We thought we had heard the last of excommunicated Anglican bishop Nolbert Kunonga after the Supreme Court emphatically ruled that he had no right to masquerade as an Anglican bishop and to occupy buildings of the church.
NewsDay Editorial
Why must we have thought otherwise since the ruling came from the highest court in the land which has the final say over all legal matters?
This was after a saga running for five years in which Kunonga lorded it over the church, humiliating and abusing worshippers for not toeing his line.
He got away with this because the political establishment openly sided with him.
Kunonga prevailed, but not for religious reasons as his followers were much fewer than those of the genuine Anglican Church. He prevailed because of support from the powers-that-be for openly backing controversial and unjust Zanu PF policies. That was his reward for openly backing an unjust system.
He became known more for political fervour instead of Christian zeal. More and more, his conduct bordered on impunity and immunity until this was brought to an abrupt halt by the Supreme Court and his world came crashing down.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that he and his gang must move out forthwith as they were no longer members of the church by virtue of having strayed from its credo and rules.
But, alas, this is apparently not so. To our disappointment — not to our surprise — Kunonga is taking his time, with indications of not budging and digging in in some instances, as reported in this paper on Saturday.
This is not surprising going by Kunonga’s past record of itching for confrontation.
Will the police this time act with promptness to evict Kunonga? We don’t know because last week when asked if they would, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri skirted the issue, saying: “I don’t belong to that church.”
But reality appears to be dawning.
Yesterday — the first Sunday after the Supreme Court ruling — provided the first real test of compliance with the court order and Kunonga’s people were nowhere in sight.
Services went on peacefully with the legal Anglican Church in charge. This was the first normal Sunday of worship for many Anglicans.
Those few Anglicans still following him and those wavering should now see the sense of ditching him altogether because his behaviour is the complete opposite of Christianity.
His conduct is not that of a man of the cloth. It goes against all the tenets of Christianity.
To make matters worse, this now borders on criminality as he is apparently openly defying a Supreme Court order to move out.
Anglicans everywhere need to give him the order of the boot.
