Paul Nyathi

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday refused to attend to the issues raised by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference choosing to instead attack the Roman Catholic Church leaders claiming that they are destroying the relationship that ZANU PF has always had with the church.

Addressing the Zanu PF politburo meeting, President Mnangagwa said such a relationship was pivotal to national development.

“Zanu PF has a close relationship with the Church, dating back to the days of the liberation struggle. In the post independence period, we continued to work well. Going forwards, we remain committed to working well with the church to advance the national development agenda, as a united people,” he said.

President Mnangagwa castigated the church leaders accusing them of meddling in the political affairs of the country and challenged them to remove their religious robes and form political parties.

“However it is most unfortunate when men of the cloth begin to use the pulpit to advance a nefarious agenda for detractors of our country. Those who want to enter the political realm are welcome to do so. They must come out and form political parties. As Zanu PF we are ready for the 2023 elections,” he said.