Exiled priests ask Archbishop to mediate in row over Bishop Kunonga
By Lance Guma
01 June 2006
Independent journalist Trevor Grundy reports that ten exiled Zimbabwean priests in the United Kingdom have asked the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, to mediate in the row over Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga. Writing for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IFWPR), Grundy says the ten met in Chester in the UK to find a way forward in the saga. Members of the Harare diocese accuse Kunonga of instituting a reign of terror in which he incited war veterans to kill those opposed to him. The bishop also faced various charges of violating canon and civil law in the carrying out of his duties.
Kunonga made headlines after coming out in support of Robert Mugabe’s violent land redistribution exercise. There were also reports suggesting that he had been given several farms as a reward for that support. Kunonga’s ecclesiastical trial however broke down over technicalities as the trial judge from Malawi, James Kalaile, walked out on proceedings. The priests who met in Chester believe Dr Sentamu is the ideal intercessor. Rev Paul Gweshe the exiled rector of St Francis of Assisi in Glen Norah told IFWPR that ever since Kunonga’s controversial ordination in 2001, the bishop had terrorised Christians and was turning ‘his diocese into a religious branch of Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party.”
Gweshe says, “people want spiritual leaders who are accountable, but when you look at the way things are being done in the Harare diocese, church politics is no different from secular politics. Corrupt and unaccountable leaders see themselves above the law.” The Bishop of Masvingo, Godfrey Tawonezvi, has also come out in public claiming that Bishop Kunonga was pressuring other bishops to conform to Robert Mugabe’s regime. Bishop Tawonezvi accused Kunonga of packing the clergy ranks with his supporters in order to bolster his hold over the diocese. He says he “simply hand-picked his friends and ordained them, disregarding human, spiritual and pastoral formation.’
Journalist and Anglican parishioner Sandra Nyaira expressed her frustration with the slow pace of progress in resolving the matter. In an interview with Newsreel she said the initiative by the exiled priests had lifted their hopes but overall the church needed to do more in seeking a solution. She conceded that although there were other problems in the Anglican Community in Zimbabwe, Kunonga’s reign had just made things worse.