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Bishop faces chop over Zanu PF links
The Standard (Zimbabwe)
December 03, 2006

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=5377

BULAWAYO — Bishop Trevor Manhanga of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) could soon lose his position after being suspected by church members of being a Zanu PF lackey.

He would be the second church leader to suffer rejection on those same grounds.

Elections to choose the new EFZ leader were called off recently after tempers flared when it emerged that Manhanga, the current president, did not have enough nominations to seek re-election at the annual general meeting held in Gweru.

Manhanga had pledged at the last AGM not to seek re-election.

Bishop Peter Nemapare, the president of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches was early this year voted out of office after the ZCC membership felt he was "too much" in Zanu PF’s pockets.

Nemapare, Manhanga and other church leaders were part of a delegation of church leaders wined and dined by President Robert Mugabe at State House before they declared their support for him.

On the same visit, the church leaders giggled uncontrollably when Mugabe made comments about Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo.

In Gweru Manhanga’s supporters were reported to have forced the cancellation of the elections when it became clear that their candidate did not meet the EFZ constitutional requirements.

The elections have been moved to April to try and accommodate Manhanga, although the knives are out for him, according to sources.

Manhanga is accused of being a Zanu PF activist, a charge he denies. Informed sources who attended the meeting said Manhanga’s candidature was rejected by church denominations after it was discovered that he had only one nomination, instead of the two required under the regulations.

Manhanga, in his address to the 2005 annual general meeting, indicated he would not stand for re-election.

He told The Standard recently he had changed his mind after representations from EFZ members.

"Several member-bodies approached me," he said. "They asked me to reconsider my decision because they said I was doing a good job."

Manhanga denied his supporters had forced the cancellation of the elections.

"It was felt that the nomination process was not handled properly. There was a vote; 70% voted in favour of deferring the election while 11 were against. That was a decision of the majority."

Other candidates in the aborted elections were Pastor Goodwill Shana from the Word of Life in Bulawayo, with two nominations, Tudor Bismark from Jabula New Life Ministries, and Pastor Roy Musasiwa, who both had one each.

The sources said the other three candidates, including Manhanga had only one nomination, which meant Shana was to be duly elected EFZ president, unopposed.

Manhanga was elected by Brethren In Christ Church alone, while Shana’s two nominations were from churches in the Midlands.

"According to the constitution, Shana is now the EFZ president, after he got the required votes," some of the pastors told The Standard. "We are not happy with the manipulation of the constitution."

Shana could not be reached for comment as he was said to have travelled to Harare to attend meetings.

The EFZ constitution indicates that nominations for the presidency are supposed to be entered four months before the annual general meeting.

EFZ presidential candidates, adds the constitution, must have at least two votes from the church denominations representing the provinces.

Sources who attended the meeting said the Manhanga camp was not aware of the constitutional requirement untilmembers at the AGM raised the issue shortly before elections were held.

But when it became clear to all members that Manhanga did not qualify for the elections all hell broke loose with pastors aligned to and working on the National Vision Document causing disruptions at the meeting, prompting the EFZ secretary general, Andrew Muchechetere, to postpone the elections.

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