ACDP gets bee in its bonnet over Contralesa’s Ancestors Day

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACPD) is upset at a proposal by beer brand Castle Milk Stout, renowned cultural activist and poet laureate Zolani Mkiva and the Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA (Contralesa) to make May 8 Ancestors Day.

Contralesa is calling on South Africans to celebrate and observe African spirituality and its role in our lives through ceremonies and rituals that honour the ancestors.

The inaugural ceremony is set to take place at the Mathibela Royal Palace in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, where traditional leaders and heritage practitioners will come together under strict Covid-19 protocols to observe the day.

The ACPD on Thursday made calls to boycott the day.

In a statement by leader reverend Kenneth Meshoe the party told its followers to contest the proposed launch.

This nation desperately needs God’s intervention and not dead ancestors.

“Let us use Saturday 8 May 2021 as a day to intensify our prayers to ask our living God to save our souls, deliver us from evil, heal our land, bless and prosper all our people in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,” said Meshoe.

ALSO READ: ACDP vows to fight gender diversity and education in WC schools

“While we acknowledge that millions of South Africans consult and worship their dead ancestors, committed evangelical Christians know that God’s Word denounces such practices.”

Recently the party has made controversial calls. It last week staged pickets against a draft policy on gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools by the Western Cape education department.

It said that the DA was planning to actively mislead & confuse school children in the Western Cape with its draft regulations on gender identity and gender orientation.