News / Religion
Zambia expels cleric over poverty sermon
06 Aug 2012 at 06:41hrs | Views
Rwandan cleric said the poor were getting poorer while the rich got richer.
"A Rwandese priest based at Lundazi parish identified as Father Viateur Banyangandora, aged 40, has been deported to his country of origin for violating the laws of this country," Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu said in a statement.
A parishioner from Lundazi, an eastern town near the border with Malawi, said that Banyangandora, during Mass, said that poor people were becoming poorer while the rich were getting richer, a move he said was tantamount to injustice which the Catholic Church detests.
Lungu said the clergy had violated the country's immigration laws as his "conduct was found to be a danger to peace and good order in Zambia".
Banyangandora was picked from Lundazi, about 850 kilometers (530 miles) from Lusaka, and brought to the capital for questioning.
"The priest, who was picked and brought to Lusaka on Monday by a team of immigration officers for interviews, was deported to Rwanda."
He had been preaching in Zambia since November 2006.
"A Rwandese priest based at Lundazi parish identified as Father Viateur Banyangandora, aged 40, has been deported to his country of origin for violating the laws of this country," Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu said in a statement.
A parishioner from Lundazi, an eastern town near the border with Malawi, said that Banyangandora, during Mass, said that poor people were becoming poorer while the rich were getting richer, a move he said was tantamount to injustice which the Catholic Church detests.
Lungu said the clergy had violated the country's immigration laws as his "conduct was found to be a danger to peace and good order in Zambia".
Banyangandora was picked from Lundazi, about 850 kilometers (530 miles) from Lusaka, and brought to the capital for questioning.
"The priest, who was picked and brought to Lusaka on Monday by a team of immigration officers for interviews, was deported to Rwanda."
He had been preaching in Zambia since November 2006.
Source - Sapa-AFP
