By A Correspondent- Police in Bulawayo yesterday arrested congregants of the Revival of Jesus Miracles Ministries in Nketa suburb for conducting public services in violation of lockdown regulations, as most churches resorted to conducting virtual services in compliance with the ban on public gatherings.

Nine congregants were arrested yesterday morning shortly after the church service and taken to Tshabalala Police Station where they each paid $500 admission of guilt fines.

Congregants were yesterday being taken out of the cells where they had been detained to pay fines at the charge office.

Reverend Thompson Nyathi defended his congregants, arguing that their arrest was illegal as “we maintained hygienic standards and practised social distancing during the entire service. We are fully aware of the proclamation by the President of a total lockdown and ban on public gatherings, but we believe the raid was unlawful as our gathering had less than 30 people, some of whom were arrested after the service. Everyone had their hands sanitised in line with Ministry of Health and Child Care guidelines and regulations,” he said.

Rev Nyathi claimed that they were not the only ones who violated lockdown regulations.

“We were not the only church around that opened for service, but there are other churches some of which discreetly conducted services in houses, but unfortunately, we have just been targeted after police received a phone call from someone in the locality who notified them of our so-called illegal gathering,” he said.

“However, when police and soldiers came, they found that we had finished the service and most of the congregants had left the premises save for a few who were later arrested and taken to Tshabalala Police Station.”

Under the 21-day lockdown regulations, all public gatherings are banned, except for funerals where there should not be more than 50 people.

A Chronicle news crew moved around the city and observed that a number of churches had their gates under lock and key in compliance with lockdown regulations.-statemedia