When the divisions started in the Africa Apostolic Church, the faction led by Bishop Alfred Kushamisa Mwazha believed that he was the one anointed as the church leader’s successor.
This was strongly contested by the other faction which argued that the Archbishop’s last born son — Bishop Tawanda Mwazha — was the rightful heir to the church’s leader.
MWAZHA FAMILY MEMBERS IN SCUFFLE TO TAKE OVER THE CHURCH
However, the Bishop Alfred Kushamisa-led faction seemed to have gained traction when the Archbishop’s first born son, Bishop Ngoni Mwazha returned to the African Apostolic Church to join his bloc after spending years at a different apostolic sect.
Nevertheless, latest developments in the church indicate that Bishop Ngoni has dumped Bishop Alfred Kushamisa and has since started his own faction, which now becomes the third.
The divisions, which are not only felt in Zimbabwe but in neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, have seen the formations appointing their own pastors and leaders while conducting services at different places of worship.
As divisions persist in the church, it is understood that the fights go deeper than the leadership issue, with prayer methods also being part of disharmony.
For example, long and personal prayers, widely known within the church as “tsindondi”, have been a source of disharmony, with a section of the church insisting on pre-written and recited prayers.