JOHANE the Fifth of Africa Church International on Tuesday threw its weight behind the anti-sanction day saying Zimbabwe is being illegally targeted and called for sanctions to be unconditionally lifted.
In a statement, the founder of the church, Archbishop Dr Andby Makururu, said sanctions were a direct attack on the dignity of Zimbabwean people.
SADC leaders, in 2019 agreed to designate October as the anti-sanctions month and October 25 as the anti-sanctions day. The church has joined other religious institutions and other progressive forces in the calling of illegal sanctions posed against Zimbabwe.
“Illegal economic sanctions are a direct attack on the dignity of the Zimbabwean people and their entitlement to pursue their dreams, wishes and progress in a free environment. The voice of the African church must be heard and should be an integral part of building a nation. The church plays its role in consolidating the unity of the people through its prophetic voice and working with the state to challenge all forces that seek to destabilise the nation and to divide the people in order to weaken the state,” the church said.
“The gospel of the church is not a private enterprise initiative but a community initiative that embraces society in order to create opportunities for spiritual guidance without neglecting the realities of everyday life. We therefore pledge our support for the President and the nation of Zimbabwe as they battle to have sanctions removed so Zimbabwe can be free to trade with nations of the world unhindered by the current illegal economic sanctions imposed on the nation.”
“The development of a nation is not an easy affair and as evidenced by the experiences of Zimbabwe, the nation went through immense pain and suffering especially during the colonial period. The intolerable political, social and economic conditions led to the decision to confront the colonialists through the armed struggle, which eventually broke the back of the repressive white regime that thrived on and by segregating the indigenous people by keeping them on the margins of political freedom and exclusion from the economic life of the nation.”
Makururu said upon independence, Zimbabwe took the decision to complete the process of decolonisation by returning the land to the indigenous people.
“The land reform was not well received by the powerful western nations whose descendants were dispossessed of land they acquired through force and the systematic eviction of the indigenous people from their ancestral land,” Johane the Fifth of Africa Church International continued.
The established churches generally stood aloof in the battle of the land question and did not specifically challenge the illegitimacy of the neo colonial system that sought to perpetuate the suffering of the African person through their politically incorrect decisions that did not meet the minimum threshold of political, social and economic justice, the church said.
“In their usual arrogance, they went on to impose illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe resulting in serious damage to the image of the country and a fatal blow to the economy of the country that lost opportunities for growth and development. The indigenous churches have been raising concerns about the injustice that the whole nation of Zimbabwe has had to suffer as a result of a deliberate and illegal action against all the people of Zimbabwe,” further read the statement.
