CNS STORY: Zimbabwean archbishop says he's not interested in running for office

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ZIMBABWE-NCUBE Sep-26-2007 (690 words) xxxi

Zimbabwean archbishop says he's not interested in running for office

By Bronwen Dachs
Catholic News Service

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Although he said he is as committed as ever to defending the poor and working for justice in Zimbabwe, retired Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo said he does not have "the slightest interest in entering into politics."

"I am a clergyman, and my passion is to work for the church. As such, I shall continue to stand up in defense of human rights, which are part of the Gospel of Christ," the archbishop said in a Sept. 25 statement after a week of widespread rumors that he was considering running against President Robert Mugabe in next year's presidential elections.

Considered the most outspoken critic of Mugabe's leadership, Archbishop Ncube resigned as head of the Bulawayo Archdiocese in early September after being accused of adultery in a case with political overtones.

"Come rain or high water, in a situation where there is gross oppression, as in Zimbabwe, I shall continue to speak out," the archbishop said in his statement. "This is part of the prophetic role of the church, to stand up and strongly defend the human rights of the poor and oppressed people."

Archbishop Ncube also said he strongly supported church rules against clergy becoming involved in partisan politics. Too often, he said, priests who have taken on political roles have compromised their Christian values.

"Also, I have seen that many politicians are concerned chiefly with the accumulation of power and wealth, rather than with alleviating the suffering of their people," he said.

In late September, Archbishop Ncube visited the Denis Hurley Peace Institute in Pretoria, South Africa.

Father Sean O'Leary, director of the institute, said in a Sept. 25 report that Archbishop Ncube believes his life is in danger and said that he frequently has been warned by secret supporters within Zimbabwe's ruling party "to be very cautious about where he goes."

Archbishop Ncube, who "sees himself as a human rights advocate and not as a politician," will stay in Bulawayo and "intensify his commitment to bring an end to the Mugabe regime," Father O'Leary said.

Archbishop Ncube's statement said that although he no longer is head of his archdiocese, the archdiocesan administrator had named him "pastoral director" of Bulawayo, "coordinating pastoral work, pastoral structures, training and courses for pastoral works."

In this new position, the archbishop said, "I shall work to assist people in coming closer to God, and this includes promoting human rights and defending the disadvantaged."

Father O'Leary's report said the archbishop had explained that he resigned "for the sake of the church," citing examples of government refusals to provide services to those in Bulawayo with links to him. Father O'Leary said the archbishop was unable to discuss the adultery charges because his case is before the High Court of Zimbabwe, but the archbishop said it was "widely accepted in church circles that the case is part of the government smear campaign against him."

The adultery lawsuit was made public in July and state-run newspapers published photos they said were of Archbishop Ncube and a woman, taken with a concealed camera placed in the archbishop's bedroom.

During his visit to Pretoria, Archbishop Ncube "spoke with pain about the deteriorating plight" of Zimbabweans, "the lack of food, the breakdown of the health and education systems, the fact that shops are now empty and (about) the increasing number of desolate poor, living in increasing despair without hope," Father O'Leary said.

Zimbabwe is crippled by the highest rate of inflation in the world, unemployment of more than 80 percent, and acute shortages of food, foreign currency and fuel.

Archbishop Ncube is convinced that Mugabe will win the March 2008 elections through intimidation, "using food as a weapon and by mass rigging of the electoral process," Father O'Leary said.

The archbishop lamented the split in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change "and placed the blame for this division squarely at the door of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the larger of the factions," Father O'Leary said. He noted that Tsvangirai rejected attempts by Archbishop Ncube to mediate between the groups.

END

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