Anglicans to hold protest prayer over persecution

By Lance Guma
28 January 2010

Members of the Anglican Church are planning to hold a prayer meeting this Sunday in protest against ongoing persecution from an ousted bishop who is using the police to disrupt their services.

The Church of the Province of Central Africa excommunicated pro-Mugabe Bishop Nolbert Kunonga in 2007 after he attempted to unilaterally withdraw the Diocese of Harare from the Province. Using police and ZANU PF militia, Kunonga has been able to defy the mother church and continue holding onto Anglican property. This is despite him claiming to have formed his own church and having appointed his own priests and bishops.

Even though the High Court ordered that the two warring factions to share church property until a final determination is made, Kunonga’s thugs with help from the police have continued to disrupt their rival’s church services. At times they simply lock the church buildings to prevent genuine parishioners from holding their services.

Fed up with the ongoing harassment, Anglicans led by Bishop Chad Gandiya are planning on using their prayer meeting at the Africa Unity Square on Sunday to ‘force the police to abide by the court ruling.’ The church said it had also invited Robert Mugabe and he was aware of the prayer. ‘Initially it was felt that we hold a protest march, but this was later shelved as the diocese opted for an open prayer session,’ the church announced.

The Harare City Council has been notified of the prayer meeting and so have the police. Last year the two Home Affairs Ministers Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi held a meeting with the two factions and an agreement for peace was struck. This was soon broken by Kunonga’s small but emboldened faction. It is now being reported that Mutsekwa is planning on meeting police commanders to discuss the dispute.