Zimbabwean Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa was on Friday detained
by authorities in Nigeria while on a mission to facilitate the election of a
new church leader.
The bishop was caught up in intense fighting within the Methodist
Church as efforts are being made to replace the outgoing Bishop John Wesley
Yohanna, who recently resigned and joined the Global Methodist Church which is
anti LGBTQ.
After several hours of detention at the Yola Immigration
office, he was confined to his hotel under immigration guard before being
transferred to Abuja on August 24, 2024, where he was held at the Immigration
Headquarters.
However, clearing the air on the circumstances surrounding
the cleric’s arrest and detention on Monday, the Immigration Comptroller Mohammed said, “The bishop
was arrested because he was found doing religious business with a visit
visa.”
Mohammed further disclosed that the Methodist bishop was in
the country to superintend an election of a new bishop, for a faction of the
church that supports gay practice.
“We arrested him following an information that he was
presiding over a church meeting with the aim of electing a new bishop. And it
is prohibited to perform any religious duty with a visit visa. He required a
religious visa to function as such.
“Again, we gathered he was in the country to supervise
the election of a new bishop for a faction of the church which believes in same
sex marriage.
