Page 6 - Moravian Messenger July 2018

When Governments Stumble
Reflections on Zimbabwe and corruption
I know that God is speaking to me when everywhere I turn, the same subject comes up. Earlier this year, after Emmerson Mnangagwa ousted Robert Mugabe in a soft coup, people asked my opinion, knowing my Zimbabwean background. My answer, 'He is not called the Crocodile for nothing'. The crocodile is cunning and ruthless and is Mugabe's tribal totem. Mr Mnangagwa had been national security minister after independence in 1980 and was in charge of the Central Intelligence Organisation which worked with the army to suppress Zapu during the Gukurahundi (Matabele massacres) in 1983. Mr Mnangagwa has however, denied any part in the massacres (1).
Since then we have seen Grace Mugabe, the former First Lady of Zimbabwe, investigated for smuggling ivory and rhino horn from poached animals in the Zimbabwe's National Parks (2). Jacob Zuma, the ex-President of South Africa is now awaiting trial for corruption. In April this year the ex-President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment for corruption and abuse of power.
I saw an ex-Zimbabwean Christian friend in Australia. She lent me a book by Ben Freeth, also a Christian, called 'When Governments Stumble' and then found his previous book 'Mugabe and the White African'. They are both about the farm invasions and his experiences. Finally, I heard personally of four people in Harare arrested for waiting for a bus on a road recently. This reminded me of an incident when police shot tear gas at just such a group and the canister went into our driveway.
There has been land-grabbing in Hermanus in Western Cape, South Africa: a retirement village where I have holidayed all my life. The social media commented recently that the press are more interested in the Aussie cricketers than the 82 deaths, and 423 violent incidents on South African farms in 2017 and the 15 deaths and 109 violent incidents in the first three months of 2018. So what is wrong?
I believe that the church and state need to be independent of one another.
This issue has been argued from Constantine, early in Christianity, to the present day. In England, we have the notable examples of Henry II and Henry VII who had their opponents killed when they opposed their wishes. Mugabe avoided confronting the church head on, because Zimbabwe is 80% Christian and he would lose votes. He was educated a Catholic and was married in that church, which is the biggest in Zimbabwe. However, when Pius Ncube, Archbishop of Matabeleland protested the Gukurahundi massacres, he was undermined by a smear campaign in the Government owned press and eventually forced to retire.
The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe was undermined by Bishop Norbert Kunonga who was an avid supporter of President Mugabe, describing him a 'prophet of God' (3). He promised young priests advancement in the church in return for their vote. When he was elected, he replaced the incumbents. The congregations refused to recognise the new priests, so met in
the car parks and later in schools and halls. This has been corrected only fairly recently. He also sent thugs in a white van to enforce obedience from church workers and misused the Cathedral premises.
My direct experience was in the reformed Churches in Zimbabwe, where I heard of a Methodist church being sued for accepting foreign currency. A stranger, with a brief case came into an early service of mine, which was small, about 40 people, so he stood out. The Old Testament reading came from Micah Ch.2 and was about land grabbing. He left after that! A colleague was closely watched by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIO) and had his church offices burned down with all the records.
Why is this separation so important?
The church needs to be able to speak out for justice. My plastic surgeon was chatting in his reception area when he suddenly turned to me and said 'What are the church doing about it?' We had paid for a page long advert in the press to protest but it seemed lame in the face of all that was happening. The rule of law had been changed to 'rule by law'. Every time Mugabe came across a law which barred his way, he simply put another law through Parliament which was itself illegal because of election rigging and intimidation.
From the beginning of independence land acquisition was a major issue in Zimbabwe. In the 1980s the principle of 'willing buyer, willing seller' was supposed to be adopted but money for land purchase was diverted to defence expenditure. In 1985 the Government gained the powers to purchase excess land and in 1992 the Land Acquisition Act enabled the compulsory purchase of any land the Government wanted.
There was systematic intimidation of the white farmers which occurred particularly during Gukurahundi when fifty white farmers were killed in the Midlands and Matabeleland. Nine out of forty-one farmers were left in Matabeleland in 1983 (4). The persecution also increased from 2000 when Mugabe found his position threatened by a stronger opposition. Farms were invaded by gangs of thugs who terrorised the farmers in their home, beat them up and murdered some. A series of laws made it 'legal' to acquire farms, which were meant to go to the rural poor. In fact, they were used as bribes for Mugabe's friends, who had no interest or skill in farming which is hard work. We called them 'the Pajero brigade' because they would arrive in fancy vehicles over the weekend, toss out some bags of food and possibly money and then party.
I personally knew four couples who endured this and eventually left their farms, which deteriorated from neglect and the theft of equipment. I have seen this happen near my childhood home in South Africa where a citrus farm now lies desolate and the educational institutions which used to be surrounded by leafy gardens are now a scratching patch for hens and goats. Ben Freeth and his father-in-law took Mugabe to an international court and won but Mugabe simply ignored the ruling.
The Commercial Farmers' Union of Zimbabwe chose to follow
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