Approximately 500 women from Musina gathered at the Lesley Manyathela Stadium on Saturday to pray for peace, while celebrating women’s month at the same time.

The gathering came after the recent occurrence of violent protests in the border town, which had led to damage of municipal property and the arrest of more than 20 community members.

The women sang spiritual songs and asked God to “rain” peace and love on the Musina region. They prayed to God for the forgiveness of sins and asked that peace be restored in Musina.

During the event, Mayor Carol Phiri appealed to local community members to continue to pray for peace and unity.  She said people needed to pray and fast to avoid bitterness and confusion and appealed to the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to intimidate and attack their opponents violently. She called for political and religious tolerance to sustain the peace and security that the local community has enjoyed for years.

Phiri said “We cannot allow our communities and the municipal area to be in flames during our tenure as political leaders. We do not know what is happening, but we are only praying to God to forgive us all our sins and restore peace and smile back on our area.” She said the municipality was facing some trying times and called for support from the community to reverse the situation.

Phiri pleaded with residents to stand up against criminals, reclaim the streets in their communities and called on parents to instil good values among their children. “We must come together and deal with the demon of crime in our communities in the same way that all South Africans stood up against apartheid”.

She also called on people to protect vulnerable members in their communities, such as people with disabilities, and root out other societal problems such as the prevalence of drugs and alcohol use among young people.

Led by the mayor, prominent women also took time to serve refreshments to the guests.