Mapostori saga, 'No one has the authority to ban churches'

No one has the power to ban a church in the country, not even police, parliament has been told.

Secretary for Home Affairs Melusi Matshiya said this on Monday to a thematic committee on gender and development after recent developments by the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) to ban an apostolic sect in Budiriro on allegations it was violating women rights.

When ACCZ president Johannes Ndanga announced the ban of Johanne Masowe eChishanu at its shrine, violence erupted with journalists, ACCZ officials and police officers being assaulted.

"There is no law that allows banning of any church in Zimbabwe," Matshiya told the committee chaired by MDC-T senator, Watchy Sibanda.

"Even the police force have no such authority, even their gatherings (of churches) are not even governed by the laws such as Public Order and Security Act (Posa)," Matshiya said accompanied by Registrar general, Tobaiwa Mudede and a police representative, Naison Chivhayo.

Mudede said government should draft laws to regulate churches and protect its citizens from being abused by some "dangerous clergymen".

"Yes, they may register with us, but there is no specific law that governs them. I can safely say there are mischievous happenings in the majority of apostolic organisations, some of the things which are even hard to believe," Mudede said.

Mudede said there were loop- holes that allowed churches to operate in various offending and volatile ways and escape arrest or ban.

In these crimes, women and girls have been fingered as victims of rape, indecent and aggravated assault as well as forced marriages, among  the crimes.

"Of course, the police have prescriptive laws (that they use), but we need to work together on this one…we need a specific law and this should come from this parliament, " he said.

Mudede added that the law should, however, ensure there was freedom on the rest of the nation not a particular group of people.

According to Mudede, the ministry recently consulted 2 000 apostolic churches over the issue of marriage and called on them to submit their marriage certificates, but many of them did not turn up.

Mudede said the law should empower Christian-linked organisation such as ACCZ and catholic councils, not only to ban, but to expel "these problematic churches".

Chivhayo, an assistant commissioner in the police responsible for legal services, said since some of the senior apostolic members used pseudo names, laws of identifying offenders should be put in place so that investigations would be simpler to carry out.