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Police renew persecution of Anglicans in Harare
Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC)
December 07, 2009

Anglican parishioners at St Michael's Mbare on Sunday defied a police order to vacate their church ahead of Sunday service, demanding to see written court documents that allowed them to block them from conducting their service.

The police led by Inspector Sibanda, the Officer-in-charge at Waterfalls Police Station, said 'they were acting on orders and instructions from above' but still failed to produce written evidence of their 'from-above instruction'.

The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Harare (CPCA), Dr Chad Gandiya, who was at St Michaels' to confirm 100 people, said some rogue police officers were abusing their office to protect their partisan interests, instead of maintaining law and order.

"As Anglicans it seems we have no legal recourse in this country," he said. "The police are interfering in our church services without restraint, and continue to defy existing court orders. The police are supposed to be protecting us but they are ones harassing us."

Bishop Gandiya said the co-ministers of Home Affairs Giles Mutseyekwa and Kembo Mohadi have both acknowledged the significance of the Makarau judgement and instructed police not to interfere in the Anglican Church dispute.

Justice Makarau ruled last year that until such time the matter has been resolved by the High Court, the Anglican CPCA and Dr Kunonga's Province of Zimbabwe shall continue to share church buildings with the former using the church first, providing a 90 minutes interval. The CPCA service should have started at 11am.

On Sunday, as usual, the Kunonga group used the church building and left on time. But when Anglicans gathered outside the church building, waiting to start their service, some uniformed and plainclothes policemen from Waterfalls Police Station arrived and directed priest-in-charge Webster Mahwindo to advise parishioners to go to an alternative venue of worship. The priest then ordered people to leave the church premises but everyone rejected his directive.

Instead parishioners broke into song and dance, denouncing the police and vowing to remain at their place of worship and insisting on entering the church for their Sunday worship.

After several minutes of dialogue between the priest and the police, Mahwindo then asked people to go and wait for the Bishop outside the church premises but still no one listened and the singing and dancing intensified with Mothers' Union, Vabvuwi, St Peter's youths and men gathering in defiance of the police.

Bishop Gandiya arrived at 12.40pm accompanied by Diocesan Registrar Michael Chingore who confronted the police and demanded to see written court papers that allowed them to interfere with Sunday worship. The police failed to produce the papers and left in shame, and Anglicans entered their church building at 1pm with joy and jubilation.

The Bishop castigated the police for irresponsible behaviour that perpetuated lawlessness and portrayed the country's police as unprofessional and partisan. He said this being the Advent, a season of hope; people should not loose hope because 'our God is able'. As the Anglican faith, let us hold on to the faith and refuse to be intimidated by the police and other oppressors, he said.

Gandiya challenged the police to explain how and why they continue to take instructions from Dr Kunonga who has no authority in the Inclusive Government and the police.

The Anglican dispute has been raging since November 2007 when Dr Kunonga resigned from the Anglican Church (CPCA) claiming differences over homosexuality and the land issue but now claims ownership of CPCA property.

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