Mon, 19 Jun 2017 09:49:22 +0000
By CHARLES MUSONDA & BENNIE MUNDANDO
MORE church mother bodies have and leaders have denounced assertions by some clergy that Zambia was sliding into a dictatorship and have disassociated themselves from and questioned the
Christian standing of the meeting by some church bodies at Kapingila House last week.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) board has charged that some church leaders were sowing seeds of discord and inciting people to rise against the Government.
And United Church of Zambia (UCZ), Bishop Synod, Rev. Sydney Sichilima has distanced the church from a statement issued by Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu that the country was sliding into a dictatorship.
Meanwhile, Ndola Diocese bishop Alick Banda has charged that those aggrieved by the outcome of the 2016 elections are the ones who should make a commitment towards the reconciliation process by first recognizing one another as that was one of the fundamentals to the process.
“I would urge all our political contestants that it is high time we reconciled. We, as a church, have always been ready to come on board and help,” bishop Banda said.
In an interview yesterday, EFZ immediate past board vice chairman Bishop Peter Ndhlovu, who is also BIGOGA overseer, maintained that they had nothing to do with the ill-conceived statement from Bishop Mpundu. Bishop Ndhlovu said as far as the EFZ was concerned, it was not party to the statement purportedly issued by the three Church mother bodies, describing the people behind the statement as individuals who have failed to reconcile the differing parties because of their hidden agendas.
“To say that we have endorsed that statement is not true. The only man who was supposed to represent EFZ was Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, the executive director but he was not even consulted and he did not see it.
“That statement was issued by only two church mother bodies- the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Council of Churches in Zambia. To make a blanket statement that the three Church mother bodies endorsed that statement is not true,” Bishop Ndhlovu said.
And United Church of Zambia (UCZ), Bishop Synod, Rev. Sydney Sichilima has distanced the Church from a statement issued by Archbishop Mpundu.
“Basically what we are saying, if there was such a meeting, we were not consulted. We were in Kabwe for a meeting as leadership from the UCZ. I am sorry to mention that we are still consulting. If we comment on matters in court we could be cited for contempt. For now, we are praying for the peace of the nation. We want the country to preserve its peace,” Rev. Sichilima said
