Apostolic sects could undo Covid-19 progress

It is a Friday and the Zimbabwe Republic Police is out in full force ensuring that all bottle stores, nightclubs, shebeens and even mobile alcohol dealers are not defying a Government directive meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
On that front they are succeeding, even though there are some hotheads that continue to defy the banning of any such operations.
Just like in the first lockdown – shebeens are causing the most damage – packing people into small rooms where they drink till the wee hours of the morning. At shebeens – wearing of masks is alien and there is absolutely no social distancing.
However, police are making arrests on that front and it appears this is enough of a deterrent, particularly after the incarceration of Arnold “DJ Fantan” Kamudyariwa, Tafadzwa “Levels” Kadzimwe and Simbarashe “Dammer” Chanachimwe for flouting lockdown regulations.
Enforcing the aforementioned, turning away motorists and ensuring everyone is correctly wearing a mask seems to have taken up much of the police’s resources.
This has left one notorious group of the people free to do as they please.
Just like imbibers – who take their Fridays very seriously and require a watchful eye from law enforcement not to break the law – the churches , particularly the Apostolic sects, revere their Fridays as well.
Chishanu chionoera (Holy Friday) is a very important day to members of the apostolic sects, especially Johane Masowe and Vadzidzi, to mention just a few.
Members of the Vadzidzi Apostolic sect that operate in Seke, Chitungwiza are openly defying the Government directive on gatherings.
Nhau visited their shrine, where the leader, who identified himself as Mudzidzi, not only expressed ignorance on the various levels of lockdowns in Zimbabwe but said Covid-19 did not exist.
“There is nothing like coronavirus, had it been there then all of us would have died because the country does not have resources to fight such a disease. It is simply not there,” Mudzidzi said.
“Corona is found in the other countries not here in Zimbabwe.”
Mudzidzi said there was no way he would instruct his followers to stay at home as this would “affect our faith”.
Another Apostolic sect, Johane Masowe e-Chishanu, again in Chitungwiza, threatened to beat up the Nhau news crew when asked why they were congregating in such large numbers when gatherings have been banned.
“Tinoziva kuti corona (coronavirus) iriko asi ndozvatavinga pano kuzobata munamato kuti ipere (We know that the coronavirus is real but that is why we are gathered here – to pray for it to disappear,” Madzibaba Nehemiah said, before summarily dismissing the news crew with threats of violence.
Bars, Apostolic sects and formal businesses, particularly in the CBDs of most urban centres are not the only high risk areas.
Vendors continue to defy the lockdown and in most towns and cities vehicular and human traffic reportedly increased on Thursday and Friday.
However, it is the Apostolic sects, who are largely a law unto themselves, defying almost every local authority and Government directive against their illegal “under-the-tree” gatherings. Nhau/Indaba