Mnangagwa spokesman blasts Zimbabwe Council of Churches head for spurning government decision to allow only those fully vaccinated to attend church services

Singling out Mutata, Charamba said: “I know many churches have welcomed Govt decision on face-to-face fellowship, qualified by public health preconditions given. Izvi zvabambo vanonzi Dr Mutata vane mapolitical ambition hatizvitevedzeri zvedu.

“Instead of being spurred by this Govt decision to motivate parishioners to vaccinate for their own safety and for realisation of national public health goals, some elements who purport to speak for the Zimbabwean Church dare impugn that decision in the pharisaical name of democratising access to fellowship. What rank hypocrisy!!!

“At the onset of the National Vaccination Programme, Govt went out of its way to prioritise leaders of all church denominations so they would present example and leadership to their membership. The response was massive, including from Dr Mutata who is safely vaccinated as I tweet.

“No one ever imagined that this example and show by Government would be privatised by some in Church leadership is personal salvation and access to long life unshared by their followers. Sadly, this appears to have been the case.

“For how else is one to interpret Dr Mutata’s argument that parishioners risk being discriminated by Govt decision to allow only those vaccinated to attend church services, other than to get what he seeks to communicate, albeit inadvertently, while hiding behind national statistics?

“In essence, he is admitting to failing to provide leadership in the Church, but without accepting responsibility for the same!!! And selfishness too, something quite odd for a gentleman of the cloth.

“If vaccination was good for Christ’s disciple, what is it bad for the laity? And all this time that Govt disallowed fellowship on grounds of public health, what was the Reverend Gentleman doing?? Composing a counter-statement to Govt’s eventual decision in the spirit of reflexive opposition we associate with political actors??.”

Charamba said as a church-goer, he was aware of a denomination which now boasts that 90% pf its members have been vaccinated.

As of yesterday, 1.13 million Zimbabweans had been fully vaccinated. Nearly two million had received one dose.

“Zvaana vaMutata toti HAKUNA MATATA pachiSwahili!!! May the Good Lord Bless the Zimbabwean Church and those who lead it genuinely,” Charamba concluded.

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