Ousted Bishop Kunonga holds church service under police protection

By Lance Guma
08 January 2008

There was a tension filled atmosphere at St Mary’s Anglican Cathedral in Harare after ousted Bishop Nolbert Kunonga held a service under police protection. The Bishop, who openly supported Mugabe’s violent land grab, is refusing to leave office after being dismissed by the main church. This followed his controversial decision last year to withdraw the diocese from the Province of Central Africa over a dispute on homosexuality in the church. The withdrawal backfired on him as the church dismissed him and moved to claim its property. Kunonga is clearly aware he has the state machinery behind him and continues to defy the Anglican Province.

Meanwhile the province has already appointed Bishop Sebastian Bakare to replace Kunonga, something the ousted bishop is refusing to acknowledge. A story on the Zim Online website quoted a church warden saying Bakare will be formally appointed at a function on the 3rd February and this will be attended by leaders from the province. ‘We hope our colleagues would have seen the light and joined us,’ the website quoted him as saying. In December last year the Herald reported on an outbreak of violence between rival groups of Anglican parishioners in Glenview. To avoid repeat scenes of this undignified behaviour, Kunonga is now using police protection when he holds a service.

His controversial reign has impacted very negatively on the image of the church in Zimbabwe. He allegedly threatened priests who opposed him and transferred others to remote parts of the country. Questions were also raised over his misuse of church funds. Kunonga was also given a farm by Mugabe’s regime - a thank you gesture for his support.

A church trial failed to pin him down after his defence team threw in all sorts of legal obstacles to prevent its completion. Last year a heated meeting in Malawi over homosexuality in the church had provided Kunonga with an excuse to unilaterally withdraw the diocese from the church. That decision confirmed fears he was planning to form a breakaway church. With the evidence of current developments, Kunonga might have already started piecing together his own church, with the active support of Zanu PF.