guest column:Tendai Ruben Mbofana AS much as I am not against the annual day of prayer for Zimbabwe (held in Bulawayo) — as, indeed, my daily earnest prayers are always for a better life for all Zimbabweans — I am, however, always filled with immense righteous indignation, whenever those who are supposed to be the light of Christianity, and shepherding the flock of Christ, are the very people misleading the nation, right into the mouths of lions . . . the brutal regime’s insatiable greed and savagery towards its own citizenry knows no bounds. Never in my whole study of the life-giving word of God, have I ever come across genuine prophets of Jehovah, who actually stood with repressive cold-blooded leaders — but, instead, they have bravely stood with the oppressed and suffering, thereby placing their own lives in peril, while at the same time, praying to God to free His people from the clutches of evil. The only prophets recorded in the Bible as having stood with evil leaders, were false — described as “wolves in sheep's clothing” — whom, God eventually exposed. Indeed, God is with the impoverished and brutalised people of Zimbabwe — proven by the manner in which we have survived and outdone all the nefarious attempts by the parasitic opportunistic ruling elite to suck our lives dry — but, we still need to pray for a complete break of the shackles holding us captive in our own motherland. Even those who were held captive in Egypt — in spite of them living in the Land of Goshen, where Jehovah spared them from the brunt of the pestilences inflicted upon the rest of the biblical kingdom — they never stopped praying, and crying out for true freedom from bondage, at the hands of the cruel and heartless Pharaoh. Zimbabweans cannot be any different, as God loves us the same as His children enslaved in Egypt — but, eventually freed, through His unparalleled power with profound glory that could never be mistaken. As such, what manner of Christian leaders would actually side with our own Pharaohs right here in Zimbabwe? Imagine Moses — after having been called by Jehovah to lead His people out of bondage — yet, continue singing the praises of Pharaoh, and telling his enslaved nation that God was working with the merciless and barbaric leaders of Egypt, so as to provide a good livelihood for all. That would have been nothing short of insanity — if not, downright unforgivable rebellion against God Himself. We have seen the hand of God working in Zimbabwe — nonetheless, not through this corrupt and sadistic junta, which is the author of our untold pain and suffering, written in the blood of innocent lives they have destroyed, nor through these false prophets, who have chosen to wine and dine with the oppressor. What exactly have those in power done for this nation? When they come with their food handouts — before we ululate, sing, and dance — we need to ask why we even reached a situation, whereby we needed to survive on such aid. It is akin to someone who comes bearing gifts, under the pretext of being a “good Samaritan”, who is h