The Ncube affair

Allegations that Arch-bishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo might have broken his vow of celibacy in an adulterous affair has greatly animated the secular media, and caused President Robert Mugabe to launch into a spectacular show of hypocrisy in the domain of personal morality when he criticised Church leaders who break that vow.

Titillating though revelations of alleged sex scandals involving the clergy may be, those concerning Archbishop Ncube have not been proven. Until greater clarity emerges as to the veracity and circumstances of these allegations, they must be regarded as rumour, speculation and gossip.

Even if these rumours, or some of them, have basis in fact, this should not detract from the credibility of Archbishop Ncube as a political activist who accurately articulates the desperation of a violated people.

In Zimbabwe’s political discourse, these allegations would have weight only if the archbishop was a prominent commentator on matters of personal morality. This has not been the focus of his political involvement. Archbishop Ncube’s political engagement relates only to the suffering of his compatriots, created by a regime that is self-evidently unfit to govern his country.

Should these rumours be revealed to be true, in full or in part, then this would create a delicate situation for the archbishop and a pastoral difficulty, one of concern to the Church but entirely unrelated to the political realities in Zimbabwe.

The bishops of Southern Africa made this point well in a timely statement.

These allegations (and corresponding publicity) unfortunately come at a time when Zimbabwe is facing one of its worst political and economic crisis in its history, a crisis which Archbishop Ncube has consistently expressed great concern about and which we believe the country should be focused on, the bishops’ statement said.

Many of the faithful in Zimbabwe are suffering due to this political and economic crisis, causing a huge number to cross neighbouring borders to find refuge in these countries.

The archbishop’s voice of reason in this context is therefore very important and should continue to be heard. We therefore hope that Zimbabweans and the international community will not be sidetracked by these allegations in their efforts of finding a lasting solution to the serious problems bedevilling the country at present.

At the moment, the archbishop’s guilt or innocence has yet to be proved, and therefore we appeal to the media and everyone concerned to allow the law to take its course without passing premature judgment on the archbishop aimed at casting doubt on his credibility, reputation and dignity, the bishops said.

Even if the archbishop has broken his vow of celibacy at this point a question of speculation the scandal this might cause among even fastidious Zimbabweans would be minuscule in comparison with the enormous scandal created by the deleterious governance of the Mugabe regime.

The alleged peccadilloes of a cleric would pale into insignificance against the backdrop of the Zanu-PF government’s many human rights violations (including alleged killings, violence, rape and the withholding of food), economic sabotage, electoral skullduggery, general corruption and an astonishing level of incompetence.

The Mugabe regime hopes that the allegations against Archbishop Ncube will deprive its most outspoken opponent of credibility, and that the mooted court case on charges of adultery (which is illegal in the country) will weaken the archbishop, much as contrived treason charges undermined opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s ability to lead.

For this reason, Archbishop Ncube needs our continued support, whatever the rumoured circumstances of his personal life.