The Sunday Mail
Edmore Ndudzo
About two weeks ago, I was shocked to read reports about church leaders who wanted President Mugabe to step down on the back of “socio-economic and political crises”. My first reaction was that these men of the cloth had been misquoted. I was sad to be proved otherwise. A piece by Reverend Obadiah Msindo published in The Sunday Mail of June 12,
2016; and another penned by Reverend Andrew Wutaunashe in The Herald of June 18, 2016 were spot on.
Rev Msindo’s article was aptly headlined “Church leaders misguided”, while Rev Wutaunashe’s was titled “Churches cannot appoint or depose leaders”.
What made the calls by these church “leaders” more ludicrous was that they came hard on the heels of the “Million-Man March”, itself a massive show of support for President Mugabe.
These men of the cloth displayed contempt, disdain and disrespect for the electorate, and overstepped their mandate, moreso exposing their ignorance of the values, virtues and meaning of democracy.
Since Zimbabwe’s colonisation by the British in 1890, there have mainly been three traditional Christian churches in the country: the Roman Catholic, Church of England/Anglican Church, and the Methodist Church. Other notable organisations include the Dutch Reformed and Seventh-day Adventist churches. All played key roles in Zimbabwe’s political and socio-economic discourse from way back in the 1800s.
Zanu’s first president was the Right Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, a Methodist. Bishop Abel Muzorewa was another political player, and was from a different schism of the Methodist Church. President Mugabe is Catholic, and Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo, I’m told, was Anglican.
These backgrounds are important in analysising the historical relations between the Church and politics in Zimbabwe.
In 1977, the then Rhodesia held elections which Bishop Muzorewa claimed were not authentic. He said the polls were “marred with gross irregulaties”, a term and excuse that gave birth to the word “rigging”, now popular with the opposition whenever faced with similar electoral outcomes.
Bishop Muzorewa’s sojourn into politics was unsuccessful.
During their time in “authority”, both Revs Muzorewa and Sithole took advantage of the situation to set up militias, Pfumo reVanhu and Mwenje. Ian Smith supported these armed groups.
Rhodesia/Zimbabwe’s governing internal settlement was short-lived, and truly democratic elections were held in 1980.
I was in my first year at the University of Rhodesia when news of Zanu Chairman Advocate Herbert Chitepo’s death was announced on the African Broadcasting Service bulletin.
My colleagues and I first ignored that announcement because of the source’s reputation for churning out propaganda. We chose to disbelieve it only until the death was announced on Voice of Zimbabwe, and immediately planned street protests.
I prepared a placard with the message, “Chitepo aita pake, pasara pedu.”
We went to Town House in Harare the following morning where I found myself surrounded by strange characters who demanded to know what my placard meant. I ran for dear life. My colleagues later told me that our demonstration had been infiltrated by Ian Smith.
We resolved to meet at a house in Highfield, Harare, and this house turned out to be Sabina Mugabe’s. At this house were Zanu nationalist leaders like Cdes Mugabe, Edgar Tekere and Morton Malianga.
The British South Africa Police had followed us from town and also wanted to stop that meeting. So they came in their numbers and ordered us to disperse.
After a third warning, the policemen mounted a vicious attack on us with batons and dogs. My brother, Kelly, had his trousers torn as he fought off the beastly dogs.
Those are the kind of people some clergymen align themselves to.
The Catholic Church, it has to be said, paid the ultimate price as murders of some of its priests took place during the struggle.
One such brutal killing happened at Musami Catholic Mission School in Murewa, and this was the handiwork of the notorious Selous Scouts.
The same fate visited members of the Anglican Church, with Bishop Lamont being sent back to England as persona non grata.
What peeves me the most is that some members of the Catholic Church are persistent critics of President Mugabe. Senior Catholics like Archbishop Pius Ncube at some point conspired to supply false reports locally and internationally.
The source of the man’s silence is, of course, known to many.
In the Unites States and elsewhere, Catholic priests have been accused of abusing thousands of children, but the church’s “policemen” in Harare say nothing at all.
The Anglican Church in Harare, just like others in the United Kingdom and US, has also had its fair share of social scandals, particularly on “gay rights”.
Over the years, Zimbabwe has witnessed the mushrooming of Christian, non-Christian and Muslim churches, all of which are accommodated in the new Constitution.
Unfortunately, some of these churches have all the hallmarks of political NGOs that promote an anti-Zimbabwe agenda at the behest of their funders.
Such church leaders should be treated as politicians.
Romans 13:1 says: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Verse 2 goes further: “Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
So, what sayeth these men of the cloth?
Edmore Ndudzo, Harare’s first black City Treasurer, is a chartered accountant and certified public accountant. He wrote this article in his personal capacity.
