When Vice President Mutale Nalumango officiated at the ordination of a Bishop in Southern province the other week, she challenged the Church to stop ‘pressurising’ the politicians for donations as it often leads them into temptations to steal from the State.
This observation couldn’t have come at a better time as this one when the Clergy has literally gone to bed with the opposition! Every Sunday, they accord pulpits to the opposition which they use to greater effect as platforms to spew hatred and unleash a gush of vitriol and scathing attacks on the government. Of course, they’ve no qualms turning the Church into ‘safe’ political battlefields as long as they are ‘blessed’ with silver and gold at the end of day without much bothering to interrogate the source of such benevolence.
One is left with no choice but to conclude that the Church in our country has either become absolutely compromised or outrighly corrupt!
But how on earth did we end up here in the first place, one may wonder.
Money is the source of all evil, the scriptures always remind us. Alas, evil was allowed to enter and penetrate the Church way back in the early 2000s immediately the clergy succumbed to the temptation of entertaining the “brown envelopes” from President Frederick Chiluba and his cronies which they used as a ploy to ‘blindfold’ the Church on the shortcomings of government, particularly the third term debacle! The Church has never been the same since then, we shudder at the thought.
For those who were either not yet born or perhaps were still in their diapers at the time, when Chiluba’s second term in office was fast coming to an end, he attempted to circumvent the constitution to give him a leeway to run for a third term in office. Thanks to the combined efforts of Civil society, the Law Association of Zambia and the three Church mother bodies, Chiluba’s mission couldn’t see the light of the day!
His successor, Levy Mwanawasa would immediately apply emergency brakes on this corrupt activity earning himself labels from the Church and individuals such as, “wakaso uyu!” Like seriously? Why should the Church wilfully partake in dirty or blood money?
But lo and behold, Mwanawasa couldn’t see through his second term in office. He would be recalled to be with his Creator while on national duty, abroad. Not surprisingly, when his vice president Rupiah Banda finally stepped into his shoes, he’d immediately revive the culture of brown envelopes – handing-out enormous cash donations to the clergy and the Church in general!
Our fifth Republican president, the no nonsense man with a razor tongue, Micheal Sata aka King Cobra didn’t have time for brown envelopes! During his tenure, the Church would maintain its lane for obvious. Unfortunately, the King Cobra couldn’t last long in office…..he would succumb to the cold hand of death barely half-way through his term; to be replaced by a completely surprise fellow, not known to harbour any Presidential ambitious, in the name of Edgar Lungu!
Like Chiluba, Lungu would see a golden opportunity in the brown envelopes, and increase the amount fivefold! He would actually take a step further and lure some priests from Churches hitherto anathema to brown envelopes, such as the Catholic church and the United Church of Zambia!
As the nation was reeling from suffocation due to gassing and leaders went into overdrive plundering our resources through overpricing of infrastructure projects or kickbacks; kept the lucrative mukula business to themselves and divided the nation by restricting government jobs to one particular region, while cadres went on rampage taking over the markets and bus stations; hurling expletives and profanities, or at times go to the extremes gorging-out eyes, knocking-off teeth and hacking off the limbs of their perceived opponents; the Church conveniently kept quiet and looked the other side!
That’s what money can do…..it can make the entire Church forget about the weak and choose to side with the powerful in Society, instead.
Since we like taking examples from outside, imagine the Anglican Church in South Africa siding with the decades long pro-apartheid regime which was heavily supported by the Dutch Reformed Church or indeed the Catholic church endorsing the autocratic regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe; would one still insist the Church is standing on firm grounds?
Unless the Church immediately distances itself from conniving with the politicians as already alluded to above, we shall be left with little or no option but to conclude the Church has become outrighly compromised……nay absolutely corrupt. Aikona man!
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Polical/Social Analyst
