Pastors vow to March on Mugabe's office
Zim Standard
By Vusumuzi Sifile
MEMBERS of the Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference (ZNPC) have vowed
to march to Munhumutapa Building to protest against the continued
deterioration of the political and economic situation in the country.
Munhumutapa Building houses President Robert Mugabe's offices and
those of other key government leaders, including the two vice-presidents.
The pastors say the march would be part of what they call "non-violent
prophetic action", consisting of a series of marches and prayer meetings
around the country from the beginning of next year.
Last week, the Anglican Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, cut up his
dog collar in protest over the situation in Zimbabwe. Sentamu pledged not
to
wear a collar until Mugabe goes.
On Thursday in Harare, over 50 members of the ZNPC met to pray "in
solidarity with the suffering m*****". Most of them felt there was need
for
local pastors to do a "Sentamu" for the authorities to appreciate the
seriousness of the crisis.
At the meeting, the pastors were unanimous that the political crisis
in the country was now a spiritual problem which could not be solved by a
change of government.
They said they were prepared to die for the transformation of the
Zimbabwe situation.
The ZNPC coordinator, Bishop Ancelimo Magaya, said there was no way
the police could stop them from marching when they allowed the
"million-men
march" in Harare on 30 November.
"Two weeks ago, we saw for ourselves that it is possible to march,"
said Magaya. "We are going to pray and engage in non-violent prophetic
action until things change for the better in our country. Things are not
well in our country. We will march."
Magaya said the current decadence in the political and economic
situation was a result of the "demonic force" manifesting itself through
"some" leaders.
"There is some demonic force manifesting itself through our leaders
and unless that demonic force is dealt with spiritually, no change of
governance will transform the current situation. We need to arrest the
problem through prayer," said Magaya.
The facilitator of the meeting, Lawrence Berejena, said if the pastors
remained silent, they would perish together with all Zimbabweans.
"God has chosen us to be the voice of the voiceless," said Berejena.
"If we, as the church, remain silent, we will all perish. As pastors we
need
to identify the problem in our country and pray about it."
Among the people who addressed the meeting was a Faith Ministries
elder, John Makumbe.
"We need to organise all those with collars to march to Munhumutapa
Building and remove their collars, like the Archbishop of York, who
removed
his collar and said he would not put it on until the crisis is resolved,"
said the elder, who was carrying a big green bible titled The Promise.
"All this devastation will come to pass. It is time we pinned our hope
on God, not man. If you see a country running out of its own money, things
are really bad," he said.
Makumbe, known as a fierce critic of the government, said he was also
an elder at the Mbare Faith Ministries congregation. A lecturer at the
University of Zimbabwe, he comments widely on politics.
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