Church leaders threatening to reject possible covid-19 vaccination over conspiracy theories should be held accountable for disseminating information that puts the public in danger Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has said.
This comes on the backdrop of United Family International Church (UFIC) founder, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s sentiments in which he vowed not to accept covid-19 vaccination while address his followers a few weeks ago.
In a statement, ZimRights noted that Makandiwa’s stance retards the progress made through efforts that have in place for years targeting to convince apostolic church sects into accepting conventional medicines instead of relying on prayers and faith alone.
“Over the years, a number of campaigns have been launched to convince the religious sects to embrace modern medicine especially for the benefit of vulnerable groups like women and children. Significant gains have been made. But a new threat to these gains emerged in the third week of the lock-down as some church leaders started spreading conspiracy theories about COVID 19,
including threatening to reject any vaccination against the disease,” said the human rights body.
ZimRights further highlighted that the spread of covid-19 conspiracy theories by church leaders puts the public in danger as it may persuade some to disregard the safety precautions treating the pandemic like a myth.
“In times of crisis, the church plays a critical role in being a source of hope and information.
Reports of church leaders disseminating conspiracy theories about COVID 19 raise a real danger of the return to those early days of religious defiance to medical health facilities, raising fears that these may lead to people undertaking dangerous behavior, like treating COVID 19 as a myth,” reads the statement.
They further noted that if lives are lost due to this misinformation the church leaders should be held accountable.
“While the constitution guarantees freedom of worship, ZimRights further believes that church leaders have a role to play in helping protect societies against disinformation. It is dangerous to disseminate information that is likely to place people in danger. If because of dissemination, lives are lost, leaders must be held accountable for such loss.”
