Malawi church leaders back Chakwera’s decision to join front-line politics
Religious groups and Churches in Malawi have backed long time Evangelist and Christian leader Reverend Dr Lazarus Chakwera for his decision to join politics and contest for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidency, where if he wins it will enable him to contest for the country’s presidency in 2014.
Chakwera resigned as President of the Malawi Assemblies of God, the country’s largest and oldest Pentecostal Church on Friday.
Most Church leaders have since said that they are ready to support their fellow ‘man of God’ both in prayers and physical support as he guns for the country’s top job.
Charismatic Redeemed Ministries International’s Bishop Mark Kambalazaza, formerly a Roman Catholic priest, said there is no general law to restrain religious leaders from joining front-line politics since even Church leaders are entitled to exercise their freedoms.
“Since he has said that God has spoken to him to take up this mantle, who are we to say no?” said Kambalazaza.
He said in as far as he is concerned where God has spoken there is success and progress just like when God anointed David to become King.
“Our position is to pray for him so that God’s will is fulfilled,” added Kambalazaza.
Head of Anglican Church Bishop Brighton Malasa also said he saw nothing wrong because every person is a politician.
“It is wrong to suggest that he has joined politics. Politics is the whole idea of taking care of the people, so what he has exercised is freedom of his vocational right to continue what he he was doing in a different career,” said Malasa.
However, Evangelical Association of Malawi Secretary General Reverend Francis Mkandawire said what has happened is rare because, ordinarily, people leave politics to join the Church leadership.
“When you get men and women of integrity from the Church joining politics, it becomes unbelievable; at first it was hard for many people to accept but now they are accepting the reality,” he said.
Mkandawire also said as men of God all they are doing at the moment is praying for him saying that it is not easy and that “God has mysterious ways of speaking to His people.”
“For some of us who interacted with him, we do not understand what God is doing,” he added.
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