'Satanic' church banned in Zambia
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 12:30 am<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> 'Satanic' church banned in Zambia</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>BBC, 30 November 2005<br><br>Zambia's government has banned the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God after allegations that the church was involved in satanic rituals.<br><br>Police have been deployed to guard all its church buildings to prevent members from assembling.<br><br>Over the weekend, people in the capital went on the rampage after rumours that two people had been kidnapped by the sect. One church was burnt down.<br><br>Senior UCKG officials have refused to comment on the allegations and ban.<br><br>"The decision has been precipitated to allow for investigations into allegations, which we consider serious," Home Affairs Secretary Peter Mumba told reporters on Tuesday, AFP reports. <br><br>On Saturday, police fired tear gas as demonstrators threw stones at a UCKG church building in the capital, Lusaka.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>After order had been restored, two men - who the crowd claimed had been kidnapped for satanic rituals - came out of the building painted from head to toe.<br><br>They said that they were unable to remember what had happened to them or how they got there.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>The following day, a gang of rioters burnt down a UCKG church building in Kanyama township, south of the capital.<br><br>The BBC Musonda Chibamba in Lusaka says it is not the first time the UCKG has been banned.<br><br>In 1998 it was shut down for what was termed "unchristian practices", but the church took the matter to the Supreme Court, which nullified the ban. <br><br><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4485222.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4485222.stm</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>