Zvamaida Murwira-Senior ReporterAFRICAN Apostolic Church founder and national hero Archbishop Paul Mwazha’s remains will be flown this Saturday to the church’s traditional shrine, Guvambwa in Chikomba District, Mashonaland East Province where a memorial service will be held before burial the following day at Chirasauta in Buhera District.Zanu PF national chairman Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri yesterday visited Archbishop Mwazha’s Hatfield residence where she officially announced the conferment of national hero status by President Mnangagwa owing to his role in providing spiritual guidance in the country both before and after independence.“When President Mnangagwa heard about the death while he was out of the country on official business, he never thought twice. This is because Bishop Mwazha’s legacy is self evident. They are well documented. He provided spiritual guidance even to nationalists during the liberation struggle and continued to do so after independence,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.Family spokesperson, Dr Masimba Mwazha, told Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri, who was accompanied by Zanu PF secretary for Security, Cde Lovemore Matuke that the body of the national hero will lie in state at his residence in Harare on Friday before being flown to Guvambwa the following day.“We are grateful as a family and church for the acknowledgment that has been conferred on our father and leader by President Mnangagwa and the party,” said Dr Mwazha.“We expect that the body will be taken on Friday from the funeral parlour to his residence here where it will lie in state. It will be flown to Guvambwa where there will be a service and body viewing. On Sunday we will take his remains to Chirasauta for interment. The event at Chirasauta will be private. It will be restricted to family members and senior church officials,” said Dr Mwazha.Dr Masimba Mwazha said the family was working closely with the Government, church’s leadership to ensure smooth coordination as thousands of congregants, dignitaries and international visitors prepare to participate in the final send-off.In her address to mourners, Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said Archbishop Mwazha was conferred national hero status for his contribution in the spiritual being of people for several decades.“When President Mnangagwa heard about the death while he was out of the country on official business, he never thought twice. This is because Bishop Mwazha’s legacy is self evident. They are well documented. He provided spiritual guidance even to nationalists during the liberation struggle and continued to do so after independence,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.In her address to mourners, Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said Archbishop Mwazha was conferred national hero status for his contribution in the spiritual being of people for several decades.She said Archbishop Mwazha supported the liberation struggle through various means that included praying for nationalists who were executing the fight for independence.“He prayed for nationalists consistent with President Mnangagwa’s mantra that a country is developed, led and prayed for by its own people. He helped fight oppression by providing spiritual leadership,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.She said Archbishop Mwazha’s legacy was a source of inspiration to the liberation fighters as he provided both prayers and prophesies.“He remained steadfast even in the wake of oppression where liberation fighters were incarcerated by colonialists. The colonial regime was so oppressive that it did not even allow girls to go to school. It took liberation fighters who include Archbishop Mwazha to fight that,” she said.Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said President Mnangaga had a huge appreciation of Archbishop Mwazha’s spiritual legacy.“The President said he was a fountain of wisdom. He never thought twice. Unlike in some instances where Zanu PF Politburo members would be asked if they knew a person who would have died. In this case, there was no need for that because no one could say he or she did not know Apostle Mwazha. He contributed in the spiritual fabric of the country,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.“While we are mourning about the loss, we must celebrate his life, the gift of life. To attain 107 years is not a joke,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.Born on October 25, 1918 at Holy Cross Mission in Chirumanzu, Archbishop Mwazha’s early life was marked by humble beginnings, a near-fatal childhood illness and a baptism by a German Catholic missionary — an event many regard as a sign of the spiritual calling that would define his life.Before establishing the African Apostolic Church in the late 1950s, he trained as a teacher at Howard Institute and later served in the Methodist Church.Over the decades that followed, his ministry grew into one of the most influential indigenous Christian movements in Africa, rooted in principles of holiness, humility and healing.Archbishop Mwazha was one of the surviving founding leaders of indigenous churches, that include, Johanne Marange, Johanne Masowe, Mugodhi Apostolic Church, Zion Christian Church by Bishop Samuel Mutendi, Zaoga by Ezekiel Guti among others.
Zvamaida Murwira-Senior Reporter
AFRICAN Apostolic Church founder and national hero Archbishop Paul Mwazha’s remains will be flown this Saturday to the church’s traditional shrine, Guvambwa in Chikomba District, Mashonaland East Province where a memorial service will be held before burial the following day at Chirasauta in Buhera District.
Zanu PF national chairman Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri yesterday visited Archbishop Mwazha’s Hatfield residence where she officially announced the conferment of national hero status by President Mnangagwa owing to his role in providing spiritual guidance in the country both before and after independence.
“When President Mnangagwa heard about the death while he was out of the country on official business, he never thought twice. This is because Bishop Mwazha’s legacy is self evident. They are well documented. He provided spiritual guidance even to nationalists during the liberation struggle and continued to do so after independence,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.
Family spokesperson, Dr Masimba Mwazha, told Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri, who was accompanied by Zanu PF secretary for Security, Cde Lovemore Matuke that the body of the national hero will lie in state at his residence in Harare on Friday before being flown to Guvambwa the following day.
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