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Anglicans appeal to Mnangagwa over land invasion

Politics
THE Anglican Church has appealed to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo to stop the invasion of its land by ruling party youths in Chitungwiza.

THE Anglican Church has appealed to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo to stop the invasion of its land by ruling party youths in Chitungwiza.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

The appeal comes after at least 1 000 youths besieged the church’s St Mary’s assembly in Chitungwiza on Sunday where they held the congregants hostage for about three hours, demanding to be allowed to subdivide the church’s 82-hectare plot in the dormitory town into residential stands.

The youths, led by the party’s central committee member Innocent Hamandishe, are claiming the land was illegally acquired by the church during the colonial era. Precious Shumba, spokesperson for the Anglican Bishop in the Diocese of Harare, yesterday said the church had decided to engage Zanu PF’s top leadership after the youths remained defiant.

“The Anglican diocese appeals to the Minister of Local Government (Chombo) and Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and protect the church from this unwarranted harassment,” said Shumba. “We trust that their good offices will attend to this issue as a matter of priority.

“The Anglican Church has been in Zimbabwe for a very long time and has provided education, health and religious services to Zimbabweans occupying different spaces of life including ministers and Zanu PF supporters, among others.

“We are appealing to Minister Chombo to attend to the issue and stop this unlawful occupation of our church property.

“Illegality has no space in the democratic space of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Anglican Church leaders from St Mary’s yesterday said the situation was tense and the Zanu PF youths were still parcelling out stands on the disputed land.

Chombo could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.