THE obscure Pastors4ED grouping of church ministers is holding its first strategic meeting in Harare today as it ups its campaign for President Emmerson Mnangagwa ahead of the 2023 elections.
In a correspondence seen by NewsDay, Pastors4ED founder, evangelist Idirashe Dongo said pastors from across the country were invited.
“The national secretary-general shall write letters of invitation to all national members, provincial co-ordinators and secretaries general requesting that you must bring minutes of all meetings held in provinces, detailed reports from all provinces telling a story on how we started and where we are and a detailed database of all the servants of God in our provinces because we shall submit this to the President so that he can plan for us according to our requests,” Dongo wrote on Wednesday.
The venue was not disclosed.
In an interview last week, Dongo said there was nothing untoward about pastors supporting the President.
But political analysts have described Pastors4ED’s efforts as unconstitutional and immoral.
“It’s unconstitutional to overtly or covertly coerce the religious groups into rallying behind the leader of a political party. It eats their constitutional rights and freedoms to associate and participate in political activities at their own will,” Kudakwashe Munemo said.
Maxwell Saungweme said: “Religious leaders and their followers must follow political leaders of their choice like what other citizens do. No one must be cajoled, coaxed or wheedled to follow a leader they don't like despite their standing in society.”
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Political analyst Effie Ncube said the church’s responsibility was to call politicians to order.
“Churches must be the moral conscience of the nation and watchdogs over government and not an integral part of corruption, lawlessness and violations of human rights that some want churches to be,” he said.
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