In poverty-stricken Zimbabwe, thieves target churches and priests

As Zimbabwe spirals further into economic decay, crime continues to soar with thieves now targeting churches, which are depositories for cash donations from congregates.

In November alone, three Catholic priests in the city of Bulawayo reported their parish houses being broken into by thieves, who did not find the anticipated loot.

In the capital Harare, another Catholic priest reported a break-in in December, which he attributed to the mistaken belief by thieves that he kept “huge sums of money” at his residence.

The thieves’ suspicions are not unfounded. In August a gang got away with US$18 000 in cash from an Apostolic Faith Mission church in Harare. Police said the armed gang was known to specialise in robbing churches that have stayed afloat during hard times thanks to donations made by congregants to support their pastors.

In deeply religious Zimbabwe, many church goers often make large donations and “pledges” to their church leaders to receive blessings referred to locally as “anointing”.

“We are witnessing unprecedented robberies of churches and pastors and the reason is all caused by high levels of unemployment and poverty that characterise our nation,” said Bishop Wilfred Dimingu, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches.

“Churches are part of that group that no longer banks money and robbers are aware of that,” he said.  

Some criminals reportedly attend Sunday services to listen in when announcements are made about the previous week’s donations.