The church should not stray

THE former President of Uganda, Milton Obote, declared on the day Uganda attained its independence in 1962 that had it not been for the revolutionary teaching of the church, Uganda would not have achieved its independence at that time (Okullu, 1974). Okullu, in the book Politics in East Africa, went on to say it was through Christian schools that our present leaders acquired the skills and sharpened the tools with which they eventually drove away the white man.

When Africans took up arms to liberate themselves from colonial bondage, there was a significant number of churches that stood by black people and helped instil a sense of nationalism across the continent, though when the church came to this continent, it was a tool by whites to infiltrate and subdue the masses.

Antsen (1997) points out that the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe was one of the Christian bodies that voiced strong criticism of the minority rule.

We note that back then, churches prayed for the day there would be peace and development in our Motherland, where every citizen would be treated fairly and enjoy the milk and honey that Motherland gave us, as opposed to a few white people taking the lion’s share and moreover, continuing to oppress the masses through colonialism.

The Church stood for the good and now that we have 36 years of self-rule, the Church should not instigate mayhem, fuel the fire of division and negativity as some men of cloth have been doing of late. In that regard, we urge the Church to take heed of words of wisdom from President Mugabe that churches should stick to their mandate of preaching the word of God, not to dabble in politics.

“Some rush to these new churches thinking you will get riches quickly . . . Now they want to interfere in politics and we say to them NO! Do you understand the Bible? It will give you the right direction on how to lead. Leave the organisation of the party to us.

You now say the party should do this, people are suffering, they should protest, Government should be changed and what kind of Government (do) you want which surpasses the one that brought you freedom and gave you land?

“I want to warn them very strongly that Zanu-PF will not tolerate any nonsense that is done in the name of religion. Keep your religious side and we will respect you.

Once you begin to interfere with our politics, you are courting real trouble. We know how to deal with our enemies who have been trying all along to bring about regime change in the country.

We have the means to defend and protect our hard won freedom. That is crucial to us. We have brought unity to the people and people are united. Please don’t disunite our people,” said President Mugabe last week in a solidarity gathering organised by War Veterans in Harare.

We note that some church leaders are now using the church to champion a political agenda that undermines the authority of the elected Government and President Mugabe, and that should be condemned with the contempt it deserves as President Mugabe rightfully pointed out.

Where is the Church of old that prayed for peace and the end of the unjust colonial regime?

Where is the Church that taught the masses to respect the leadership at any level and behave in an orderly manner in whatever circumstances?

The Church has a mandate to guide the society in an orderly fashion, and not to cause divisions and disruptions of business and service delivery. The Church should not stray and it should not lead people astray. Period.