GoodNews Church founder Prophet Uebert Angel has made an impassioned call for peace in Zimbabwe following the death of an estimated 12 people and over 68 being admitted to hospital for gunshot wounds following a crackdown by security forces in the aftermath of protests.
Writing on his Instagram account, Angel wrote; “ZIMBABWEANS are a people of GREAT RESOLVE. They are not a POLITICAL PARTY or a POLITICAL AFFILIATION and to be SILENT at this hour is to GREATLY ERR so I break ranks and CALL for PRAYER for ZIMBABWEANS everywhere.
“And I go further and ask everyone with a VOICE to call for an AMICABLE SOLUTION and to call for PEACE. Needless to say WHATEVER political ideology we agree with, it is of paramount importance that we speak the same voice and say VIOLENCE is NEVER the answer, united we stand and divided we WILL always FALL. #GoodNews #ZimbabweForJesus,” Angel wrote.
Various commentators have criticised the church for maintaining a silence in the midst of the mainly state-sponsored violence that erupted after an unpopular government decision to double fuel prices.
The main labour union the Zimbabwe Congress Trade Union (ZCTU) last week called for a stayaway which saw sporadic incidents of violence and looting. The government responded with a crackdown which has been condemned by the United Nations (UN) as excessive.
“(The) government will not stand by while such narrow interests play out so violently,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba told the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper. “The response so far is just a foretaste of things to come.”
President Mnangagwa has since cut short his European tour, posting on Twitter: “In light of the economic situation, I will be returning home after a highly productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings. The first priority is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again.”
Source: MbareTimescom
