adminDiana Nherera and Tafadzwa Ndlovu
Christian groups under the umbrella of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHCD) held prayers on Wednesday against xenophobic attacks on foreigners living in South Africa. The groups included the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the Union for the Development of the Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe (Udaciza). Speaking at the prayer meeting held at the Trinity Methodist Church in Harare, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe president Dr Shingi Munyeza condemned the attacks, describing them as inhuman and criminal.
“EFZ wishes to remind perpetrators of xenophobic attacks towards foreign migrants in South Africa of a time in history when South Africans took habitation in Zimbabwe without meeting the same fate. Such an example should be maintained and cultivated in all Sadc states,” he said. Dr Munyeza applauded the South African government for the public condemnation of xenophobia, but urged them to employ more effective and sustainable ways of stopping the attacks.
Udaciza general secretary Reverend Edson Tsvakai said people were supposed to pray for the end of the attacks.
“It is a time to call on God to stop the attacks,” he said. “If we do not pray, the situation will not change.”
ZHCD president Bishop Ishmael Mukuwanda said the region should stop the xenophobic attacks.
“We have some representatives travelling to Beitbridge to offer support. We were pained by the incidents,” he said.
“The level of hatred and anger displayed by our brothers and sisters was unprecedented, decapitating some and burning others alive.
“One needs to ask the question, ‘How can we do this to ourselves, a black person murdering another black person?’ This does not imply that murdering someone of a different pigmentation is acceptable or justified,” he said.
Online Reporter