The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe is once again in a vulnerable position, following the re-election of Robert Mugabe. Robert Marquand of The Christian Science Monitorhas the story, which includes this information:
The chief Anglican bishop in Zimbabwe, Chad Gandiya, last week accused a renegade clergyman and friend of Mugabe of restarting a campaign using brutality, the courts and police to seize churches, orphanages and missions owned by mainstream Anglicans.
Gandiya told AP that Nolbert Kunonga, a defrocked bishop who stumped for Mugabe and last week called him a leader “sent from God,” is using the emotion around the landslide vote as an opportunity to seize property associated with the Church of England. …
Gandiya told reporters that Kunonga last week sent thugs into his own home in Harare, where they stole cellphones and records of church holdings and personnel.
Gandiya also said that in the area of Murewa, outside Harare, local police are supporting Kunonga’s effort to take over a mission, and to evict 100 children from the Shearly Cripps orphanage, first started by British and American missionaries.
I’ve just returned from a conference at which several Zimbabweans and expatriates were present, and these developments are just what they feared.
(Hat tip: Anglican Communion News Service).