CHAPTER 2: NON-VIOLENCE, THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AND THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN ZIMBABWE
2.4 The role of the church in Zimbabwe since 1980
2.4.3 The role of the church in the third decade of independence (2000-2009)
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be divorced from issues of governance. Most churches, in partnership with other civil society groupings, went on to mount a spirited campaign to change the constitution which they claimed gave too much power to the head of state. This culminated in the formation of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) in 1997 which not only became a platform to criticise and challenge the government on matters of policy and governance, but also offered democratic alternatives and pushed for a new constitution that would guarantee people’s freedoms. The leadership of NCA reflected the central involvement of the churches. While the labour movement provided the head in Morgan Tsvangirai, the vice presidency was occupied by CCJP, while the chairperson was from ZCC. To the government, this meant that the church was taking a direct confrontational approach. In pursuance of the theme of governance, and in seeking a democratic alternative, in September 1999 the NCA platform played mid-wife to the birth of a new labour backed political party, the Movement for Democratic Change. These events redefined the church-state relations as is reflected below in the analysis of the third decade of independence.
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same lines, Roman Catholic priest Father Nigel Johnson used his position as chaplain of the National Movement of Catholic Students to galvanise students against government’s excesses.
Bishop Levee Kadenge of the Methodist church was central to the founding of the radicalized Christian Alliance which advocated for non-violent action. Such individuals, among many others, endured harassment and persecution in their quest to open democratic space in Zimbabwe (Chitando, 2011). However, the crisis did not produce such iconic leaders as the South African struggle against apartheid produces luminaries like Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
An example of local-level participation is the Churches in Manicaland platform where church leaders from different denominations in the province grouped as a ministry of the oppressed in the run-up to the parliamentary elections of 2000. Increasing political violence in the province (and country) prompted church leaders discuss the problem of violence and to organise intervention strategies from a pastoral point of view. The Churches in Manicaland used their meetings as platforms to openly challenge and condemn organized violence and threatened to publicly expose and shame those responsible. Their work culminated in a book entitled The truth shall make you free, published in 2006. The Churches issued several public statements calling an end to violence and also organizing sanctuaries for victims of violence. In their pastoral statement of March 2001 entitled Life in Abundance, the church leaders argued that they had a responsibility not simply to monitor but to be actively involved in shaping the moral climate of society in Zimbabwe to mould the ethos from which the country’s systematic values are drawn (Churches in Manicaland, 2006).
In a show of collaboration among religious bodies in June 2005, the Churches in Manicaland agreed to adopt and circulate among all congregations a pastoral letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) – The cry of the poor which had the following six basic principles of Christian social teaching that guided the role of the church (ZCBC, 2005; Churches in Manicaland, 2006, p3-5):
i. The dignity of the human person
Each person has an innate human dignity that comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment, not from race or gender, age or economic status, not from
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secular authorities. Promoting the dignity of the human person is a transcendent principle, recognized by those who search for the truth. The test of every institution or policy is whether it enhances or threatens human dignity and indeed human life itself.
Policies which treat people as disposable objects go totally against the dignity of the human person and are an offence against the Creator.
ii. The basic rights of the human person
Basic human rights are an offshoot of our God-given dignity. Every human being – man, woman and child – has the right to life, shelter, clothing, food education, healthcare, employment etc. No secular authority, no group or individual should be allowed to violate such rights. As Christian leaders, we must continually remind authorities of both their duty to respect and uphold human rights, and of the serious consequences before God of failure to observe such rights. Furthermore, it is our duty as the church to inform and educate Christian people in rights, values and principles – a task that we will continue to perform.
iii. The promotion of the common good
Public authorities should promote the common good of all members of society – not the good of an elite group – by creating an environment in which economic, social, cultural and political life can flourish. In such an environment, all citizens … can have access to the goods of the earth which are intended by God to be equally shared. The promotion of the common good should be the first priority of public policy, not the promotion of party political aims. In the order of things, people always come first and cannot be made subservient to an economy, a political agenda or an ideology. It is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various interest groups. It should, however, make accessible to each group what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on,
49 iv. The option of the poor
In the application of the principle of the common good, some people remain poor and marginised. The church must show particular concern for them. The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. As Christians we must continue to examine public policy decisions – including policies related to housing, healthcare and food security – in terms of how they affect the poor. The option for the poor, most of whom are informal traders, is an essential part of society’s effort to achieve the common good of all its members.
v. Subsidiarity
The principle of subsidiarity refers to passing powers downward from the top to the grassroots, or as close to the grassroots as possible. The principle implies a preference for local over central decision-making. Central authority should support local authority efforts and only undertake those tasks which local bodies cannot achieve. It is essentially the task of local authorities – including community and residents associations and church bodies – supported by the police and the courts, to deal with local problems.
This should take place in an ordered process over a period of time, and in a way that preserves and promotes human dignity, people’s rights and the common good.
vi. Solidarity
As sons and daughters of our loving Father, we are all sisters and brothers who are called by God to build a society where we can live together in solidarity with each other.
Solidarity means being ready to see the other person as another ‘self’ and to regard acts of injustice done to others as done to oneself. Solidarity is not a passing feeling of distress at the suffering of others. Rather, it is a commitment to stand side-by-side with those without shelter and means of livelihood, to do what one can do to rectify situations of grave injustice, and to promote the common good. Solidarity extends beyond our own ethnic group, political party or even affiliation to every individual citizen and community with which we share this country and its wealth. Solidarity
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extends to everyone in whom we recognize a fellow human being. The exercise of solidarity within each society is valid when its members recognize each other as persons, and as children of God.
These principles, contained in a pastoral letter published for circulation at the height of Operation Murambatsvina, were viewed by the state not only provocative, but a direct attempt by the church to call for a national revolution. As such the document was regarded as subversive, and in many rural areas religious leaders were banned from reading or circulating it to their congregants.
Chitando (2011) observes that as the crisis worsened, church leaders sought to encourage dialogue between the political parties through a number of different initiatives. He cites Andrew Wutaunashe’s nationalist ‘Faith for the Nation’ campaign that began in 2000 where he urged Zimbabweans to take responsibility of the fortunes of their country. For him, it was vital for all Zimbabweans to put aside their political differences and work together for the national good. This initiative to promote dialogue was followed by the three main Christian groupings – the ZCBC, EFZ and ZCC. Bishops Patrick Mutume, Sebastian Bakare and Trevor Manhanga, representing the three church groupings, held meetings with the leaders of the two main political parties to encourage them to shun divisive attitudes and to promote a shared national agenda. The church leaders pleaded with the politicians to consider the welfare of ordinary men, women and children – and they maintained that there was more to unite the opposing political actors than to divide them.
According to Chitando, church leaders also argued that the Zimbabwean crisis was indicative of a deeper malaise – the absence of a national vision and agenda. They contended that the sharp polarization in society had emerged because of the failure to develop a shared vision for the country’s future. In this respect they spearheaded a country-wide outreach campaign which culminated in a document entitled The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision, A discussion Document (ZCBC, EFZ and ZCC, 2006). The document was a comprehensive assessment of the achievements and failures of independent Zimbabwe, including a fair reflection of the shortcomings of the church.
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An important development linked with the churches during this period was the internationalization of the crisis in Zimbabwe where the church used its global networks to circulate the reality on the ground. In the same vein, foreign churches took remarkable steps to intervene in the crisis in Zimbabwe, either directly or by engaging in non-violent actions to promote change and to assist the vulnerable during periods of heightened state repression.
Notable were church leaders in South Africa, among them Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, who not only visited Zimbabwe to try and mediate between Mugabe and Tsvangirai but also supported the South African Council of Churches’ dispatch of aid (Ndungane, (2010). Another notable church figure who contributed directly to the crisis in Zimbabwe is Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist church in Johannesburg for providing sanctuary to the several thousand Zimbabwean refugees fleeing economic hardship and political repression. Non-violent direct action as espoused by Gene Sharp was epitomized by Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip of Durban in April 2008 when he campaigned against a Chinese ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe. He sought a court order to bar the shipment from crossing South Africa to landlocked Zimbabwe, and mobilized for a boycott by workers at the Durban harbor to refuse to offload the ship’s cargo.
After the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in September 2008, people were optimistic that democratic space for engagement would open up, particularly in church-state relations. Kaulemu (2010, p xii) viewed this as “the time for all Zimbabweans to make an effort to participate fully in the reconstruction of national institutions, processes and organizations.”
However, Chitando (2011) took a cautious optimism. He cited the marginalization of churches in the quest to promote national healing and reconciliation as well as in the drafting of the new constitution, both key goals of the GPA. To him, this was evidence of deep suspicions between church and state, and the continued harassment of church leaders and disruption of church meetings are full proof that the democratic space is still shrunk. The need for non-violent action and peacebuilding still existed even under the inclusive government, and the training of youths in AVP would therefore be a direct contribution towards building peaceful communities.
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