SOME CHURCHES BREACHING RULES

MBABANE - While the Bible encourages people to respect those in authority, some members of the League of Churches are said to be breaching the COVID-19 regulations.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations Directive No: 2 of 2021 provides that gatherings remain banned during the partial lockdown. According to concerned residents of Zombodze, some members of Zion and Jericho churches have been conducting vigils near Manzamnyana since government temporarily banned gatherings on March 27, 2020. Worth noting is that a limited number was allowed in gatherings until government came up with revised regulations, which completely banned gatherings.
This was after government observed an alarming increase in the number of new COVID-19 infections and deaths during the second wave. The extended partial lockdown was effected on January 16, 2021, where only three members were allowed, only for live streaming of church services. The extension will continue for the next two weeks. Manzamnyama is one of the rivers which are associated with water spirits known as inzuza. As a result, it attracts many people believed to be subscribing to the spirits.
The concerned residents shared with this publication that the members of the organisation assembled at the mountain near the river in numbers every Friday. They claimed that at times, the Christians spent the whole weekend praying in the mountain.

Banned

“Our concern is that gatherings were temporarily banned as the country tries to minimise the spread of COVID-19. The congregants sing at the top of their voices and you can tell that they are not singing with their face masks on. We have called the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) on 112 on numerous occasions, but there has been no response. We even called the police on 999, but there has been no response,” said a concerned resident. The residents who blew the whistle were asked if they had any interest in the matter and they claimed that they had none except that they wanted adherence to the regulations put in place by government. “It does not matter where I worship, my concern is on the breach of the regulations,” said one of the residents when asked about his interest in the matter. He mentioned that they resolved to call this publication after all their efforts to curb the unlawful gatherings failed.NDMA Public Relations Manager Wandile Mavuso said there were many factors that could result in the residents not reaching the office through the toll-free line. Mavuso said one of the factors could be that the toll-free line was flooded with prank calls on a daily basis.

He was asked why relevant stakeholders failed to respond to reported cases after government invested in the command centre, where police officers, soldiers, firefighters, paramedics among other stakeholders, monitor calls for quick response during the pandemic. He said as far as the organisation was concerned, gatherings were currently banned in the country. He advised the residents to try other emergency lines if they failed to reach the command centre through 112. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni wanted to know how the residents contacted the police. She said there was a likelihood that the police could not be reached on 999 for many reasons. Mnguni added that it was at times difficult to follow up on calls made on 999. She advised the residents to also call the communications office at 7606 2312. She also asked for directions so that they could act on the matter.

The League of Churches President, Bishop Samson Hlatjwako, registered his shock when informed about the matter. Hlatjwako stated that police and the NDMA could be blamed if the version given by the residents was true. “We can blame the police and NDMA if what is said by the residents is true. They should have acted on the matter as soon as they received the information. The COVID-19 regulations are clear that gatherings were temporarily banned in the country,” Hlatjwako said. He said it was unfortunate that a majority of Zion churches were affiliated to the organisation. Hlatjwako asked for directions to the area, stating that he would personally camp at the mountain in order to ascertain the truth of the matter. “We cannot overlook the fact that it is painful to miss church for more than a year. You cannot even call people to clean the place due to the regulations. However, the frustrations do not warrant people to defy the authorities. The Bible is clear that those in authority should be respected at all times. If they fail to respect government and the King, how will they respect God?” asked Hlatjwako.

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