27 May 2019

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Machana Shamukuni, says government is committed to freedom of worship to facilitate the work of God as enshrined in the Constitution. 

However, he said it would be irresponsible for government to be a bystander  when citizens were exploited by those claiming to spread the gospel.

He said this when officially opening a P5 million church building for Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Mogoditshane on Saturday.

Mr Shamukuni said while at times this might be taken as an interference on religion, government was concerned about churches being involved in money laundering, extortion and human trafficking.

“We believe that the church should provide solutions and not be part of the problem,” he said.

He also stated that the country was faced with numerous challenges amongst them unemployment, drug abuse, high rates of divorce even in the church, conflict moral value propositions, corruption and domestic violence.

“The challenges we are facing today are much more complex because they threaten our basic principles of unity, peace and the stability that this country has been known for since independence,” he said.

He said government provided conventional interventions such as reviewing laws and regulations, increasing law enforcement visibility, establishing programmes that were meant to alleviate abject poverty and seeking investment opportunities that would help reduce unemployment. 

These, he said, could not succeed without the involvement of the church.

Mr Shamukuni commended AFM members for being committed to buidling a house of worship.   

The assistant minister said it was  a miracle that a building of that magnitude was constructed through funds raised by church members.

“This is a holy place conceived in the heart of our Lord and placed in the heart of his servants and brought to manifestation by the obedient dedication of his people,” he said. 

The opening ceremony was graced by AFM International president, Rev Dr Frank Chikane who in his message appealed to church members to return to what the church was originally intended to be.

For his part, AFM Mogoditshane board chairperson, Pastor Mmoloki Mogokgwane, gave a brief historical background of how Americans; John Lake and Thomas Hezmalalch introduced the church in South Africa in 1908.

Botswana migrant workers then returned home to introduce AFM to their countrymen and in 1975 following a crusade in Gaborone, it was officially established in the country.

He said the late Pastor Donald Molefhi was the first pastor for the Mogoditshane congregation and following his untimely death, Pastor Letty Sebutlane took over and presided for many years.

Pastor Mogokgwane took over in 2010 and under his leadership, the church was able to find a permanent home.  ends