THE cash-strapped government has scrapped duty on all public transport vehicles being imported by local churches as it moves to reap benefits from the country’s commercially viable religious groups.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi told parliament Wednesday the package involves the introduction of incentives to local hotels and restaurants whose services support local churches.

“In order to encourage religious tourism, church-inspired and faith-based business can now ride on the back of these two statutory instruments in order to grow their faith based business opportunities and here l cite conventional centres, restaurants, transport business because the church itself has become a market,” he said.

The minister was responding to questions from backbenchers who sought responses on government’s strategies to cash in on the massive business potential availed by churches led by charismatic prophets such as Emmanuel Makandiwa and Walter Magaya.

Mzembi said this involved the decision by government to write-off duty on vehicles being imported by the churches.

“Just two weeks ago, we witnessed 180,000 parishioners along the Masvingo highway near Waterfalls where Pastor Magaya was ministering,” Mzembi said.

“If you have 180,000 congregants; if each one of them buys a bottle of mineral water at $1, that’s already a $180,000 in circulation on one single product line called water.

“Those people when they get to Waterfalls or when they get to a judgement night function, they have to get Kombis.

“Recently, l had a meeting with Kombi operators where we established that if these two or three churches on a weekend would decide that they would not be holding a service then the transport sector on a weekend in Harare would certainly catch a cough, it would sneeze.”

Mzembi continued: “…The movement of people that takes place through kombis and other conventional means of transport going to these churches on Sundays is one without precedence.

“And therefore, government has also extended its incentives to the church so that they can import motor vehicles of this nature duty free provided those businesses that have been assisted and aided by the state through those incentives also give to Caesar what is due to Caesar in the form of taxes.”

The government is keen on resuscitating a sagging economy which has seen the flight of foreign direct investment due to stringent and often inconsistent policies by President Robert Mugabe’s
administration.

It was reported in the News Day of July 15 2014 that government will soon register and regulate churches in light of recent human rights abuses orchestrated by church leaders.

Before it embarks on this endeavour, the government must be given a very stern warning.

It can mess up with all other areas of people’s lives, and get away with it, but when it comes to the church of Jesus Christ, it is playing with hell-fire itself.

Home Affairs secretary, Melusi Matshiya and Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede told a parliamentary Thematic Committee on Gender and Development that proposed regulations would help bring about sanity in places of worship.

Matshiya said there was no law to regulate or register churches and they were left to freely carry out their activities.

He also said the Private Voluntary Organisations Act and the Constitution did not require churches to be registered.
Mudede then added that registering churches was not peculiar to Zimbabwe as other countries such as Burundi had strict laws that govern church operations.

“The answer is that we have come to a position of registering churches not only in Zimbabwe but the whole of Africa because it has become a means of money-making and people are forming churches at places where there are no toilets, and young men are suddenly forming churches some of them which might be devil-worshipping,” he said.

What surprises most people is that Matshiya and Mudede are servants of the people and yet here they are briefing parliament, which represents their bosses, about why and how they are going to change the Constitution and the laws of this country? This does not make sense. Decisions about changing the Constitution and the laws of the country are made by parliament which then allocates the work of drafting to the appropriate minister and his civil servants. This is why some of us say we have a leadership crisis in Zimbabwe.

Our MPs are not up to scratch in terms of education and sophistication. They don’t know much about rules of debate, let alone, parliamentary procedure. Instead of hearing the views of their bosses, who employed them by voting for them, they spend precious time listening to useless gibberish from civil servants who don’t know what their responsibilities are.

Recently, two legislators, exchanged blows in public over allegations of instructing party youths to perform acts of arson. Can one address such thugs as “Honourable” as befits citizens who were elected to parliament by sane Zimbabweans?

One does not have to wonder why Mudede and his colleague, Matshiya would like to silence the real Church of Christ in Zimbabwe through legislation.

Real Christians in Zimbabwe are frightening those in Zanu PF who have been fighting for their own stomachs without any interest in the people. Christians in all areas of life are telling the truth as commanded by their master, Jesus Christ. This makes those who live in darkness to become frightened and desperate.

To talk about “recent human rights abuses orchestrated by church leaders” is funny indeed. Does our government have any right to insist on, let alone talk about, human rights?

The government itself is guilty of a myriad of human rights abuses. I am part of the damning evidence. I have been arrested and harassed three times by our Zanu PF government in instances of outright human rights abuse. The first time I was arrested while preaching in a church in Kadoma. I was in the middle of my sermon on the manifestation of true love for one’s neighbour when the police barged in and took me away together with some fellow Christians.

However, our time of incarceration was rather joyous because so many Christians from around Kadoma came to give us food and to pray with us. It was just like in the New Testament times when the disciples were suffering persecution from the Roman rulers and the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees. After three days in horrible cells we were taken to court where the judge found us not guilty of any crime.

One day I was travelling with colleagues from Bulawayo where we had gone to brief bishops of Matabeleland on the operations of Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA), an interdenominational group which had been formed to fight against human rights abuses from whatever quarter. We were stopped and arrested at a road-block just outside Harare and accused of working on plans to form a political party.

We had no such thoughts, but even if we had; since when was it a crime to form a political party in Zimbabwe? Before we were released without charge, some police bigwigs advised us to work together with bishops who were supportive of government’s policies.

The third time I was arrested was when police took me away from home and accused me of “publishing falsehoods” after I made a comment in one of my columns that appeared in a daily newspaper. My comments followed news of an MDC supporter who was allegedly decapitated by Zanu PF supporters.

Again I spent three horrible days in filthy cells. When brought before the court, I was again found not guilty of having committed any crime.

Most African countries cannot be pointed to as upholding even basic human rights, let alone good governance. Africa, as a whole, is in such a terrible mess that Zimbabweans must resolutely refuse to be dragged into. Real Zimbabwean Christians, from all walks of life, from within the ruling party Zanu PF and from without, as individuals and as organisations, must now stand up to be counted and say a very loud, No, to any laws to register and to regulate churches. It would be the worst abuse of human rights ever.

The fact that the Constitution does not provide for such legislation proves that its authors and drafters were wise indeed.

The present situation where “churches are left to freely carry out their activities”, must remain as it is. The freedom for churches to worship and obey God without hindrance is a basic human right which must be safe-guarded.

Existing laws are adequate enough to deal with any so-called churches which may abuse human rights. Mudede and Matshiya are definitely not wise because they are attempting to silence the voice of truth, which is the voice of God. They need to be warned because they are treading on dangerous ground. If they insist on persecuting the church of Jesus Christ they will for sure burn in hell-fire. Those with ears, to hear, let them hear.

AFM’s assembly to hold maturity conference

The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM) will hold a one-week maturity conference to build a mature church unshackled by the travails of the harsh environment.

Date: 20 to July 27

Venue: Highway Assembly in Houghton Park, Harare.

Speakers/Preachers: Bishop Fidelis Obwogie from Kenya and AFM’s pastor Takesure Sigauke among others.

At least 700 people are expected to attend the conference.

Prophet Walter Magaya’s penchant for courting controversial people is unflinching.

Is it a case of opposite poles attracting? Or is it a case of two people trying to ride on the popularity of each other?

Imagine a church made up of raunchy dancer Beverley Sibanda, foul-mouthed rapper Alishias Musimbe simply known as Maskiri, the controversial Henrietta Rushwaya, the energetic Oscar Pambuka and singer Allan Chimbetu.

These are some of the people Magaya has attracted to his Prophetic Deliverance Ministries (PHD) church after they declared to have been born again.

Magaya made headlines early this year when he tried  in vain to convert dancer Beverley Sibanda. While he dismally failed to turn the dancer into a ‘woman of cloth’ his efforts were publicised.

Sibanda was experiencing a rough patch in her career. Her fortunes and popularity were waning. It later turned out, at her own admission on a radio show, that Sibanda went to Magaya’s church for ‘economic refuge’ and strategic business move to woo people to attend her shows.

According to Sibanda’s manager, Harpers Mapimhidze, the prophet’s people called the dancer after spotting her in church and asked her to attend the church service the following week.

“While it was stage-managed to look as if Bev was part of the congregants that week, the truth of the matter is that she was called while relaxing at her home,” said Mapimhidze.

While the role of Henrietta Rushwaya at the church has remained under wraps, she has been seen on several occasions very close to the prophet and can be seen barking orders in the church.

Speculative reports suggests that she has found her way at the top echelon of the church’s hierachy .

Rushwaya has a chequered history. She was dragged several times to court for her alleged role in the football match-fixing scandal that rocked the country a few years ago.

While the courts found her not guilty, in October 2010, Henrietta was sacked after being found guilty by the Zifa’s disciplinary body on charges of “conduct inconsistent with her duties, mismanagement and insubordination.”

Rushwaya was found guilty of sending the national team to play unauthorised matches in Asia in 2009. Her sacking followed her suspension in July 2010 on suspicion of fixing matches in a Malaysian tournament.

She was also found guilty of requesting a loan of $103 000 from Zimbabwe’s sports commission, an amount that was unaccounted for.

Singer Alishias Musimbe, aka ‘Maskiri’ is also part of the entourage at PHD Ministries where he has a reseved seat in the VIP section.

The musician carved his name as a deviant of Zimbabwean music. His music was laced with explicit content that branded him the country’s own version of United States rapper Eminem.

As if that was not enough, the musician complemented what he sang about with his own lifestyle. The musician is now permanently limping after he sustained injuries when he jumped off the second floor of a flat during a love triangle tussle.

Is it a damascene moment for Maskiri? Only time will tell.

Allan Chimbetu is now part of the praise and worship team at Magaya’s church. The musician has also been embroiled in messy divorce cases.

He was dragged to court for refusing to take a birth certificate for a child he sired with a Gweru woman.

He has also been arrested for being involved in illicit dealings at the now demolished Ximex Mall.

While Oscar Pambuka has managed to keep his personal life under wraps, his public relations has been in the spotlight.

He was accused of lying when he prematurely announced that Nigerian pastor TB Joshua was on his way to Zimbabwe to attend Easter celebrations with Magaya.

TB Joshua later disclaimed the pronouncements leading to Pambuka’s censure as the spokesperson of the church.

Former Gunners boss Cuthbert Chitima is also in the top echelons of the church where he is an elder and believed to be handling the finances.

Chitima too has been dogged with controversy that saw him facing fraud charges in 2011.

He was accused of defrauding Stanbic bank of $200 000. He, however, was found not guilty.

He also torched storm when  he announced that Magaya was set to be the major shareholder at Gunners Football Club – a club he has interest in.

Efforts to get a comment from Magaya proved fruitless but one of his close confidante said the prophet was only doing what Jesus did when he was on earth.

“There is nothing wrong with the prophet dining and wining with people of different backgrounds. When Jesus was on earth people took offence when he dined with tax collectors. He was saving lost souls and this is what Magaya is doing,” said the aide.

He added that the church’s role is to serve as a sanctuary for those who have reformed and found Jesus so there was nothing sinister in having the so-called controversial individuals in church.

The church has a great potential of assisting government in promoting the country’s tourism sector which is beginning to show signs of recovery from more than decade long decline which emanated from unfavorable portrayal of the country by the media, a cabinet Minister has said.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Walter Mzembi said on Monday while briefing the media on the progress his ministry has made so far in preparing for official launch the National Tourism Policy due this Thursday at the Celebration Centre in Harare

Mzembi said they have started identifying churches to work with in promoting tourism.

The Celebration Centre is owned by Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle   the co-founders of Celebrate International based in Harare.

“Some of you may ask why we are launching the National Tourism Policy at the Celebration Centre. This gesture is in line with keeping  with one of the major thrusts of the National Tourism policy  to explore new tourism niche markets among them Religious Tourism to diversify and grow the tourism cake,” explained Mzembi.

According to latest government statistics on tourism the country recorded a two percent growth in tourist arrivals from 1 794 230 in 2012 to 1 832 570 in 2013.

Despite the increase, the arrivals have not yet reached 2, 2 million tourists the highest peak which was recorded in 1999.

The government says most of the 2013 tourists were low-spending visitors from mainland Africa who came in at 1 570 799.

Mzembi said in countries like Nigeria religion had played a big role in promoting tourism.

“ In countries like  Nigeria example despite the picture painted by international media it appears the pull by a  Nigerian Pastor  has surpassed the fear of Boko Haram ,when it comes to tourists arrivals in that country.

“The scene at the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Lagos on Thursday 12 June 2014 was lively as people flocked to the birthday of T.B Joshua, ”Mzembi added,“ According to statistics from the Nigerian Immigration Service’s six out of every ten foreign travelers coming into Nigeria are bound to the Synagogue Church of All Nations”.

The world has been battling the spread of HIV and Aids which continues to claim millions of lives every single day.

It is for this reason that majority of these people are pinning their hopes on science and medicine while others in Zimbabwe have resorted to faith healing.

“Humanity has been shaken to the core by the HIV and Aids pandemic,” says Michael Bartos, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids (Unaids) country director for Zimbabwe.

He was speaking at St Mary’s Lutheran Church in Chitungwiza recently where a faith-healing and HIV discussion forum was held.

The forum also included participants from the Southern Africa HIV and Aids Information Dissemination Service (SAfAids).

These specialist groups shared findings on the relation between faith healing from women living with HIV and how this impacted on accessing treatment.

Barton hailed Zimbabwe for its great strides towards reducing the prevalence of HIV which had fallen from 100 000 per year to current levels of 60 000 per year owing to the use of anti-retroviral therapy.

The discussions were focused on a booklet entitled: Stories of shattered hope: Experiences of women living with HIV and Faith Healing in Zimbabwe which was jointly funded by both Safaids and Unaids.

The booklet shows that faith-healing practices in Zimbabwe have rapidly increased, creating a sense of despair and insecurity.

“For many women living with HIV (WLHIV) persuasive faith-healers ‘promising’ a cure are hard to resist as societal stigma persists. Efforts have been made to engage the religious sector in a bid to counter the often damaging services and practices offered by some faith healers.

“As long as demand for the services is available, faith-healers can – by law – continue to supply these services,” noted the booklet.

Fountain of Life Ministries church pastor Caroline Maposhere, who also doubles as an HIV activist reckoned that faith was a critical part of happiness and health which must be incorporated in faith-healing discussions.

“When we talk of medication and HIV, it is not new – faith helps your state of mind, so the effect of your state of mind on disease and illness is not new to HIV. This is where faith can really help. With medical conditions, you are told not to stress, and we know faith and fellowship relaxes you and makes the medicines work better so you have better health and life outcomes,” Maposhere said.

She urged church leaders to equip themselves with knowledge on HIV and appreciate God for availing HIV treatment since congregants look up to them for information regarding the pandemic.

“As fellow church leaders, we must know what to say when someone comes to you with ‘undetectables’ – it is cause to celebrate but do not make the mistake of saying you are now free from the condition. You have to continue taking medication,” Maposhere said.

International Network of Religious Leaders living with or affected by HIV and Aids (INERELA + ) Zimbabwe chapter Reverend national coordinator Zvidzai Chiponda said the church must be seen as a place where love and care for people living with HIV was not discriminatory and non-stigmatising.

“We also need to understand faith-healing inclusively of biomedicine – God has made it possible to provide ARVs and is still working his miracles through ARVs – this is God’s hand throughout – his healing hand through the power of ARVs.God who determines when and how He wants to heal you,” Chiponda said.

She added that there was need to understand healing in the context of cure and reiterated that there is no cure for HIV at the moment.

“Religious leaders should not manipulate or abuse people in their congregations. We should neither attack nor tamper with people living with HIV just because they have not been healed. Taking ARVs does not mean that you do not have faith. God and ARVs are meant for everyone whether or not they belong to some church or belief system because the very same God is the one who made it possible for scientists to come up with this treatment,” Chiponda said.

Chiponda, who is living with HIV, lost her daughter after succumbing to HIV complications. She has since 2006, been taking anti-retroviral therapy.

Another woman living with HIV Margret Cement (38) said she nearly died after a prophet had told her to stop taking treatment (ARVs).

“I developed sores in and around my private parts, even though my husband and I were using condoms. I knew something was wrong. I went to the clinic and they took my CD4 count and it had dropped dramatically from +/-350 to only 115. So this was the result of not taking my ARVs,” Cement said.

Cement bemoaned how church leaders denigrated her for lacking faith when she resumed taking ARVs and was subjected to ridicule and discrimination until she left and joined a new church that permits people living with HIV to take medication.

“I worship and help many other people living with HIV from my new church and I am now so free and open about my condition. We actually have a support group of people living with HIV (PLHIV) at church where we encourage and share ideas on how to stay healthy. The only way to stay healthy is to continuously take your medicines so that the viral load is curtailed. I now have a second baby who is nine months old and I give thanks to my church that has encouraged me to remain focused on God. My faith is intact,” Cement added.

Church leaders disclosed that members were aware on where to get HIV/Aids information but they however noted that it was easy to discuss HIV preventive measures only at workshops.

“It is difficult to discuss this in a church environment where some are closely related, like for example in-laws. Church leaders may devise a strategy to enable PLWHIV give testimonies on how they are living positively with HIV,” Bible Believing Church leader Mike Muwani.

Churches also compromised congregants’ to adherence to ARVs during fasting and that the lack of confidentiality on the part of pastors who disclosed the HIV status of PLWHIV.

Lack of resources for home-based care initiatives, discordant couples and denial were among the challenges that churches were battling with in the fight against HIV.

As part of solutions, church leaders were urged to link the church doctrine with biomedicine, create HIV and Aids information desks, discourage stigma and discrimination and promote awareness on the prevention and treatment of HIV and Aids.

Newly appointed bishop of the Episcopal Anglican Church in Zimbabwe Rev Canon Emmanuel Nyamusa has vowed to compliment ‘ government efforts in nation building programs especially in health and education sectors.

He urged the church to work in harmony with other churches to foster a good society of Christians.

Rev Nyamusa was made Bishop by bishops from the Anglican Episcopal Church International led by Bishop Stuart Lawson of Victoria, Australia and co-consecrators were Bishop Lonsdale of Solomon Islands, Archbishop Ruin Costa Barbosa of Brazil and Archbishop Emeritus Norman Dutton of England.

Bishop Nyamusa takes over from Vicar-general Rev Takorera Tandi who has been running the show pending election of a bishop .The church has a growing membership and has Centers in Malbrough,Kuwadzana,Mutoko,Murewa,Norton,Mabvuku,TAFARA,Marondera,Rusape,Nyanga,Chinhoyi ,Westlea amongst others.

The Episcopal Anglican Church in Zimbabwe had its first bishop consecrated on June 21 in Harare.

Members of the local church gathered In numbers to witness the historic event and other churches members also attended.

The Celebration Church in Zimbabwe has been designated as a religious tourism destination by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality.

The church becomes the second in Zimbabwe to be conferred with the status after Zion Christian Church which is based in Masvingo.

The conferment of the status coincided with the launch of Zimbabwe’s Tourism policy at the Celebration Centre in Harare on Thursday.

Celebration Church’s status as a religious tourism destination begins from August 1 this year and is valid for a period of a year under Certificate Number 0030.

Celebration Church leader, Pastor Tom Deuschle received the award on behalf of his church.

Religious tourism is also referred to as pilgrimage tourism whereby people of various religions travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary purposes, spiritual rebirth or leisure purposes.

Some religious tourist destinations in the world include Jerusalem, Mecca and Varanasi.

Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi said they saw it befitting for a church such as the Celebration Church, with its unique conference facilities to be designated as a religious tourism destination.

He also paid tribute to the church for its innovative programmes that have also seen it venturing in the education sector as well.

“The conferment of this status to Celebration Church is part of our efforts to introduce religious tourism in the country.  The first Church to be conferred with that status was the Zion Christian Church in Masvingo and Celebration Church becomes the second to be designated a religious tourism destination.

“We feel the church can play a pivotal role in marketing tourism in Zimbabwe and on top of that it has one of the largest conference facilities in the country,” said Mzembi.

Trailblaizing gospel choir Zimpraise took part in a clean-up of the Harare Central Business District (CBD) recently.

The campaign is part of their build-up to their highly anticipated Season Seven live DVD at the at Glamis Arena on tomorrow.

Zimpraise head of public relations, Tendai Zhou, told the Daily News that the campaign was part of ongoing efforts to encourage Zimbabweans to uphold cleanliness.

“We feel it is our responsibility to keep the city clean.

“We are hoping the initiative will also encourage residents to stop littering,” said Zhou.

“Last year, we did a similar exercise when we cleaned Fourth Street terminus.

“This is an ongoing process and we will soon venture into other townships around Harare.”

The Zimpraise clean-up exercise, which began in First Street, went as far as the Copacabana terminus and wound up at the Glamis Arena, the venue for the season seven live DVD recording on July 26.

During the live recording to be titled Revelation - It’s still all about Jesus, Zimpraise will share the stage with Psalms 23 hit-makers Mahendere Brothers and the newly-formed Zimpraise Kids Choir.

“We are looking forward to this event. The Kids Choir will also perform at the event as part of our efforts to encourage the love for dance and singing for God from an early age.

“For us it is about teaching them to shake the heavens with their talents at grass root level.”

Zimpraise was formed in 2006 as a result of the strong desire to unite various denominations in Zimbabwe through song and worship.

Talented music producer Macdonald “Macdee” Chidavaenzi believed to be first person who set the stage for the formation of what has become arguably the best interdenominational choir in Zimbabwe. The first project featured a number of now prominent Gospel musicians that include Pastor G, Gordon Taurai Nzira, Bethan Pasinawako, Tawanda Pashapa and many others.

Ever since the interdenominational group recorded its first album titled Zimpraise Volume 1 in December of 2007, they have recorded six live DVDs.

Their last recording released last month contains 35 songs. The highly-successful album, which contains the song Sungano, featured gospel star Mathias Mhere.

International Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV has warned church leaders who manipulate congregants and act as if they are gods.

Speaking at a SafAIDS discussion forum on faith healing and AIDS and HIV treatment and prevention, Chiponda a Reverend at Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) blamed some church leaders who force their members to stop taking medication saying it was a sign of little or no faith.

“We have leaders who pretend to be holier than thy and force their members to stop taking any medication especially anti-retroviral-therapy as they convince them that if they have faith they will be healed.

“This has posed a lot of challenges in HIV treatment as most of the ART patients who go to such churches have had complications after stopping treatment. We don’t want leaders who pretend to be gods, let’s understand the aspect of healing holistically in-line with biomedicine. Let’s give hope to members and don’t stop them from taking medication,” said Chiponda who is also a Reverend at Lutheran Church (ELCZ).

Other members who were at the discussion said leaders should also shun sermons that fuels stigma in the church especially associating HIV with prostitution: “Dzimwe nguva vafundisi unonzwa vachiiti mukaita chipfambi munorowa neshamu yaMwari mukabata chirwere, AIDS ishamu yamwari [At times you hear a pastor saying HIV is God’s punishment to those who have many sex partners.]

“Such messages fuels stigma and discrimination as people with HIV are believed to have been promiscuous of which it’s not true, you can be infected in marriages even when one partner has been faithful, so pastors should be careful with the way the package their message so that they don’t offend those living with HIV,” a former Johane Masowe member Margaret Cement said.

SafAIDS  head of communication Tariro Chikumbirike said the issue of faith healing was becoming a very worrying trend which has led to most members to default ART.

“We are concerned as Safaids about this issue of faith healing where members are convincing to stop taking their medication. This has caused a lot of challenges in HIV treatment and we want leaders to stop doing this and spread the correct message.

“Doctors are a gift from God and so we expect church leaders to spread the right message, some of these leaders seeking medical services nicodemusly yet they convince members to stop taking medication,” she said.

UNAIDS country co-ordinator Michael Bartos said the faith healing trend was common in some parts of Manicaland as women have to attend antenatal- care during the night as they fear that they will be seen by church leaders.

“It’s really worrying that we have women going to clinics during the night, we need more dialogue where church leaders are educated on HIV treatment so that these issues are taken seriously as there is need to stop the violation of women and children’s health rights,” he said.

He added that the country had a lot of ART success stories with incidences and HIV related deaths reducing hence the need for continuing the dialogue to increase on the gains

King of gospel music in Zimbabwe Charles Charamba his wife Olivia Charamba will next week partner with the Methodist Church in Dzivarasekwa to fund-raise for their Reverend’s car.

This is not the only initiative that the Charambas have been involved in.

Olivia Charamba told the DailyNews that they have been on a fund-raising drive for long.

“We charge a performing fee but it will be a fraction of our normal charges for the concerts,” she said. “It’s not about denomination, but we are a body of Christ so we help whenever we can. We complement whatever the other churches will be doing to help them as well.”

The concert will be held on August 3 at the Methodist Church at Dzivaresekwa 1.

“We have also worked with Marambi Society from Mbare who wanted to fund-raise money for building,” she said.

“We will also be at Chibuku Stadium for the AFM church where they will be fund-raising to build a conference centre. We normally hold these fund-raising shows when we are not doing our normal shows.”

There will be several artistes who will perform at the show.

The Charambas will start performing at 2pm.

A self-proclaimed prophet from Zviratidzo Apostolic Church appeared before a Chiredzi magistrate facing charges of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old Grade Six schoolgirl.

Public prosecutor Ngwarai Muchini told magistrate Honest Musiyiwa this week that on June 19 this year, Josphat Gwema Chingombe (51) took advantage of the trust bestowed on him by the juvenile’s parents and raped the complainant.

Muchini said the girl was allegedly raped while sleeping in the dining room which the accused had offered to the child’s parents.

The two families share the same house in Tshovani township and Chingombe is the caretaker.

The accused allegedly sneaked from his bedroom into the dinning room where the girl was sleeping after hatching a plan to rape her, the court was told.

Chingombe then allegedly grabbed the girl’s throat and closed her mouth so that she could not scream. He then allegedly raped the minor.

The matter came to light when the juvenile’s mother asked her after she started showing pregnancy signs.

She quizzed the girl who revealed the sexual attack, leading to Chingombe’s arrest.

A medical report produced in court showed that there was penetration and that the girl was pregnant.

Magistrate Musiyiwa remanded Chingombe in custody to August 4. Chingombe was also advised to apply for bail to the High Court.

IS the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) an independent group? Can the association really be described in the language of a group with grounding in its own convictions and values? Could it be true that the group has handlers? These were the questions that naturally were left to play a fandango in the minds of many people after listening to the group’s position on the proposed regulation of churches.

For a long time, Zimrights, a lobby group for human rights, has been viewed by critics as a front for some hidden interests. The group’s manner of response last week left critics with a lot to say; (ZimRights) shocked all and sundry when they made a somersault distancing themselves from an initial statement embracing the fight against religious abuse. Isn’t it mind-defying that the group would issue two conflicting statements within hours? There have been growing calls from many concerned religious minds to regulate churches with a view to protecting the vulnerable, particularly women and children.

This comes in the wake of the country being hit by a wave of abuses perpetrated by church leaders.  “The answer is that we have come to a position of registering churches not only in Zimbabwe but the whole of Africa because it has become a means of money-making and people are forming churches at places where there are no toilets, and young men are suddenly forming churches some of them which might be devil-worshipping,” Home Affairs secretary, Melusi Matshiya told a parliamentary thematic committee on gender and development that the proposed regulations would help bring about sanity in places of worship.

There are many people who, blinded by their hatred for the government, fail to comprehend this simple matter and heedlessly go on the offensive. The last few years have seen religious abuse of unmitigated proportions with disgraced cleric Robert Gumbura leading the pack. This week, news made headlines of a Masvingo senior pastor who is facing a lawsuit for adultery from a fellow church member. Near-satanic practices have found a home in the church under the guise of religion and these cases are just a drop in a large pool. The sexual crimes by Gumbura will rank among the most horrendous religious crimes ever witnessed in the country. Some misguided individuals have tried to portray Gumbura as a victim of politics yet the evidence against him stands as clear as daylight.

The church, perhaps due to the unrelenting economic crisis, has become a haven for criminals who have adopted smart methods of conning and taking advantage of congregants. As a result, progressive religious minds lobbied for the government to have churches registered. ZimRights, a lobby group for human rights, in light of this development, issued an initial and very sober statement which deserved commendation. “We welcome the move by government to register churches,” ZimRights said in a statement last Tuesday. “The story of Robert Martin Gumbura, a church leader who was recently jailed for abusing many women in his church is a reflection of the human rights abuses which can go unnoticed as they are orchestrated by church leaders. As a human rights lobby group, we urge local Churches to observe the Zimbabwean laws and help in the fight against abuse.”

That was quite sound and this is exactly what most religious groups in the country have been saying all along. The idea of registration is simply aimed at protecting the vulnerable and restoring sanity in places of worship. Most criminals have found sanctuary in the church knowing full well that there is a general assumption that all is well within churches. So, for a long time, abuse went undetected in churches. All manner of crimes were committed hence Gumbura could even afford to detain married women within his premises. The church has been infiltrated by all sorts of evils, demons and hypocrites.

Now, while everybody was busy congratulating ZimRights for the bold and progressive statement, we were hit by the unexpected; suddenly ZimRights found everything wrong with their initial statement and fought hard to distance themselves from it. “ZimRights sincerely apologizes for and thereby retracts the statement citing the welcoming of the move by government to register churches,” the group said. “As a human rights group, we believe that the practice of religious freedoms should be free of any intrusion by the state. Citizens must be able to enjoy their religious freedoms without any form of state regulation; and if any, religious groups must be self-regulatory.”

Really, are you your own man? This somersault was made within a space of hours and it vexes the mind how a group, which naturally should have a standing stance on such a topical issue, would teeter in confusion. The question comes naturally: ZimRights, was that your own opinion or more appropriately, which one is your own opinion? Is it not mind-boggling that, in a matter of hours, we hear one mouth speaking from different angles? Are you your own man or someone is whispering in your ear? Would anyone be wrong then to label the group a megaphone for some obscure interests? Honestly, wouldn’t anyone be justified to conclude that the initial statement condemning abuse was the true view of the group? Would anyone be wrong to say that the second statement is simply an attempt to please a master elsewhere in the world?

I would rally all progressive minds that have true worship at heart to continue in the fight against religious abuse and to speak courageously against it whoever the perpetrator maybe. Let’s not sacrifice our souls on the altar of perishables.

THE Zimbabwe Council of Churches on Saturday celebrated 50 years of existence at a function held in Harare.

The event was attended by various Christian denominations in the country.

ZCC, an umbrella body of church organizations in the country, was formed on July 29, 1964.

In an interview, ZCC Chairperson, Solomon Zwana said the church had played a critical role in nation building in the country.

He said that since its formation, the ZCC has been involved in a number of charity activities as well as developmental projects that have gone a long way in improving the lives of ordinary people in the country.

Zwana said the role of the church in nation building should not be under-estimated adding that the ZCC played a critical role in fighting oppressive governments since its formation.

“We are celebrating 50 years of existence as a council of churches. The ZCC was formed in the midst of many challenges which included repressive laws as well as the under-development of African states. So the ZCC was formed to address some of these challenges and spearhead development of African states,” said Zwana.

He challenged the church in Zimbabwe to continue playing a critical role in encouraging reconciliation.

“During the Lancaster House negotiations which Led to the independence of Zimbabwe, we had a reconciliation committee that represented the church so all this just goes to show the critical role that churches in Zimbabwe can play as far as nation building is concerned,” said Zwana.

FAST rising UK based gospel singer Walter Chahwanda continues to broaden his horizons, unwavering in his determination to press on with what God has called him to do which has earned him a nomination for one of the year’s prestigious gospel awards.

Chahwanda is very proud of his origins and does not shy away from making it known however in terms of ministry he feels God has called him to minister to nations past the borders of Zimbabwe.

As a result, his music has reached out to people from all over Africa and beyond which has seen him being nominated for the Africa Gospel Music Awards 2014 (AGMA) under the category of ‘Discovery of the Year’.

Commenting on his nomination, the humble minister said: “It is always an honour when God begins to lift you up and I do not take it for granted. I know I am undeserving but His grace and favour upon my life is what’s working on me.”

He added: “I am calling on all Gods people and my fellow countrymen to support me as I represent our nation on such a platform. I am asking all of you to take some time out of your busy lives for just 30 seconds to cast a vote.

“Your vote will make a difference and, with your support, Zimbabwe will continue to be recognized for its talent and great exploits in different sectors, including the music sector.”

The awards are scheduled to take place on the 24th of August, presenting Walter with another opportunity to showcase his God-given talent on an internationally recognised platform – an opportunity which he believes will be the first of many.

AGMA was founded in 2009 and its mission is to expose, promote and celebrate African gospel talent which comes in such a wide variety of styles. The night will feature performances from various nations and languages and is certainly not a night to miss out on.

Walter, aged 23, understands that not many people of his age get the chance to represent their community and country at such a grand event and it is an opportunity he does not take lightly.

He promised he would be ready: “Since I was been asked to minister at this performance, I have been rehearsing tirelessly to make sure I give my very best.”

The Awards will be held at Fairfields Halls in Crydon, kicking off at 6pm sharp with a photographed red carpet entrance while the rest of the proceedings will officially start at 7pm.

“With the unemployment rate slowly creeping towards 90%, one can only imagine the height of desperation in the country.”

A STORY is told of a young boy who went to a doctor complaining of pain on every part of his body. The doctor, puzzled by the nature of the disease, asked the boy to touch any of his body parts; touching his face, the boy let out a piercing cry. Again, the doctor asked him to touch his feet and the boy shrieked with pain. The process was repeated and the boy cringed each time he touched himself.

In a bid to ascertain the boy’s pain, the doctor touched his face but there was silence; it did not hurt. The doctor touched all the body parts the boy had complained of but it turned out the boy’s body wasn’t in pain at all. So what was happening? The clever doctor went further, he asked the boy to show him his fingers.  After examining the boy’s fingers, the doctor recognized that a sharp thorn had lodged in the boy’s finger. Mistaken, the boy had attributed his pain to everything else except the sore finger. This proverbial story may not be true yet it mirrors the situation obtaining in the ‘House of Stones.’

The Zimbabwean situation carries a semblance of the situation of the boy in the story; whether at company, organisational or individual level, everything is ‘hurting’. Survival, for almost everyone, is increasingly becoming tough. In fact, to say that it’s tough seems to be an understatement; it’s smoldering.  Salaries simply won’t happen in time; National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), for instance, owes employees a staggering $55 million in salaries; Air Zimbabwe, reportedly, owes more than double the figure to its longsuffering employees. Needless to say, everyone knows the sad story of the civil service.

The poverty and suffering is deepening. With the unemployment rate creeping towards 90%, one can only imagine the turmoil. Add to that, there is the menacing liquidity crunch which has made conducting business in the country as easy as breathing under water. Company closures continue as the fangs of the economic crisis sink deeper. A few days ago, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) stated that 300 workers are being retrenched each week. The situation gripping Zimbabwe calls for a quicker solution. Evidently, the economy is in comatose.

As a result, thousands of Zimbabweans, among them philandering celebrities, have turned to the spiritual – the church. The economic freefall has created a breeding ground for a plethora of social ills. Uncles, brothers and even parents are being fingered as the cause of misfortune for their kith and kin. It’s really sad! The economy has condemned Zimbabweans to all sorts of warped and ruinous beliefs.

Currently, topping the list is some “precious oil” which is viewed as the ‘messiah’ to all personal calamities. It is being distributed by some contemporary churches. As well, self-styled ‘doctors’, known for advertising in the press, have their own version of oil. The ‘panacea oil’ is selling out; demand is outstripping supply. It is claimed that the oil solves every problem. Over 2,000 bottles of anointing oil are being distributed on a daily basis by one contemporary church. Longsuffering Zimbabweans are flocking to these churches in Harare where they jostle for the “precious oil.”

Reportedly, parliamentarians visit these denominations every week to get ‘deliverance’. On a normal day at least 2,000 bottles of anointing oil are distributed while on big Sundays the figure surges to at least 40,000. The oil, of late, has hit the black market where it was being sold for relatively higher and negotiated price. According to denomination officials, the oil can be applied on any affected parts of one’s life: documents, business wares and certificates, among many others. It’s really sad what we have been reduced to. The ‘doctors’ have taken to the press for testimonials to endear themselves with clients. Surely, the faith which God demands of us, we have put into some substance!

Dear friends, our present problems, ranging from massive unemployment to the liquidity crunch, have nothing to do with curses: we all can’t be a cursed people – it’s the economy, period! Is it not common sense that an over 80% unemployment rate would condemn the majority to poverty? God says come to me all ye who are burdened and we do that through his only Son, Jesus Christ, not some obscure liquid. No oil or substance can give a reprieve to humanity but the man Jesus Christ. Anything that comes to take his place as is currently happening with the liquid cannot be from God.

Most of these ‘messiahs’ across Africa are simply beneficiaries of malfunctioning economies. A revival of the economy would render the entire present hullabaloo idle. The tide has shifted in terms of true worship. Not oil, but Jesus Christ will transform anyone’s life. The gospel has been mutilated in Africa to center on financial breakthroughs, breaking curses and finding partners. The reality is Jesus Christ whom people should seek in truth and in spirit not oil. The battered economy has given rise to all sorts of practices and beliefs but none need be confused. We need to come back to true godly worship.

Gospel musician-cum pastor, Herman Chimusoro, who was recently acquitted on charges of swindling the police of $192 000, yesterday, said he was never paid for his work by the law enforcement agents.

Chimusoro, who is a pastor with Lighthouse Church, said although he was now a free man,  he was still struggling with the stigma associated with jail.

“I worked for at least 48 months setting up each Pass Out Parade, and each parade has rehearsals that last at least four days, and my sound system was set up there and I was present most of those days to set it up but I was never paid,” he said.

Chimusoro claims that he hires out his band equipment for $4 500 a day.

Efforts to speak to the police spokespersons Charity Charamba and Paul Nyathi were fruitless and the later did not respond to questions sent via sms.

“In December 2013, I came out of remand prison after a month of languishing in the filthiest environment I have ever been.

“During my work with the police, I trained sound engineers, cameramen, video editors and other personnel who needed to gain knowledge of some of my skills. I would either train them at the Staff College, at PGHQ or at my house where I have studio facilities and video editing facilities.

“I would make my camera equipment freely available to train cameramen and teach them editing and we filmed many pass out parades.

“I prepared for the Presidential Pass Out Parade of the 13th June 2013 and I filmed that one successfully with the cameramen that work with me and some of the ones I had trained among the police.

“I spent many days editing it. For this filming, I charged and I was paid, but for the rest, there was no compensation that exchanged hands,” he said.

Relieving his horrendous stay in remand prison, Chimusoro said he developed abscesses and the “doctor who attended to me told me he had to do an emergency procedure on me, as I risked losing my leg and he cut me open without anaesthetic to get rid of all the pus that had collected in huge amounts. It was a horrendous procedure and to this day I am still wondering why I went through that.”

“In my absence, they had unhindered access to my sound equipment which they wore out considerably due to careless handling by their personnel,” said Chimusoro.

“They would always organise transport to pick up sound system from my house but after functions, they would always tell me they had no transport to take it back.”

Violence in Budiriro that saw members of Johanne Masowe eChishanu beating up police officers and journalists a couple of months ago is continually inspiring local scriptwriters.

Vakorinde Studios has released a drama-comedy titled KuBudiriro tsvimbo nemboma capturing the Budiriro violence.

The Shona drama-comedy was written by Collen “Vakorinde” Ziriro and Jimmy Mudereri Chadzinya and features veteran actor Charles Merisi who starred as Marabha in the Kapfupi drama series.

Chadzinya says the drama is meant to discourage society from taking the law into its own hands.

“It is an offense to humiliate or beat up national law enforcers as was the case in Budiriro.

“The development inspired us to produce the drama KuBudiriro tsvimbo nemboma as a way of teaching society about the dangers associated with waging war against the police,” said the 27-year-old actor.

The drama is basically centred on “politics in the church of Johanne Masowe and ungodly acts such as theft and adultery perpetrated by church leaders on innocent victims.”

“KuBudiriro Tsvimbo nemboma exposes the rot in the church, including infringing children’s rights by denying them  the chance to go to school, discouraging members of the church from visiting hospitals or clinics and preaching a false gospel meant to oppress them,” said Chadzinya.

This becomes the fifth production from Chadziya and company as they have produced four other dramas previously and these include Beware, Siperire, Mari Mudziyo Wakaipa and Mwana Muparadzi.

In May this year, the Vapositori sect went on a rampage after Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe president Johannes Ndanga led a 26-member delegation including the police and journalists, to the church’s revered shrine to enforce a “ban” imposed on the church over issues of women and child abuse.

Some of the congregants challenged Ndanga to read his speech in Shona claiming they did not understand English.

Ndanga then ordered police to arrest one of the congregants who kept interjecting as he read his speech justifying the banning of the church.

Other congregants then began singing an allegedly “violence-inciting song” called Umambo hwepfumo neropa before male congregants charged at Ndanga.

The violence left police officers and journalist injured and the incident saw more than 30 Vapositori being arrested and hitherto the sect’s leader,

Ishamea Mufani, is still on the run.

Blessing Shumba is joined by Mathias Mhere right while female gospel artist Agatha Murudzwa looks on. (photo:T. Marwizi)

He was criticised for wrong reasons. His silence was described in many ways by both his fans and haters.

For more than two years, during his peak, Blessing Shumba turned his back against the recording studio for a number of reasons.

Firstly he was deserted by his most trusted lieutenants, the Ngolomi Brothers, Lyton and Brian, who doubled as producers and band members. The Ngolomis have found favour in the eyes of gospel musician Mathias Mhere, who was rising by then, and perhaps overshadowing Shumba in the process.

The love of money saw Shumba being isolated by the experienced Ngolomis and left with nothing except his wife Pauline as a band member.

Pauline who helped Bethany Pasinewako as a backing vocalist had learnt a little by then.

Mhere, who by then was riding high on the album that carried the hit song Favour, became the new attraction that saw the Ngolomis, his producers, joining him.

Shumba was dumped and his music career affected. Shumba, often described as the most humble musician, started from scratch and built another band in his hometown of Mutare.

The Handina Mhaka hitmaker is back. If the audience’s response to the new 11-track album Holy Psalms Vol 1 Ndiye Jesu is anything to go by, then Shumba is back with a bang. “I had to start afresh with a new band and I am happy that they lived up to expectations. I was left alone, with my wife, but we soldiered on,” Shumba told RelZim.

The latest offering is laden with scintillating songs laced by his usual well-crafted lyrics, with some of the songs meant to correct social ills in society. Drifting away from the product of his former producers, Shumba’s musical beat, from live instrumentation, is now a bit faster than before.

The album was co-produced by Mutare-based Olin Anderson of Kunashe Studios and Harare-based Charles Aibeki of Divine Records.

Songs on the album include  Mwana Wangu, Mapisarema, Kutenda Chii, Mwari Wangu, Usachema Chema, Nyaradzai Vanhu, Ndine Chipikirwa, Chikuru Rudo, Jesu Ndiye Mambo and Kuchengeta Murawo.

His wife contributed on songs Mwari Wangu and Chikuru Rudo where she led with vocals. “I had to take my time to come up with this album. I cannot say it is the best, though I put an effort. It is for the audience to judge. I am just a gospel musician who preaches the word through music,” said Shumba who is also an electrician by profession.

Shumba rose to stardom after the release of his debut album Ishe Wazvose in 2008.

He became a force to reckon with on the local showbiz circuit in 2011 after his song Mufaro from the award-winning album NdiMwari came second in the Radio Zimbabwe Coca-Cola Pimped Up and Ride Top 50.

See related reading:

Inside Blessing Shumba’s territory 

Shumba: An electrician, farmer and musician 

The Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda was quoted on July 21 2014 saying that the Parliament’s Human Resources Committee is finalising the shortlisting of candidates to be appointed as commissioners for the independent commissions.

The commissions referred to by the Speaker are the five commissions established by Chapter 12 of Zimbabwe’s new constitution.

These five include the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). The very first function of the NPRC is stated in the constitution as to ensure post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation. What a mammoth task!

We can safely say the NPRC is designed to deal with Zimbabwe’s problem of violence, and anyone who has worked with survivors of violence and torture in this country knows that this is not a simple task.

The NPRC itself cannot deal with this problem but can only spearhead a national process. Our “elected Parliament” does not seem to believe that this should be an inclusive process. In this piece we show why this attitude by the Parliament will give the NPRC a stillbirth.

Creating a commission with such a huge mandate is not a walk in the park. Its success is predicated upon one fundamental principle of democracy-popular participation. A particularly important group are the survivors of past violations whose welfare inspired the creation of such a commission.

Instead, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) is making it a private affair. To begin with, the constitution requires the participation of the public in nominating candidates for possible appointment to the commission.

The CSRO has been insincere and has shown a lack of commitment to the inclusivity of the process. On April 23 2014, it issued a call for nominations to the commissions. The call was published on the Parliament’s website and in the leading daily papers. The call was issued only in English and only in print media.

Now it is important to note that the constitution recognises 16 official languages. It further goes on to say that “the State and all institutions and agencies of government must take into account the language preferences of people affected by governmental measures or communication.” (Section 6 (3)(b)).

This means that by virtue of its exclusiveness to English speaking newspaper-readers and web-browsers, the call was inadequate. It is susceptible to a challenge at law because it violates one of the seven founding provisions of the constitution, hence depriving the majority of Zimbabweans the opportunity to participate in the nomination process.

In a recent ICTJ report on Truth Commissions, Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General states, “…sustainable peace requires more than agreements between leaders: it requires institutions that are worthy of trust, that respect human rights. In turn, these institutions require the confidence of citizens who previously only had reasons to distrust state authorities.”

In May 2014, before the closure of the call for nominations, more than 25 civil society organisations petitioned the Speaker of Parliament requesting extension of the deadline and wider publicity to allow for increased public participation.

The Speaker of Parliament decided to ignore the petition. It is very clear from this attitude that the Parliament has decided to disregard the citizens and move on with establishing a private commission with total disregard whatsoever of the views of the citizens. Because of this very reason, we foresee the stillbirth of the NPRC.

This is not the only problem with the current process. Another problem which is probably the reason why we are experiencing a total disregard for the views of the people is that the operating environment in which the NPRC is being established is no different from the environment in which the violations it wishes to address were committed.

There are no measures to ensure the security of survivors of past violations and to protect them in their interaction with the commission. How do you achieve justice and reconciliation within an ongoing state of impunity?

How do you convince survivors that it is safe to approach the commission without putting in place the necessary framework to ensure their protection?

The commission itself does not have an enabling law to lay down the basics of how it is going to operate. This creates the same challenges experienced in the establishment of the Human Rights Commission which, five years later, does not have a secretariat.
Zimbabwe has had a number of official commissions and committees before.

The NPRC with its huge mandate and enormous legal and moral obligations is without precedents in Zimbabwe.

It requires a strong foundation and credible guidance. It requires the participation of the citizens, especially the survivors of past violations.

It needs to earn the confidence of the people that it is different from other pseudo-transitional justice measures being thrown around to hoodwink the local and international community. What we are currently having is quite the opposite and this sets the NPRC for certain failure. From where we stand, it appears this is by design.