Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican writer Paulina Chiziane filed a criminal complaint against a pastor of evangelical church Divina Esperança, accusing the congregation’s security guards of assaulting her and her team when they were trying to film a video near the church.
“We filed the complaint and, on July 29, we had a hearing with the pastor of the Divina Esperança church and, finally, I requested that a report be drawn up to take the matter to court, because what happened is serious,” the Mozambican writer told Lusa.
The writer complains of having been assaulted on July 28, in the Mozambican province of Maputo, when, with three other members of her team, they were recording images for a video clip near the Divina Esperança church.
According to Paulina Chiziane, the attack was carried out by the church’s security guards, under the guidance of its pastor, and some of her team members were seriously injured.
“I am suing a pastor, who ordered the attack on me and the boys. I am suing the pastor and his head of security. They [the church] say they can help pay for the health expenses, but one of our members was stepped on with boots and can’t breathe well, I don’t know if he has fractures or not, but he is not well,” said the writer, adding that another member of the team also suffered injuries that left him with a problem with his eyesight.
In addition to the attacks, Paulina Chiziane stated that she was accused of “witchcraft”, under allegations that the vehicle in which they were being transported contained the Timbila, a traditional musical instrument that was classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2008.
“They thought we were praying against their church and came to search our cars without the slightest respect and told us to go to the police station because we violated the church’s rules, even though we were in a public place, which was the street,” the writer added.
Lusa tried, without success, to contact the Divina Esperança church.
The Mozambican police confirmed to Lusa that they had received the criminal complaint and assured that the case had been forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Paulina Chiziane, winner of the 2021 Camões Prize, was born in Manjacaze in 1955 and is the author of several works, having published her first novel, “Balada de Amor ao Vento”, in 1990, considered the first published novel by a Mozambican woman.
The writer has publicly criticised the proliferation of “religious sects” in Africa, warning of the consequences of fundamentalism, especially for the continent’s identities and cultures.
“We have a church on every corner. What does the church say? Each one with an ideology stranger than the other. Do you think that’s normal?” the writer asked in February during a conference that discussed “Nation and Mozambicanicityness” in Maputo.
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