Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) says there is no religious connotation to the unveiling of the Mbuya Nehanda statue as she was a key figure.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is tomorrow expected to unveil the statue of the iconic spirit medium at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Julius Nyerere way in Harare.
ZCC Secretary General Reverend Kenneth Mtata said this is a memorial to remember a key individual in the country’s history.
“It is important for us to note that the choice to see this statue as a religious figure is anyone’s right but it does not have to be viewed from a religious perspective. This could be viewed simply as a monument to remember a key figure in the history of the nation so there is really no religious connotation to do with this unveiling and that’s why we don’t see any burden for the church to explain what it thinks about this unveiling,” said Rev. Mtata
Responding to a public outcry over what people said was a misplaced priority, Rev Mtata there was nothing that required the church to reflect on.
“Of cause others are raising an economic question that why should we have such an expensive monument at a time when we do not have resources for health and education, that’s a different discussion and people who are raising this issue have a right to raise this issue of prioritization of allocation of resources.
“I just wanted to dispel any suggestion that the issue of the unveiling of this statue of Mbuya Nehanda is a subject for discussion in terms of our self-understanding as a church, in actual fact there is no reason for us to think about it from the perspective of religion.
“It would have been the same if this was the unveiling of Benjamin Burombo, of a known hero like Jairos Jiri or any known figure in the history of our nation. We could have looked at it from the same perspective, there is nothing in Mbuya Nehanda that requires the church to reflect on this issue as a religious issue.” he said.
