Breakaway church delinks from Livingstonia Synod

Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango of Kanengo Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has finally delinked himself from Livingstonia Synod after being sidelined for over a year.

Mhango, who made the announcement during a morning service yesterday, said his church will now be called Redeemed Presbyterian Church.

He said: “Brothers and sisters in the Lord, I have the honour to inform [you] that from this day, we shall no longer be called CCAP or be associated with its emblems, symbols and uniforms.

“Like larva that has come to its full cycle and grown into a butterfly, we have embraced our new identity and divine mission and purpose. Today, I am tasked with a full apostolic mandate to unveil and officially announce the formation of the Redeemed Presbyterian Church, which I have been entrusted to lead.”

In his statement, Mhango also said this should not in any way be interpreted as an act of revolt since their decision and conduct have precedence not only in recent church reformation movements, but also in the scripture.

He cited Galatians 2 where ideological differences among the apostles, resulted in their going in different directions for the sake of the Gospel. He said: “This split marked a period of ‘great awakening’.

“Similarly, we as a church, after realising these spiritual and ideological differences and after a period of steadfast prayers have landed at the conclusion to, respectfully, cut all ties with our mother Synod of Livingstonia and move on to our next assignment,” he explained.

Mhango then took a moment to extend a friendly hand to the Livingstonia Synod, adding that both parties were at times conducting themselves in an uncontrollable manner.

He said: “I fully acknowledge with regret that our resolve and the contentions from both sides were at times uncontrolled and, sometimes, harmful which, left many questioning our conduct and motives. So, I take it upon myself to extend a pledge of true friendship to our brothers and sisters at the Livingstonia Synod.”

The congregation broke away from the synod in April 2015 in protest against Mhango’s suspension after he refused to be transferred to Euthini in Mzimba.

The matter later ended up in court where High Court judge Charles Mkandawire ruled that Livingsonia Synod was the rightful owner of the Kanengo congregation property.

Attempts to get a comment from Synod of Livingstonia proved futile. n