By PASSY HAACHIZO and KASONDE KASONDE –
NATIONAL Guidance and Religious Affairs Minister Godfridah Sumaili says her ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent unscrupulous clergymen entering Zambia to mislead and exploit people.
Rev Sumaili said the move is aimed at protecting the country from ‘criminals’ who were coming in the name of Christianity.
She said some administrative and legal frameworks had been drawn up by the two ministries with the intention of bringing sanity in the religious realm.

SUMAILI

“For now, we are working with the Ministry of Home Affairs for administrative arrangements so that free missionaries, prophets, pastors coming to Zambia will need our guidance.
“We are now doing thorough investigations to the extent of consulting where they come from, because if they are genuine men of God, they must have a background,” she said.
Reverend Sumaili said the Ministry was also working with the church mother bodies to oversee what was going on in various congregations.
She expressed the hope that unscrupulous clergymen would find no place in Zambia.
Rev Sumaili said it was cardinal that Zambia remained a country anchored on values of dignity, good governance and moral uprightness in order to attain national unity and development.
She also urged Zambians to embrace each other at work, home and in the manner they conducted themselves.
Meanwhile, a Lusaka prophet has backed Government for refusing Prophet Uebert Angel of Zimbabwe entry into the country to protect people from being exploited following his alleged demand for a K2,000 for a person to attend his meetings.
Prophet Benny Mwanza said the Government had a duty to protect the citizenry from men of God who charge huge sums of money before they could pray for people.
On Thursday, the Immigration Department refused Prophet Angel entry into the country saying it was wrong for him to be charging people K2,000 for a meeting.
“Time has come for Zambia to close the borders to these so-called men of God who charge the people for prayers. Zambia is a Christian nation and there should be no room for manipulating people,” Prophet Mwanza said.
Prophet Mwanza said the church should rise up and provide guidance to the public and not allow them to be exploited in the name of receiving blessings.
He has warned local pastors selling anointing oils and water to the public to stop the trend as it was immoral for them to do so as the emblems were sacred.
Prophet Mwanza said it was important for the Government, through the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, to ensure that all churches were registered and limited themselves to the laid down rules.