As business and ordinary Zimbabweans alike begin to feel anxious over the current political stalemate, churches waded into the mix by challenging opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to “accept the will of the people” and move on, the Daily News has reported.
Addressing members of the media in Harare on Monday, the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Churches Council (ZACC) warned that the stalemate was hurting business recovery and as such, Chamisa needed to “put the country first”.
“As the Church in Zimbabwe, representing apostolic sects in the land, we prayed for peace and we observed that the elections were held in a free and fair environment.
“Our members voted, and it was heart-warming to see people from diverse political backgrounds embracing and voting in peace and harmony.
“However, we are now surprised that Chamisa, who claims to be a pastor wants to foment chaos and suffering among Zimbabweans. It is trite that Zimbabweans are peace-loving and God-fearing people and do not want to be abused by political leaders who are more concerned with attaining their selfish goals,” Zacc patron Jimayi Muduvuri told the media.
Muduvuri, an avid Zanu PF member and a candidate in the senatorial elections on July 30, said ZACC was perturbed by acts of violence which led to a loss of lives and damage to property on August 1, when MDC Alliance supporters clashed with security agents.
Six people subsequently died when the army which had apparently been called in to help manage the situation, used live ammunition to break the ugly protests.
“We strongly condemn the MDC Alliance stance to ignore the people’s will and pray that sense prevails among their supporters who just recently went on a rampage, looting shops and disturbing our peace.
“Leaders of the church would like to tell all politicians that the country’s president was ordained by God. He was chosen by God and the will of God should be respected.
“When people play in any game some win and some lose but to our surprise, someone saw that he was losing and started causing chaos. As Christians we are calling for a thorough investigation because innocent lives were lost rather needlessly,” said Muduvuri.
In the historic July 30, elections Zanu PF kept its two thirds parliamentary majority, with Mnangagwa winning a tightly contested race by 50, 8 percentage points.
Chamisa is contesting President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa July 30, a victory which he alleges was achieved through ballot cheating and tampering.
On Friday, the youthful MDC Alliance leader filed papers at the Constitutional Court seeking to overturn Mnangagwa’s result.
Zanu PF reportedly countered the electoral challenge today.
Zimbabwe Christian Church(ZCC) leader Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi is among other Church leaders who have implored the MDC Alliance to accept results of the recently held elections and work together with ZANU PF for the good of the country.
“Those that are not happy with the results of the elections, there are rules to follow, there is the Constitution to guide us, there are courts to decide but we want it quickly over so that Zimbabwe gets to rebuilding the country,” Mutendi said.
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