Dissident Christians face arrest in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Dissident Christians opposed to their bishop for his support of the ruling party face arrest if they defy an order banning them from weekend services or church activities, their lawyer said Saturday.

Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, head of the Anglican Church in Harare, won a court order banning 19 church wardens, officials and choir members after they disrupted his sermons to protest their political content and praise of President Robert Mugabe and his regime.

Zimbabwe has been gripped by more than two years of economic turmoil and political violence, widely blamed on the increasingly authoritarian ruling party.

The parishioners, who want politics kept out of the church, will appeal for their banning order to be struck down by the Harare magistrate's court on Tuesday, their lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said.

The interim order banned them from worshipping at the main Anglican Cathedral in downtown Harare and from visiting church-owned buildings and activities until further notice.

"It means they can be arrested, even if someone invites them to a parish house for tea," Mtetwa said.

In court documents dated Sept. 25, Kunonga accused the 19 church officials of disrupting services, with choir members refusing to provide choral music and on one occasion leading the congregation into "uncontrollably" singing hymns to stop the service.

He also alleged some church wardens failed to follow routine administrative and financial procedures and were intent on subverting the authority of the bishop's office.

Mtetwa described Kunonga's court application - and the granting of it - as irregular. Under diocese and parish rules, diocesan trustees needed to agree before any legal action was taken.

Disputes in the church were normally considered first by the church chancellor and two registrars, all three of them lawyers.

Kunonga was elected bishop last year after being accused of using ruling party influence to secure the post. He was also accused of firing priests who opposed his nomination.

Strict security laws passed earlier this year that ban public gatherings without police permission have affected some meetings of church leaders critical of the government.

Last month, a group of Christians was briefly arrested during a prayer vigil outside a police station where a member of their congregation was being held.

About half Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people face severe food shortages blamed on drought and the government's seizures of thousands of white-owned farms.

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