland on the 1st of April, 1891. Five days later, they arrived at Mlalo. There, they met "Zumbe Mkuu" (i.e. the Chief) Shekinyashi whose village had about 80 houses.

On the 7th of April, 1891, Johannsen and Wolrab saw an attractive area which they believed would be suitable for building a mission station. It was a hilly place with a very big tree, known as "muula" in Shambala, the language of the indigenous people in the area. On the following day, the missionaries met Shekinyashi and his relatives but the chief didn't give the Germans the area which they had hoped for. Deeply disappointed, Johannsen and Wolrab returned to Tanga on the following day. On Pentecost the same year, Shekinyashi's eldest son Kinyashi left for Tanga with a contingent of about a hundred people with the aim of persuading Kramer and Johannsen to return to Mlalo. Kinyashi's attempt was successful. With the good help of a hundred luggage carriers, the entourage left Tanga for Mlalo on the 21st of May, 1891. They arrived at Mlalo six days later and were received by many people who welcomed them cheerfully.

On 24th of April 1892, a young ex-slave called Koba was baptized. Some months earlier, this young man had been taken as a slave in order to serve in an Arab home in Tanga. His Arab master earned money by "hiring out" Koba to work for rich people. Through his slave duties, Koba happened to work for a German missionary who lived in Mbuyukenda, Tanga. It was at this place where he heard the Word of God for the first time. He also learned how to read and write. When Koba's master heard about it, he sent him to another place. As time went by, a Sunday School class from St. Michael's Church in Berlin heard about Koba and his situation. These children collected about 50 rupees which were enough to buy him out of slavery and set him free. Koba got his Christian name in memory of the congregation in Berlin whose Sunday School pupils had collected money for him. Thereby he was called Michael and became the first Lutheran Christian in German East Africa.