Cameroon president orders pentecostal closed

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has ordered
the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities.
Cameroon's President Paul Biya has ordered the closure of
nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities.
Yaounde, Cameroon (CNN) -- Cameroon's President Paul Biya
has ordered the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in
key cities, citing criminal practices organized by Pentecostal
pastors that threaten the security of the West African nation.
But Pentecostal pastors said the move is evidence of Biya's
insecurity about the churches' criticism of the government.
Biya is using the military to permanently shut down all
Pentecostal church denominations in the nation's capital,
Yaounde, and the North West Regional capital, Bamenda,
which have the largest Christian populations in Cameroon.
More than 50 churches have now been closed, with the
government targeting nearly 100 in eight other regions.
"We will get rid of all the so-called Christian Pentecostal
pastors who misuse the name of Jesus Christ to fake miracles
and kill citizens in their churches. They have outstretched their
liberty," Mbu Anthony Lang, a government official in Bamenda,
told CNN Wednesday.
Nearly 500 Pentecostal churches operate in Cameroon, but
fewer than 50 are legal, he added.
On Sunday, a 9-year-old Christian girl collapsed and died
during a prayer session in Winners' Chapel, a Pentecostal
church in Bamenda. The girl's mother, Mih Theresa, told CNN
Wednesday that the pastor intended to cast out the numerous
demons that were in control of her daughter's life.
"I want the government to stop these pastors who use
mysterious powers to pull Christians and kill then for more
powers. All my children have ran away from the Catholic
Church in search for miracles, signs and wonders," she told
CNN while holding back tears.
Another Christian, Mveng Thomas, said his marriage ended
abruptly when a Pentecostal pastor ordered his wife to
dissolve their union. He said the pastor described him as "an
unrepentant devil."
Pastors marched against the government's decision
Wednesday in Bamenda and Douala. Pastors said the Biya
government sees the mass proliferation of churches as a
threat.
Boniface Tum, a bishop of the Christian Church of God in
Yaounde, said that Biya, who has been president since 1982, is
becoming insecure about the freedom of speech within these
churches.
"Authorizing only the Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Muslim,
and a few other churches, is a strict violation of the right to
religion," Tum added.
Targeted Pentecostal Christians in Bamenda are transforming
their private homes into churches.
North West Regional governor Adolphe Lele L'Afrique said
Wednesday that police had discovered the abduction of 30
children under age 18 by a pastor in Bamenda. The pastor said
he wanted to remove the children from a bad society, Lele
added.
Government officials also say that some pastors convince
congregants that they do not need professional medical
treatment for their ailments.
"How can a pastor say the sick needs no medical doctor? We
need sanity in our Christian lives," Nyang Blaise, a youth
leader for Biya's ruling party, CPDM, told CNN.
One woman said her mother was refusing cancer treatments
because of her pastor.
"My mother's condition is worsening after doctors confirmed
she had cancer. She is dying silently, and yet we cannot
persuade her to see a doctor for proper treatment, against her
pastor's wish," Deborah Tanyi said.
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CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/14/world/africa/
cameroon-churches/in...