Excerpt: Churches in Mudzi District urged to suspend services for ZANU PF political meeting on 29 March 2026.
Critics warn move silences religious freedom while enabling party campaigning.
Calls grow for fair, transparent, and coercion-free national outreach.
By Advent Shoko
HARARE – The Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) has ordered churches in Mudzi District, Mashonaland East Province, to suspend Sunday services on 29 March 2026 to make way for an inter-district political meeting. The meeting, to be addressed by Provincial Chairman Daniel Garwe, will take place at Kotwa High School.
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In an official letter obtained by ZiGoats, the party wrote:
“You are kindly encouraged to suspend church services on that day to allow congregants to attend. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.”
The directive has drawn sharp criticism from civil society and media personalities, with journalist Hopewell Chin’ono describing the order as “tragic” and a “weaponisation of state power.” He noted that while those opposing Constitutional Amendment No. 3 face arrests for simply meeting, ZANU PF officials are freely shutting down churches to advance political objectives. Chin’ono added:
“The outreach process must be fair, transparent, and free from coercion. It cannot be called a national process when one side is silenced and criminalised, while the other campaigns freely, even commandeering churches. President Emmerson Mnangagwa should not allow this process to be driven by fear, arrests, and detentions.”
The development has intensified calls for accountability, with observers warning that political interference in religious spaces undermines both civic and constitutional freedoms. Analysts argue that the move risks deepening divisions, as it blurs the line between party politics and civil society spaces that are meant to be neutral and inclusive.
ZANU PF officials have not issued further comments regarding the directive.
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