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Chipanga turns church into political party

News
The Mutare–based Kwachu Kwachu-hit-maker, Hosiah Chipanga is no stranger to controversy.

HOSIAH Chipanga is no stranger to controversy. The Mutare–based Kwachu Kwachu-hit-maker, renowned for claiming that all the blessings emanating from prayers in English were being channelled to white people, is now eyeing a place in the country’s Executive — as president!

Report by Obey Manayiti

In an interview with NewsDay, Chipanga says he now wants to revive his political ambitions and the first step in that endeavour is going to be the transformation of his Messiah Apostolic Prophetically Inspired People’s Institution Church (MAPIPI) into a fully-fledged political party that will participate in the forthcoming harmonised elections. Chipanga reveals in this wide–ranging interview his frustrations for failing to contest for the presidency in the last elections after failing to secure the required signatures from his seconders.

His determination to rule the country, he says, is still growing, and he promises to trim the Cabinet to a slender 10 members.

He expresses disappointment, however, at what he says are the prohibitive regulations if one wants to run for the highest office in the land. Chipanga argues that those currently holding political offices have dismally failed to turn around the country’s fortunes and deserve to be shown the door.

“This is a serious issue, but I don’t want to come as an enemy of anyone. My basis in politics emanates from the Kingdom of God and I am like the biblical Moses who was called to serve the people of Israel,” Chipanga said. “This upcoming election will not give us a solution, but new problems. This election will not give us outright solutions and we are just finishing off a term filled with many different problems to get into another term of new problems.”

Chipanga says he has launched MAPIPI so that he can use it as his platform for campaigning and his prayer is that people will be able to indentify with it and the issues he is seeking to address.

“I will campaign and mobilise through it. I’m waiting for an opportune moment to campaign because if you do the right thing at the wrong time the whole issue becomes wrong,” he said. “I have tried to approach other political parties, but there is resistance. After these elections I will start to campaign and hopefully people will see sense in what I will be saying. I am determined to save Zimbabwe and even when some people try to denigrate me by saying I am insane, I will not be detracted.”

The musician said he is experienced in politics as he had been into politics since the colonial era and under his administration, he will effectively deal with corruption. He also took aim at Zanu PF’s chaotic land reform programme saying it is one of the sources of problems the country is currently going under.