The Immigration Department has deported Lundazi Catholic Church Priest, Father Viateur Banyangandora to Rwanda, his country of origin.
Home Affair Minister, Edgar Lungu yesterday confirmed the deportation of Fr Banyangandora, 40, who was picked up from Lundazi on Monday and deported on Wednesday.
The Minister said the move was taken in order to protect and safeguard the rule of law of the country.
“I can confirm that Fr Banyangandora was deported to Rwanda in order to safeguard the rule of law and order in the country. Right now he has even arrived and re-united with his family members in that country,” he said.
Mr Lungu said it was not an easy decision to make for the Government considering that the Republican President Michael Sata was a staunch Roman Catholic member but that a decision had to be taken in the interest of maintaining law and order.
The priest, who was a holder of Employment Permit No 008955, issued on November 27, 2006 when he entered the country, was found to be a danger to peace and good order, contrary to Section 39(2) of the Immigration and Deportation Act No 18 of 2010.
He said any foreigner or missionary who comes into the country should abide by the laws of the country adding that there should be no ‘sacred cows.’
Mr Lungu urged other Church leaders in the country to respect and abide by the law of the land.
Chipata Catholic Diocese Bishop, George Lungu said the Church was not aware that Fr Banyangandora had been deported to Rwanda.
“This is news to me, as a Church, we are not aware that Fr Banyangandora has been deported,” said the visibly surprised Bishop.
The prelate said the diocese would issue a comprehensive statement on the deportation of the Catholic clergy after thorough consultations today.
Fr Banyangandora was picked from his residence on Monday by a combined team of security officers.
Lundazi Catholic Assistant Parish Priest, Evans Sakala said Fr Banyangandora was picked up in connection with the homily he gave in church on Sunday which was perceived to be inciting people to rise against the Government.
Fr Banyangandora was a member of the Association of Zambian Diocesan Catholic Clergy (ADZACC) as a Catholic seminarian refugee.
He did his seminary formation at Mpima Major Seminary in Kabwe before proceeding to St Mary’s Major Seminary in Lusaka for his theology.
He was ordained Catholic Priest under the Chipata diocese in 2004 by Bishop George Lungu.
What did he say in his sermon? What kind of reporting is this?!
What is Lusaka Times doing here, you are not reporting anything, you are what they call hear say, vima ruma vilibe naku nzelu, what did the priest do kaili? after you have gathered then report, no sence, rubish
This is most useless reporting…just leaving reader in suspense…rubbish!
Crap of a report
It is against basic human rights to deport a refugee to the country out of which he fled violence.
The just thing the Zambian government could have done is to try him in the courts of law to see if he was guilty of any offence.
Hopefully, the human rights organisations and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees will express their displeasure to the Zambian government and also seek for the protection of the interests of the Priest in Rwanda, especially that the Rwandan government and people have now come a long way, and are showing good signs of delivering justice for their people.
No where in the article does it say he was a refuge. It says he was ‘…the holder of Employment Permit No 008955 …’ . I support what you say that he should have been given a chance to argue his case in court though.
What if the MMD had deported Girasolli, Duffy and arrested?
Now we know what democracy and freedom of speech are.
Zambians. God gave you Freedom but you spat in His hands and rejected it.
He gave you economic prosperity through hard work but you wanted ‘more money in your pockets’ for doing nothing.
God gave you bumper harvests but you wanted higher cash salaries.
You have made your bed, now lie in it.
What do you expect from the government led by the force of darkness Satan himself.
PF govt is starting a fire which they will fail to quench. Remember, every government that has disagreed with the Catholic clergy has always ended up being rejected by the people. Ask MMD (recently) and UNIP in the past. Its a pity that the PF government is becoming apprehensive when reminded about the promises it made to the people. Even it Sata is a staunch Catholic, that does not mean he can expel anyone just the way he has deported the priest. I CAN ASSURE PF that they are playing with fire…
The country is sliding into a dictatorship — slowly but surely — with religious freedom now being trampled upon. This is a serious affair. Today, it is religious freedom, as exercised by a foreigner. Shouldn’t a foreigner enjoy the right to freedom of expression, like everyone else? Next, it will be a native Zambian, exercising religious or academic freedom. If there was a time to question what is going on, it is NOW. It is also an infringement on freedom of conscience, including of assembly. Congregants have the right to assemble, especially when they know their preacher. By deporting the priest, the government has effectively chilled into numbness any other preacher in the country. This is serious!
PF is the biggest let down of all..all I see are mistakes and just mistakes. I wonder where we are going????
Don’t Play with the Catholics!
What message did he preach? What kind of reporting is this? Check your colleagues the ZWD
…November 27, 2006 when he entered the country……He was ordained Catholic Priest under the Chipata diocese in 2004 by Bishop George Lungu. tsup with ’em dates, am not following!!
Very poor and lazy reporting indeed. Cant this reporter take time to find out what exactly the guy said? Its takes a few phone calls or just talking to pipo who attended mass to know what the priest said. That said, if the guy indeed said stuff that was out of order he needed to go. However, the speed with which this was done makes one think this could have been a pre-planed action by the governement. Some of us come from border towns such as chililabombwe where you find illegals from nearby Congo under detention and it takes long to deport them when their country is just a stone’s throw away
THE REASONS FOR HIS DEPORTATION
Fr.Viateur Banyangandora was picked by the police on Monday after he gave a sermon about poverty in Zambia on Sunday at the Lundazi Boma Parish.
According to people at his church, the priest last Sunday preached about the gap between the poor and the rich, saying the rich are getting richer while poor are getting poorer.
In his sermon, Fr. Banyangandora questioned why the PF government was not buying cotton in Lundazi making peasant farmers to lose out.
But the OP officers who were attending church as a routine operation reported the matter to their superiors in Chipata that the priest who encouraged his members in 2011 to vote for PF has turned against the PF now.
.
He was
What did he say? We need to know.
I feel sorry for whoever gave the order for his deportation.
His message was simple and straight forward, he said, “the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer” and he gave an example of cotton farmers in eastern province whom thier cotton has not been bought surely does this this warrant a deportation? Truth hates anyway. Where is Father bwalya and his red/blue/black cards?
SERMON-”According to people at his church, the priest last Sunday preached about the gap between the poor and the rich, saying the rich are getting richer while poor are getting poorer.
In his sermon, Fr. Banyangandora questioned why the PF government was not buying cotton in Lundazi making peasant farmers to lose out.
But the OP officers who were attending church as a routine operation reported the matter to their superiors in Chipata that the priest who encouraged his members in 2011 to vote for PF has turned against the PF now.
Police officers were then sent to Chipata to go and pick him up for questioning.
He was first interrogated by Lundazi District Commissioner before being taken away by the police”.ZWD
SERMON-”According to people at his church, the priest last Sunday preached about the gap between the poor and the rich, saying the rich are getting richer while poor are getting poorer.
In his sermon, Fr. Banyangandora questioned why the PF government was not buying cotton in Lundazi making peasant farmers to lose out.
But the OP officers who were attending church as a routine operation reported the matter to their superiors in Chipata that the priest who encouraged his members in 2011 to vote for PF has turned against the PF now.
Police officers were then sent to Chipata to go and pick him up for questioning.
He was first interrogated by Lundazi District Commissioner before being taken away by the police”.ZWD
you *****s who are asking what hesaid should read yesterday’s story this is just a follow up that is why we have dunda heads because they dont follow stories and issues properly. they easily get lost along the way
Poor priest! Didn’t you have two sisters to give the lord cobra as offerings. Alternatively you could have bitten off the heads of a black and a white chicken ala Father Frank bwalya.
Maybe his work permit expired …..?
You reporters dont tell us why he was deported despite your very long and winding story. Another news source says:
A Rwandese priest based at Lundazi parish identified as Father Viateur Banyangandora, aged 40, has been deported to his country of origin for violating the laws of this country,” Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu said in a statement.
A parishioner from Lundazi, an eastern town near the border with Malawi, told AFP on the phone that Banyangandora during last Sunday’s mass said that poor people were becoming poorer while the rich were getting richer, a move he said was tantamount to injustice which the Catholic Church detests.
If this is why the priest has been deported then the Zambian government is practicing racism. I have heard numerous white priests say exactly the same thing and they have never been deported. They are in fact seen as the champions of the poor. The Zambians must be having an inferiority complex by treating a black man in a way they dont treat a white man.. This Edgar Lungu and Michael Sata think it is easier to deport a Rwandan than a Briton. That comes out of an inferiority complex
THIS REPORTING IS RUBBISH- LT YOU WANT US TO BE SCAVENGING FOR INFORMATION WHEN IT’S YOUR DUTY? WHAT DID HE SAY, THIS SAME PONTIFF?
You go to Rwanda and say exactly the words he used and see what will become of you.
what did the sermon say exactly?
I think there is more to it, they must be monitoring his deeds, the op do not just
deport any how. there is more to it…………………………………..
this make RB an angel. He did not deport Duffy for fueling the Barotse issue. Wait for more. The zambians will realise how naive they are for thinking that Sata is their saviour. Stupid *****s.
Lets not forget what some priests did in Rwanda during the genocide. We want peace.
What did he say?
Time for Catholics to feel the heat of what they imposed on Zambians-Pathetic Failures(PF)
There could be more to this. Some issues are best left with the locals, as a priest in a foreign land, this man should have concentrated more on preaching love and peace and not abating anger if thats true.Had he said ill of kagame’s government, he could have gotten a treason charge. Mind you many if not all african nations have things unbalanced so mr priest, why not clean your messy house first, then move in to educate your neighbor? and please if you wanna be heard, get back to kigali, drop your priesthood and join politics..shhaaaa
alandile inshi?
Mr. mosi,
wat a dunda head you are, if your fellow zambians are getting poorer because of poor marketing strategy and you are happy about it becoz you have chimbala on your plate. shame you are a zambian showing off how dull you are. get lost and marry the devil himself
# chipato/chipata whatever, you missed my point and I don’t blame you for that. From your writting, you got water for brains ..Lucifa’s sperm
Its sad to note that you have a different definition of rule of law in Zambia and i would like to know how you define the presumption of innocence? The priest had the right to express his view to his congregation behind closed doors and the issue of state security is just a ploy to to bend the law. By the way deporting a refugee without giving him a court hearing is against the Human Right. You should strive for equality for all, citizen and non citizens.
yes you are lucifa himself
tell us what was contained in the sermon imwe…
I don’t believe there is anything more to this than a bunch of overzealous, legally ignorant, bootlicking op’s who had nothing better to do. That is no reason to deport someone. And if indeed he had refugee status, it is even worse – sending him back to where his life was initially in danger. A breach of international covenants. Since when did speaking for the down trodden become a deportable offence? Is Zambia becoming a GESTAPO state?
God forbids!
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The Rwanda GVT was using this priest to spy on the rwandan refugees community living in ZAMBIA this is the main reasons of deportation !!! just the sake of the refugees !!!