Zimbabwe: Anglicans take police chief to court

The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has brought charges against the police chief of Zimbabwe for sending police to prevent parishioners from attending church on Sundays.

Michael Chingore, the Diocesan Registrar for the Church of the Province of Central Africa, said that police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri was working with excommunicated bishop Albert Kunonga to destabilise the church.

Kunonga, a strong supporter of President Robert Mugabe, was excommunicated in 2007 after withdrawing the diocese from the province. He has since claimed ownership over Anglican churches and assets, prompting the Anglican Church to depose Kunonga and replace him with Bishop Sebastian Bakare.

Chingore, speaking to InTheNews, said that the police chief should be charged for working with Kunonga to push Anglican worshippers out of their church.

He said, "We have already pressed charges against Chihuri at the high court for sending police to disturb our services.

"We are simply saying the police or commissioner-general should not be anywhere near our services. Mr Chihuri is sending police to provoke Anglicans and on the other hand he is saying he does not know anything about it."

In a statement last year, Anglican bishops said, "We do not recognise Mr Kunonga as a Bishop within the Anglican Communion and we call for the full restoration of Anglican Property within Zimbabwe to the Church of the Province of Central Harare."