By Staff Reporters
Praise Christian Centre International ministries founder Bishop Edgar Ng’ambi has denounced the ongoing Freemasonry conference in Livingstone as devilish, saying Zambia needs leaders who will defend Christianity in the same manner former Religious Affairs minister Godfridah Sumaili did.
And Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba has asked the UPND government to give a clear position to Zambians if accepting Freemasonry has now become an official government position.
In an interview yesterday, Kalaba questioned the silence from the government over the ongoing two-week masonic conference in Livingstone.
“It’s very worrying for me as a Christian that such acts are passing without government saying anything. So we need a clear position from government,” said Kalaba. “Is this the official position now that freemasonry in this country is allowed, that they can do anything that Christians do? It’s important for government to give a clear stance on this matter because it’s conflicting with our Christian faith.”
And Bishop Ng’ambi spoke fondly of how Godfridah Sumaili served as as religious affairs minister in the PF administration of the late former president Edgar Lungu, saying she defended the Christian faith.
“That’s what we need. We need people who can defend the faith, not religious people, (but) people who really know God and know the word, who can defend the faith. I think we need to go that direction,” he said.
Asked if he expected the current leadership to speak out against the freemasonry conference, Bishop Ng’ambi said: “Well, when you deal with leadership you must also follow the patterns they set. When there was LGBTQ whatever, homosexual issues, they were hiding. They were not coming in the forefront until the people began to speak that we will not vote for you.
“That means that they were for it. They sold us to the ones who were coming to campaign. They paid a lot of money among the people and yet our leaders were still refusing. Do you think they will accept now? That’s why sometimes it’s not worth talking to them, because it’s not that they don’t know, they know but the love of money is a problem.”
Bishop Ng’ambi recounted that Freemasonry has been around for a long time because even the late finance minister Ronald Penza was a member of the fraternity, with people now coming out to declare so.
“And of course we hear rumours about this and that, about some of our leaders in the country and so they are there, though they refuse when you confront them. So masonry has been there for a long long time,” Bishop Ng’ambi said. “It’s a dangerous thing. It’s a very ungodly thing and it’s not something I would recommend to someone.”
He said there were sentiments that if people wanted their problems to end, they should be part of the masonic fraternity but what was not told was that the blessing of God made people rich without adding any sorrow.
“That means there are other things you can get and they will bring problems to your life. Much more, you don’t want God to be your enemy because when you go into idle worship, he’s a jealousy God. He will take you to task on that,” Bishop Ng’ambi said, adding that it must be understood that most of the people who attended masonic gatherings, including some with the titles of bishop, were ungodly.
“That’s why they are doing ungodly things, because I think that we haven’t delivered as much as we should in terms of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise people would know the truth. And God said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” Bishop Ng’ambi said, adding that those who did not know the truth would remain in bondage.
He said it was very unfortunate to open doors of freemasonry in a Christian nation, wondering why anti-Christian activities could be allowed to be held in Zambia, while claiming to go to Church at the same time.
Bishop Ng’ambi said it did not mean that some people were godly just because they go to Church, the more reason Jesus said, “you will know them by their fruit.”
He said joining fraternities such as freemasonry looked simple in the early days but as people grew in it, levels changed and there were deeper commitments that would be asked where they could literally sell their souls to wrong things.
Bishop Ng’ambi said the Constitution allowed for freedom of expression and assembly, therefore, it was difficult to stop people from holding any meetings.
“But I think we will need to look at where we are at and our beliefs and come up with things that can help. Let me give you an example; if you go to a Moslem country they will not allow you to do certain things there, nobody questions. But for us there are people who question us,” he said. “At the end of the day, if I was to be honest with you it’s poverty levels that cause people to go the wrong way. They sell their souls. What does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul, and then because of that also the love of money becomes the root of evil for you? When you love money so much you are willing to do anything, including selling the country.”
Bishop Ng’ambi said while Christians should preach the gospel, those in government should do much more.
“After all they claim they are Christians. So from the government’s point of view, there must be something they can do. If they are Christians, why haven’t they promoted Christian meetings? It’s a big question mark. Remember, you know them by their fruits. Maybe that’s how I would look at it,” Bishop Ng’ambi. “But also we must look at these things and not ignore them. I would probably recommend that issues like this are dealt with through mother bodies, so mother bodies can speak out because mother bodies speak for the Church.”
Bishop Ng’ambi further cautioned against issuing visas anyhow to people who were coming into the country. He described the masonic conference as being bigger than what people could see, because the matter was spiritual. He said the forces at war were spiritual and not human beings.
“So this being a devilish scheme, it is bigger than anything an individual can do. Maybe our best weapon is to go on our knees and seek God on what to do in the matter because only that will work effectively,” said Bishop Ng’ambi.
