PASTORS AGAINST CHURCH CLOSURE TAKE POLITICAL ROUTE

BY STAFF REPORTER
Middleburg: A group of religious leader has established a political party that will be contesting for the upcoming general election in 2024.
The Active African Christians United Movement (AACUM), came into inception during the historical National Pastors Indaba held at the Pretoria Hotel from 12 to 14 November 2021, which mobilized the church leaders to engage the necessity of the political venturing during the sitting.
AACUM founding member, Apostle Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila, said the decision to go into political direction as the movement has began in the church defence as Pastors Against Church Closure.
“Our birth was from uncommon circumstances of painful nature. We begin our mobilization as an opposition to a decree that was made by the President of Republic of South Africa to close the churches on the 28 December 2019, which was for the second time. We have come to realize a growing desire for our country political scenario and landscape to have a morally rooted radical conscious Christian political movement,” he said.
Moafrika indicated that the pastors have learned with shock when government has on 10 February 2021, instructed the red ants to demolish churches in Middleburg, Mpumalanga.
“Following the instruction, as Pastors Against Church Closure, we organised a support for protest to Steve Tshwete Municipality with local Pastors Fraternal to dispute the decision,” he said.
Moafrika described AACUM as a radical movement that is pro-ethical political leadership and Christocentric movement that will protect the poor from the exploitation by the powerful in all spaces of human existence.
“The organization is an outspoken Christian movement that is non-compromising in its biblical position that has protest approach in nature that is non-violent. AACUM is a movement that derives its origin in the masses of the people, who have been suffering deprivation and marginalization by the system in previous and present government,” he said.
Moafrika informed that the organization’s ideology adheres and relies on Christian activism, as the doctrine and philosophy of its political and spiritual movement.
“We are intending to breed the kind of people who will be activist on matters affecting their daily lives. Our activism suggest that our movement is rooted in the essential of actioneering our approach than theorizing our concepts,” he said.
Moafrika said they believe the movement will be the expression that unite Africans and Christians to pursue a course of finding solutions for their God given continent and country.
“We believe that there has to be a way forward. We believe that unity is one of the most important component for both humanity and Christianity to thrive. Unity is even the central aspect of the Christian faith,” he said.