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Zim's church horror: Homosexuals must die
Jason Moyo, Mail and Guardian (SA)
October 14, 2011

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-10-14-homosexuals-must-die/

The pews are often virtually empty on Sunday mornings at Harare's St Mary's and All Saints Anglican cathedrals, but this is Bishop Nolbert Kunonga's "throne" and he is prepared to defend it with violence.

After a service attended by a few followers last Sunday, Kunonga, the priest who has divided the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe and set disciples on rival clergymen, stood in front of his pulpit and raved against gays and Rowan Williams, the visiting archbishop of Canterbury. "This is my throne," he declared. "I am in charge. He [Williams] cannot come here."

Kunonga regards the cathedral as a prized asset among hundreds of church properties he has taken over in a fight that has demonstrated the impunity enjoyed by President Robert Mugabe's allies.

Excommunicated in 2007, Kunonga is fighting for control of the Anglican Church, seizing assets and barring worshippers from churches. A dossier on the dispute presented to Mugabe this week claimed that at least one parishioner, Jessica Mandeya, might have been killed in attacks by Kunonga's followers.

Also last Sunday, 15 000 members of the rival faction led by Bishop Chad Gandiya were attending a mass held by Williams in a sports arena. Kunonga rustled up a crowd of women, who marched outside the cathedral where he was preaching to denounce Williams. One placard read: "Homosexuals must die."

It is Kunonga's central claim: the church is at risk of being overrun by homosexuals and he alone stands in its defence.

"Williams is the reason why the Anglican Church all over the world is divided. He has not taken a position on homosexuality," he has said.

But his critics see this as a cover for his campaign for power. Parishioners have left him, to worship in parks and rented halls, but he has insisted: "It is not about who has the majority or the minority. It is about who is right."

Finding an ally

Kunonga was elected bishop in 2001, beating Tim Neill, a rabidly anti-Mugabe priest. At a time when the church - including Mugabe's own Catholic Church - was growing increasingly critical of his rule, Mugabe found an ally in Kunonga among the hostile clergy.

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