By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
PASTOR Kangwa Chileshe, formerly Jason in local television soap Kabanana, says there is nothing sinister about his controversial acting role in the drama series Love Games.
Pastor Chileshe who is the overseer of City Of Refuge Church International has of late come under heavy attack from some sections of the Christian community who argue that given his social standing, he was not in order to play the role of an adulterer in the movie series.
Funded by USAID through the Safe Love campaign, Love Games is a drama series that follows the lives and relationships of five females, who are related either through blood or friendship. In the recent episode aired on both ZNBC and the privately owned Muvi TV, Pastor Chileshe plays the role of ‘Julius Nzala’- a man who engages himself in an adulterous affair with a married woman called Tamara. According to the Love Games synopsis, Julius Nzala appears to take advantage of Tamara’s loneliness and as she is abused by her unfaithful husband Hamoonga.
But speaking in a telephone interview with The Church Newspaper, Pastor Chileshe defended his decision to feature in the movie series. He also said there is nothing wrong with the role he played in Love Games.
According to Pastor Chileshe, the role he played in Love Games comes with a lesson to married people especially those who abuse their wives.
“I am aware that many people including Christians have criticised my role in Love Games and not all Christians condemn me. I believe that a woman should not stay in a marriage where she is abused. I do not also believe in some nonsense that we see on televisions that marriage is a ‘Shipikisha club’,” said the clergyman.
Pastor Chileshe further said there is nothing wrong for him as a pastor to act in non Christian movies because acting is one of his major sources of income.
“People should understand that I am an actor and I have been acting since 1999 and I first appeared in the Zambian soap called Kabanana. I started acting even before I was ordained as a pastor. I am not only an actor and pastor but a producer as well,” he said.
And Pastor Chileshe revealed that during the production of Love Games, he was initially tasked to play a role “more sinful” than the role of Julius Nzala but decided to turn it down as he had anticipated criticism from Zambians.
“I was first given a crucial role of Hamoonga (Tamara’s husband) who is an abusive and unfaithful husband but I refused for the sake of the Zambian people because I knew I would have received more criticism from the public. This character is more sinful than the character I played,” he revealed.
The clergyman also stated that he is alive to the fact that juggling acting with clergymanship is considered controversial by some people but was quick to point out that it depends on the person involved.
Pastor Chileshe who is married to fellow actor Imasiku also revealed that he consults his wife and church leadership before taking up any acting role adding “if these people are ok with my plans then I go ahead and do it because I believe they are people that are directly connected to me.”
[Source: The Church Newspaper- Zambia’s only Christian newSpaper]