President Emmerson Mnangagwa will on Tuesday issue a “comprehensive” statement on the government’s controversial statement in response to the Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference on 14 August 2020.
This was revealed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Ndavaningi Nick Mangwana.
The statement, which was read by Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, has generated unparalleled rebuke for the government, with local Christian organisations speaking in support of the Roman Catholic Bishops.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) have both chided the government for being impervious to constructive criticism. In a statement issued today, EFZ said:
We stand with the truth that the Catholic Bishops so ably articulated; a truth that affects our people on a daily basis; the truth of a multi-layered crisis of the convergence of economic collapse, deepening poverty, food insecurity, corruption and human rights abuses among many others. “The ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire “; we stand with this truth as depicted in Micah 7:3 and articulated by the Catholic Bishops. We stand with the truth “that the government is focused on things other than national democratic priorities”.
Meanwhile, renowned political scientist Professor Jonathan and prominent investigative journalist Mduduzi Mathuthu have urged Mnangagwa to fire Mutsvangwa for her hate speech and tribal rant.
In her statement, Mutsvangwa characterised Archbishop Ndlovu as an “errant and evil Bishop” who posited “as the leader of righteous Ndebele minority by fanning the psychosis of tribal victimization”.