Call to respect, pray for Robert Mugabe

Zimbabweans should respect President Mugabe and all Christians should pray for him according to the dictates of the Bible, internationally-acclaimed preacher Prophet Victor Kusi Boateng has said.

Prophet Boateng, who is also United Family International Church founder Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa's spiritual father, said this on Thursday at the UFIC's Easter eve service.

Prophet Boateng, who hails from Ghana, said the church should also respect elders even if they did not belong to their congregations.

His statement, which echoed Prophet Healing and Deliverance Church leader Prophet Walter Magaya's call to respect and pray for leaders, came as Christian churches in Zimbabwe, also joined the world starting yesterday up to Monday in commemorating the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with a number of events lined up.

Prophet Makandiwa's UFIC is holding a four-day Easter conference at Harare's City Sports Centre that is being attended by thousands of Zimbabweans from all over the country and those from abroad.

"As long as President Mugabe is the leader of Zimbabwe, Prophet Makandiwa has a duty to respect him," said Prophet Boateng.

"It is the duty of every Christian to respect political leaders according to what the Bible says.

"Our duty is to respect authority."

Prophet Boateng said the problem with some African leaders was that they amassed wealth at the expense of the majority.

He said some shipped millions of dollars to banks in Switzerland instead of channelling the money to development.

Prophet Boateng singled out Zaoga leader and founder Apostle Ezekiel Guti and Bishop Tudor Bismark of the New Life Covenant church and praised them for building the pentecostal movement.

Various churches yesterday also celebrated Easter through conferences, while others marched and partook the Holy Communion in commemorating and celebrating the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Harare, the Roman Catholic Church members marched to the Cathedral holding crosses.

The church members marched in their hundreds from Mbare, Mt Pleasant and Braeside among other areas to attend a sermon at the cathedral.

Addressing the congregation, Roman Catholic Archbishop Robert Ndlovu, said Easter was a time to ask for forgiveness from and reconciling with God.

"Easter is the time we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. God has communicated his love to us through the death of Jesus Christ and we should take this opportunity to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness," he said.

ZAOGA Forward in Faith, St Mary's District pastor, Chipo Zondo, said the church was holding an Easter Conference hosted by the youths.

"We let the youths participate as we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have teachings on the death and resurrection of Jesus and how our sins were forgiven through his death," she said.

Methodist Church of Zimbabwe, Mbare Circuit Reverend Victor Chidzambwa, said the church was celebrating Easter under the theme "Remember Me Jesus" .

"We believe Easter is the climax of the love of God to his people. Jesus died for our sins and we were brought back to God.

"Easter is the time to realise we are lost and there is one saviour Jesus Christ. Our focus is on the Cross which represented salvation," he said.

Rev Chidzambwa who symbolically cleaned the feet of the congregates, said this was the way of remembering the death of Jesus Christ.

"We clean feet and after that we have the Holy Communion. This is what Jesus did before The Holy Communion," he said.

In the city center and some suburbs, it was business as usual as supermarkets and other shops in the Central Business District were open.

Most of the people in the informal sector in areas such as Mbare's Magaba and Glenview complexes carried on their business as usual.