WINDHOEK – The Alliance of Churches and Ministries in Namibia (ACM) is of the view that Christians can no longer afford to be silent on rape, gender-based violence and murder that are frequent occurrences in Namibia at the moment.
Reverend Zelda van der Colff, president of ACM, told New Era that the events reported in the media the past two months show that Namibia as a nation “is at war with itself”.
Van der Colff made reference to the case of the late Cheryl Avihe Ujaha, the nine-year-old girl whose body was dismembered, the 11-year-old boy who was sodomised in the Hardap Region, the 27-year-old woman who was raped at Okombahe (Erongo Region) and the 39-year-old Lindie Prinsloo, who was allegedly killed by her 29-year-old boyfriend Ivan Pitt a week ago in Swakopmund. Pitt later committed suicide.
“We, the Christian believers and community of this country, condemn the acts of rape, gender-based violence and murder of our young girls and boys, wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Our desires for pleasure and lust have overtaken our respect for ourselves and one another,” said Van der Colff.
She stated that the perpetrators of these “brutal acts operate under demonic forces through the intoxicating of alcohol and drug abuse”. She also said it was time for Christians to take their stand against the current occurrences of GBV through prayer.
“The perpetrators who commit such crimes should expect that there are consequences which include arrest and imprisonment for their actions and sin and they will have to pay for it, as the law has to be applied accordingly,” said Van der Colff. The ACM was established two years ago to serve as an umbrella body representing the Christian community.
One of the ACM’s missions is to achieve a framework of collaboration between member churches and government in order to speak from a biblical perspective on religious and socio-economic matters in Namibia.
Meanwhile, the Acting Secretary General of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), Ludwig Beukes, said many people come from broken families and, as a result, find themselves unable to deal with rejection in relationships, which is one cause of abuse in relationships. Beukes, who spoke at a breakfast meeting on Saturday on ‘Understanding Love for God and People’ remarked: “You can’t say that you love your spouse and you beat her.”