Moon in Zimbabwe for mega ceremony

FORTY thousand couples from over 200 countries will rededicate their marriages in Harare this month in a huge ceremony that will be led by Dr Hak Ja Han Moon.

The international peace crusader is the widow of Sun Myung Moon, who founded the Unification Church.

Dubbed “Peace starts with me, Peace starts with my family”, the rededication ceremony is being organised by the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe in partnership with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and the Universal Peace Federation.

Participating couples will be drawn from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, the United States and other countries.

ACCZ president Archbishop Johannes Ndanga said the ceremony would boost religious tourism.

“This is the first time that Dr Moon will be coming. The event will be a major tourism boost and we will be working closely with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to make sure that the tourists are well taken care of,” he said.

The Department of Immigration has been roped in to facilitate smooth passage into Zimbabwe.

ZTA chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the country was developing a robust religious tourism sub-sector.

“Countries such as Egypt and Israel have developed their economies partly through religious tourism. We are working towards developing this sector and such events, as the one coming in November, comes as a major boost.”

He said in the past, conferences by the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance, the United Family International Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses attracted tens of thousands of visitors.

The ZTA is targeting average expenditure of US$1 200 each per visitor.