Online Reporter
Remember Deketeke-Municipal Correspondent
The Harare City Council will confiscate loudspeakers, microphones, and other gadgets used by some churches to broadcast all-night prayers into residential areas if noise levels are not reduced, the Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume, has said.
In an interview, Cllr Mafume stated that the council will convene a meeting with church leaders to address growing complaints from residents over excessive noise during overnight services.
He added that the proliferation of week-long themed prayer sessions in high-density suburbs has resulted in persistent disturbances, prompting the council to consider firmer enforcement of existing by-laws.
“We are going to call a meeting with church leaders so that they reduce the noise,” Cllr Mafume said.
“This must be regulated and must be put to a stop. Should this fail, we will be confiscating the gadgets that people are using to spread the message to all, certainly without their consent.
“In a city, there are school children who want to study at night. There are people who are not feeling well. There are people who have to work.”
Last week, the Government ordered all churches operating in residential areas and the central business district to install soundproofing as part of a nationwide crackdown on noise in urban areas.
The Noise By-laws of 2014 state: “No person is allowed to operate loudspeakers, amplifiers, musical instruments, or similar devices in a manner that disturbs or interferes with the rest, peace, or tranquillity of any occupier of premises, or in any public street/place.”
The existing noise by-laws are designed to prevent disturbances of peace in public spaces.
Cllr Mafume said while the city respects freedom of worship, religious gatherings should not infringe upon the rights of other residents.
“If we are praying all night, we must pray ourselves. We must not include everyone in our prayers by putting speakers outside and then trying to convert the whole neighbourhood into our own beliefs,” he said.
Cllr Mafume stressed that prayer is a personal act of devotion and should not be imposed on surrounding communities through amplified sound systems.
“Prayer is communion with God Himself, and it is not communion with everyone around you,” he said.
“You cannot have a men’s session for the whole week, a women’s session another week, a youths session another week, single women another week, married women, and so forth, with loudspeakers blaring into the streets.”
Residents in several suburbs have previously raised concerns over noise pollution, arguing that it disrupts learners preparing for examinations, patients recovering at home, and shift workers who require adequate rest at night.
Council officials said engagements with church leaders would seek to strike a balance between the constitutional right to worship and the need to maintain order and tranquillity in residential areas.
