AFM pastor defrocked for divorcing his wife, church members in protest

HARARE - Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) members on Sunday held a peaceful protest against the suspension of the Harare East province pastor who was suspended because he divorced his wife.

AFM parishioners accused the church's Overseer Amon Chinyemba of being dictatorial in the management of the church.

Chinyemba fired pastor Patson Munyengeterwa three weeks ago because he had divorced his abusive wife.

The church members claimed that Munyengeterwa was dismissed from his position unconstitutionally.

The Waterfalls pastor was said to be  a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his wife of 17 years and decided to end the union. The matter is currently before the courts.

When the Daily News crew arrived at the church yesterday, congregants were demanding an apology from Chinyemba and the reinstatement of the suspended pastor. They accused the overseer of acting arbitrarily.

Placards inscribed "Munyengeterwa paPulpit", "Satani Pakadoma"  and "Church haitongwe nedictatorship" were pasted on the church walls both inside and outside.

Soon after Chinyemba apologised, he bolted out of the church after the congregation demanded he brings back their pastor, prematurely ending the service. A few parishioners remained in church though.

Richard Mhlanga, a member of the church, said Munyengeterwa had every right to divorce the abusive wife.

"How can a man endure a marriage that he does not enjoy to be in?" he asked. "A marriage marred with physical abuse and multiple bodily scars some of them knife marks?"

He said the church wants their pastor to be reinstated otherwise the Waterfalls church will not be able to conducts services.

Martin Moyana, another congregant,  highlighted that there was nothing in the church constitution that states if a pastor is divorced, he could not conduct his duties.

"After the firing of our pastor we looked at the constitution to find if there was a clause that states otherwise but we did not find it," Moyana said. "The only possible excuse is that this was an agreement between the elders that if a pastor divorces, they are given three months to sort out the issue.

"If the matter is not resolved, they are suspended pending a decision from the church on the way forward.
Even that is not binding as there are other pastors who are practising despite taking a second wife. Do they want him to die in the marriage before they realise that it is not working for him?"

Moyana said Munyengeterwa's case was different as technically he was already a single man.

"He does not enjoy conjugal rights with his wife, let alone sleep in the house," Moyana said.

"He is constantly beaten. The woman neither cooks nor cleans for the man, surely, that is not a marriage."

Emmanuel Manyika, secretary for the Harare East province, said the church has rules and regulations that needed to be followed.

"It is stated in the church laws that if one divorces they should step down from the reigns of being a pastor," Manyika said.