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Vatican silences despot Robert Mugabe's detractor Pius Ncube

• by: Martin Fletcher, Bulawayo
• From: The Australian
• December 09, 2008 12:00AM

ONE of the most outspoken opponents of Robert Mugabe has been silenced by the Vatican just as the regime in Zimbabwe is at its weakest and his leadership would be most valuable. 

Pius Ncube resigned as archbishop of Bulawayo and left Zimbabwe in September last year after he was filmed sleeping with a married woman who had been employed by the regime as a "honey trap".
 
He returned last month after spending a year in exile in Rome and Britain, but the Catholic Church has forbidden him from making any political statements.

In his first interview since his fall, Mr Ncube said he would obey the Vatican order, but added: "I am very upset about it. I believe in speaking out for the people at a time of distress."
He agreed the gagging order meant the Mugabe regime had succeeded in neutralising one of its most prominent critics.

As archbishop, Mr Ncube repeatedly denounced Mugabe's misrule, championed non-violent opposition to the Government and defied death threats.

Zimbabwe badly needs a figure of his stature to give voice to the oppressed and galvanise the opposition.
The economy of the country has imploded, millions are without food, cholera is rampant and the regime is struggling to contain rising discontent within the security forces that keep it in power.

"We bemoan the silencing of Pius Ncube because his voice was very loud and we still need it," said Jenni Williams, the leader of human rights organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise.

"We need as many voices as possible to speak out and hold Mugabe accountable."
Mr Ncube, 61, fell from grace in July last year when the state-controlled media jubilantly published pictures of him in bed with Rosemary Sibanda, a married woman, at his official residence inBulawayo.

An agent of the Central Intelligence Organisation has since confirmed what everyone knew - that the CIO had installed a camera in his room and entrapped the archbishop.

Mr Ncube left the country insisting that he would "not be silenced by the crude machinations of a wicked regime". He spent three months in Rome and about nine months in a Franciscan retreat in southeast England.
The Times


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