By A Correspondent| Pastor Samuel Masunda is a clergyman who is being persecuted for his own political conviction and belief in human rights.

He has been at loggerheads with the governing authorities in Harare for dabbling in political activities and promoting human rights.

He has always been threatened by the dreaded central intelligence agency officials that men of the cloth must confine themselves to the pulpit or else be treated like opposition politicians…

In Zimbabwe, being treated as an opposition activist means frequent visits to the dreaded remand prisons, torture, and deaths.

To further compound the already dire situation, Masunda has been advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ community, a society which is being shunned upon in the greater Zimbabwean society.

Masunda has always stated that the broader Zimbabwe community should be tolerant to people with divergent political, social, and sexual convictions.

In an interview with this publication, Masunda urged local society to be accommodative to differences.

“The gay and lesbian community in Zimbabwe has to hide their sexual identity…they suffer discrimination and exclusion, and, in most instances, they suffer violent attacks, and this has resulted in permanent fear and loneliness,” he said.

Pastor Masunda said most of the LGBTQ society often suffer from poor mental health.

And it is that critical introspection into society which has got him at loggerheads with the authorities in the country.

“They have always labelled me as a gay advocate politician masquerading as a clergyman,” he said.

“I had no problem with that attached name, had they confined to labelling only, he said.

Masunda is being haunted day and night by state security agencies.

“Iam under surveillance with real threats to my life, being persecuted for what I believe in…basic human rights and fundamental freedoms such as belonging to a political party of one’s choice”.

“If a state cannot offer such fundamentals, then it becomes authoritarian”.