Ashdown Park Residents Protest Church’s 3-Day Crusade Over Safety and Road Chaos

HARARE – Ashdown Park residents are up in arms over a three-day healing crusade led by Pastor Benny Hinn, accusing Heartfelt International Ministries (HIM) of bulldozing ahead with plans that threaten their safety, peace, and daily life.

The event, scheduled to begin on October 10, is expected to attract over 100,000 attendees from across Zimbabwe and neighboring countries.

But residents claim they were never consulted and now face road closures, noise pollution, and damaged infrastructure as the church pushes forward with preparations.

The Ashdown Park Residents and Ratepayers Association (APRRA) alleges the church failed to engage the community before finalizing the venue.

“Residents are not happy about being left out by the church [programme] from the initial stages of this event before the church even decided on a crusade in their area. They feel the church is trying to use them to sanitise what it had already started,” stated APRRA chairperson Muriel Shingai Mangwende in an interview with NewsDay.

Residents are particularly concerned about the closure of Rosedene Drive, a key access route for Bloomingdale residents, and the anticipated congestion on Harare Drive, a major highway.

“Harare Drive is also a very busy road since it is a highway as well, but residents feel if crusade is held, it will be forced to close as most of those attending will also use Harare Drive.

“So it is difficult to differentiate passersby, residents of Ashdown Park from those attending the crusade,” explained Mangwende.

Despite repeated complaints to the Harare City Council, residents insist their concerns have gone unanswered.

APRRA has also flagged damage to underground infrastructure, including drainage systems and water pipes, during site clearance.

“There have been complaints about the church damaging some underground pipes and blocking drains as they were clearing the land,” noted Mangwende.

Noise and dust pollution are also fueling frustration, with residents citing years of disturbances from the church.

“The noise and dust pollution is another worrying issue for residents as they have always been complaining about noise emanating from the church for years. So they are worried about noise as well as dust caused by the crowds attending the crusade,” she added.

Mangwende further criticized the church’s planning approach, describing it as disorganized and lacking practical foresight.

“According to residents, the church seems to be estimating or doing trial and error in their planning of this crusade as they have not taken many things into consideration and looked at how practical their plans are pertaining to this crusade.

“Residents see more negatives than positives in the hosting of the event at this venue. So they suggest that the church looks into all the concerns they raised,” she emphasized.

According to NewsDay, HIM opted for Ashdown Park after failing to secure larger venues, including the National Sports Stadium, which is currently under renovation.

“The church also went around different venues all over Harare, but could not find a suitable venue for the event as venues like the National Sports Stadium are … under renovation. So they decided on Ashdown Park as they also want the grace of the Man of God, Benny Hinn, to be in Mabelreign,” Mangwende pointed out.

Efforts to obtain comment from HIM representatives were unsuccessful at the time of publication.