THE Council of Churches in Africa (CCA) yesterday celebrated its fifth anniversary with a grand ceremony in Bulawayo, while paying tribute to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his stance on religious freedom in Zimbabwe.
The members praised Mnangagwa for fostering an environment where worship can flourish without fear, acknowledging his pivotal role in promoting peace and unity among the people.
They also expressed hope that under his leadership, Southern African Development Community (Sadc) will witness a new era of peace, development and unity.
“We are here celebrating five years. This is our fifth anniversary celebrating freedom of worship and we are also celebrating our beloved President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the position of being chairman this August.
“We know as he is going to take the position of chairman, he is going to bring peace and unity and development as he has done here in Zimbabwe.
“We were doing a march that our President has been chosen to be chairman of Sadc. We continue to stand by him and stand with Zimbabwe. We hope he will instil peace, development and unity in Zimbabwe and in Sadc. That’s what we are looking forward to,” CCA leader Rocky Moyo told Southern Eye in an interview.
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He said CCA was happy that the government had changed the way they were doing things before.
“We see that child marriage has decreased and also churches are uniting everyday so we are here to celebrate that as churches. Churches have built schools, hospitals, they are busy giving people jobs as well through schools and hospitals.
“That is what we are pushing for that those small churches left behind must join us . . . so that we are able to assist the government. Like he says, the country is built brick by brick,” he said.
Bishop Leo Muchayedzerwa, from St Luke’s Apostolic Church, hailed the government for granting them the freedom to worship without restrictions and for providing them with the opportunity to foster development within the church.
“We thank the government for allowing us to worship freely without restrictions and giving us an opportunity to initiate developments in church as well as the green light to teach biblical ways across the country,” he said.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Affairs minister Judith Ncube said the five years had been a learning curve.
“The government and the church, is one thing. The government it’s me and you. The country is built by its people, if we don’t do that [sic],” she said.