Minister urges placing of condoms in Bibles

HEALTH and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa, on Wednesday left the audience in stitches when he called for increased condom use among church members due to the surge in the number of cases of church leaders sexually assaulting congregants.

He was speaking at the official launch of the new scented condoms by PSI Zimbabwe in the capital.

Parirenyatwa said that it was unfortunate that some church leaders could not resist engaging in sexual activity and as such members should be careful and resort to condom use to prevent HIV and Aids, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

"There are some of them (church leaders) out there who just can't resist," Parirenyatwa said.

"I would urge them to use condoms because we have some religious leaders who just can't resist. So I would urge them to use condoms so that they are protected," he said.

Of late, cases of sexual abuse of female congregants have been on the increase, a development that has led to some of the churches being banned from conducting services.

RMG Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura was this year sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted on four counts of raping church members.

"Sometimes, people feel shy to ask for condoms and the end result might be disastrous. We were even proposing that even in the hotels, condoms be placed inside the Bibles that are placed inside the rooms so that even those who are shy to ask for the condoms can be able to get them without difficulty," Parirenyatwa said.