Wenslus Murape
Tendai Rupapa
Senior Reporter
BELIEVERS must hold true to the Word of God and follow its dictates religiously, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.
She made these remarks on Friday when she went to the Johane Masowe eChishanu Chinhevere Shrine in Chiweshe, which she grew up attending, in a heartfelt homecoming event that reinforced her standing as a believer.
This marked the First Lady’s permanent return to her childhood church, while she also reaffirmed her commitment to engaging with other denominations as the mother of the nation, a decision underscoring her deep spiritual roots and her inclusive approach to national unity and faith.
Amai Mnangagwa had been regularly attending services at the Johane Masowe eChishanu Chinhevere Shrine in Chiweshe, bonding with her community and spiritual leaders.
Resplendent in white regalia like any other worshipper, the First Lady humbly participated in worship routines, reconnecting with the spiritual roots that shaped her upbringing.
Amai Mnangagwa, who grew up attending the church with her late mother, shared cherished memories of her early days of prayer and reaffirmed her commitment to the church that moulded her values.
The mother of the nation gave worshippers words of encouragement and recounted some religious events she holds dear from childhood up to this day, imploring members of the congregation to pray for her and the nation at large.
“From the age of five, I would come with my mother to the summit of the hill to pray. That is when I started having hands placed on my head tichinamatirwa pano pamasowe. I am happy that I worshipped with other women vandaipinda navo kare ikako. Some are my age- mates, while some are older than me, but there are probably many who are younger than me here vaingonzwawo kuti ndakakurira pano. I am happy to be here. I wish to strengthen you my fellow worshippers. What is said by the Word of God must be followed strictly and religiously,” she said in her address to the congregation.
The leader of the church, Madzibaba Gibson Nyanhi, concurred with the mother of the nation and confirmed that she indeed started worshipping at a tender age.“I climbed up this mountain, gomo reChinhevere, in 1958 to do God’s work. Our mother started coming here at a tender age in the company of her mother. She would attend church panzvimbo ino tiri pamusoro pechikomo kari kasikana kadiki, asi aive akutoziva kukosha kwekunamata. You are a daughter of this shrine, who does not forget where she came from and regularly comes here to worship. We are glad that she kept on worshipping and she remains in Christianity. When she started coming here, Amai Auxillia, I was young and now I am 84 years old, and our daughter did not quit worshipping for all these years and held tight to the Word of the Holy Spirit,” he said, before the congregation burst into the song “Tiri vemasowe pakugara kwedu kwese”.
Madzibaba Gibson thanked President Mnangagwa for allowing the First Lady to regularly worship with them.
Other worshippers were touched by the First Lady’s respect for the Word of God.
Mrs Farai Badzarigere shared her story, growing up with the First Lady.
“I grew up with Amai in the community, including here at the shrine. She would come with her mother to pray until her teens. Even when she moved to Harare, she would come back to this church, showing that even though she started worshipping at a tender age, she was committed to religion,” she said.
“Even before she ascended to her current position, she would bring us blankets, magemenzi and torches, saying she did not want people to pray in darkness because someone could visit the toilet in the dark and get bitten by snakes. She asked that the blankets be distributed to the needy in the church, showing that she remembered her church. Even utensils, we always receive from her. Zvese zvavanoita zvekupa those in need nyika yese, zvakagara zviri mavari, even before she became a First Lady. We are glad that today she came to worship with us vakagara nesu mumavhu imomu.”
Gogo Naume Mutsvairo, who has been in the church for over four decades, gave insights into the life and character of the First Lady.
“I am 73 years old but I have been a member of the Chinhevere shrine for 40 years. We know her for her good deeds, coming here to pray with her mother as a young person. Unlike children of today who do not want to go to church, uyu mwana followed her mother to church. We love the First Lady for her humility. She is a dignified person who dresses decently as the mother of the nation. She also teaches children well so that they focus on education and do not rush into marriage. Vanodzidzisa vana hunhu netsika dzakanaka. She also encourages the consumption of traditional foods, which makes us healthy. She was taught all those things here and these are the teachings she is carrying across the nation,” she said.
“I feel spiritually uplifted by what the First Lady has done. She occupies a very high office but regularly finds time to pray with us. Our mother is doing great wonders for the nation and with God, truly no one ever gets wrong. If you look at the success she is enjoying in many fields like philanthropy and women development, you actually see the hand of God at work. The First Lady is also being honoured by many other organisations outside the country because of the seed of God in her. She is a mother who practises what she preaches. People should put into practice all she says and take her programmes seriously to achieve greatness,” another woman said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Gogo Lilian Mutariri.
“I am delighted with the teachings of the First Lady and the fact that she has remained a believer despite her office. I grew up seeing her coming here to pray with her mother and this is a good lesson to our children out there. Everyone must stick to the Word of God, which helps them stay away from bad influences and drug abuse. Our mother is a humble woman. Today she spent all her time following the church routines just like us, vakagara muvhu, and never showed discomfort. I always wondered where she gets her strength and humility from. It is now very clear that she is controlled by the Word of God and is a firm believer in prayer. Even the programmes that she traverses the length and breadth of the country implementing show that she has a warm heart and remains eager to see everyone succeed. I am actually short for words to best describe her, and I now see the hand of God in almost everything she does,” she said.
The First Lady is a woman of prayer. She usually organises interdenominational church sessions to pray for the nation.
During the Covid-19 era, she also led many prayer sessions, asking God to bring an end to the pandemic, which was wreaking havoc across the world, killing thousands of people.
At most meetings that she holds across the country, the First Lady usually starts with a word of prayer.
At her Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba sessions, where she counsels youths on the need for good morals, she enjoins them to be prayerful so that they may succeed in their studies and stay away from vices like prostitution, as well as drug and substance abuse.
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