Christians in Malawi have this week commenced 21 Days of Intensive Prayers for the Tripartite Elections with a call to elect God-fearing leaders who can stamp out corruption from the world’s third poorest Nation.
The Christians under the umbrella body of evangelical churches, Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) which boasts a membership of 120 denominations including the three Synods of the influential Church of Central Africa Presbyterian and other Christian organizations across Malawi stated this during prayers held at St Andrews CCAP Church in Mzuzu on Sunday.
Retired Reverend Kingsley Malamula Nyirenda who is Regional Leader of EAM in the North joined calls other religious bodies such as the Episcopal Conference in Malawi for Malawians to elect leaders who are God-fearing and serious about fighting corruption.
“We want these individuals to have fear of the Lord. The real ruler is the Lord Himself. Yahweh is interested in leadership, the whole of these leaders will be representing the Lord and also these leaders will represent the Lord,” he said.
And Pastor Gray Kapanga of Christ Citadel Church who led the Mzuzu prayers also read and disseminated copies of a press release issued by EAM on May 6 signed by EAM’s Reverend Francis Mkandawire.
The statement reads in part: “The Church has a critical role to play in the attainment of peaceful and credible elections in this country. We serve a God who hears prayers. As such we are calling for 21 Days of Intensive Prayers beginning Saturday 11th May to Friday 31st May 2019. People are being called upon to meet in churches, homes and workplaces to pray.
“You and I know that we are in a difficult period. We are in the electoral period where we need God’s guidance to ensure that the Elections go well. We started bringing people together last year to intercede for Malawi’s Elections. We need God to help us to choose leaders that are at the heart of God. That is why we have called people from different churches to help us praying for our country.”
According to the release, Malawi’s Christian community is praying against voter rigging and for professional conduct of the media, Police, and Malawi Electoral Commission in the entire electoral process.
“We are mobilizing those that wish Malawi well to stand together and pray, we are praying that God should give us the leaders after His own heart, praying that God should intervene. We are praying for the whole nation of Malawi, we are praying for the MEC also that God will give them the wisdom to lead us through peaceful and credible elections,” Kapanga said.
The EAM leadership has further called on all Christians to observe, Tuesday, May 14 as a Day to pray and fast for the Elections.
EAM says Christians in Mzuzu should join in the prayers at St Andrews CCAP Church in Mzuzu on May 14 which is traditionally observed as a public holiday in Malawi dedicated to the remembrance of the country’s founding father and first President Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda in which the Government normally leads in the commemorations.
According to Kapanga, the Faithful’s in Mzuzu are also scheduled to continue praying for justice in the murder case of Macdonald Masambuka, a man with albinism who was brutally murdered for his body parts last year.
Professor Peter Mutharika’s bid for a second term was thrown in the spotlight after chilling court revelations linked some top officials in his government to the ruthless murder of Masambuka last year.
But Government in a recent response to a pastoral letter issued by Nkhoma Synod, a member of EAM said that the Church should avoid prescribing candidates for their members to vote for.
Meanwhile, ballot papers for Tuesday’s Polls arrived this afternoon at Kamuzu International Airport for deployment to the District councils from May 16 in readiness for the Country’s second Tripartite Elections on Tuesday, May 21.
