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GOVT PETITIONED: LIFT BAN ON CHURCHES NOW

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MBABANE – “Churches should open by this coming Sunday!”

This was said by church leaders who had gathered at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) offices in Mbabane yesterday morning to deliver a petition, requesting government to lift the ban on churches.

The 10 church leaders, who included Back to God’s Bishop Elijah Dlamini, Rest in Christ’s Bishop Vincent Hlatshwako and God’s Grace Church Pastor and Siphofaneni Member of Parliament (MP) Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane, delivered the petition to NDMA Chief Executive Officer Russell Dlamini. 

The move to deliver the petition, which mainly demands government to lift the ban on the closure of churches, comes after the Acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, enforced the current one-month lockdown which was effective from January 16.

The lockdown followed the COVID-19 second wave, which saw a spike in COVID-19-related deaths in the country.

According to the church leaders, through the petition, the church in Eswatini wished to join the nation in expressing concern over the exponential increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, resulting in deaths. “We mourn with families, communities and the nation at large the loss of lives of individuals who were contributors to families and even national development. We further applaud ongoing efforts by government to prevent and respond to the pandemic. We express our support and recognise our role as the church of continuously embark in prayer and seek the face of our God to put an end to this crisis (sic),” said the church leaders.

They said they understood that the emergence of the global pandemic had huge negative impacts on social life, economy of the country and spiritual lives of people. They said these impacts hit hard on people such that they were now mostly in need of the church more than ever, for their mental wellness. “As the church, we view this fight with spiritual lenses and are convinced that this is a spiritual battle manifesting itself in the physical.

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