I want to respond to an article in your highly esteemed paper of 17 September 2007, entitled, ‘Mugabe Consolidates Power, And Tackles Arch-Critics’. The article quotes Bill Saidi, a political commentator and journalist.
To the best of my knowledge, Saidi is a discredited journalist. He has made a name for himself for publishing articles that are not well researched. The most recent being this article, where he claims that Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, is responsible for the downfall of the estranged Zimbabwean Catholic Bishop, Pius Ncube.
Before we decide who is responsible for the fate that has befallen Ncube, let us get some facts right. It is important from the beginning to point out that what has brought down Pius Ncube is his failure to observe his vow of celibacy.
Such a failure in any other Catholic bishop, priest, brother or sister will bring about the same consequences. It should therefore be noted that Pius Ncube’s resignation or his being forced to resign, is strictly speaking, the consequence of religious discipline, enforced by the Church.
Anyone who cares to follow this up, should consult the Canon Law. As a matter of fact, when Pius Ncube resigned, he claimed he had done so to save the Church from further attacks.
However, it should be noted that when the Vatican accepted his resignation, the Vatican cited the Canon which allows a bishop to resign: “If a bishop becomes less able to fulfil his office, either because of ill health, or because of some other grave cause.”
Of course, we all know that Ncube is not sick, that therefore suggests that he resigned because of a grave cause.
A cause that clearly came out in the news media.
My point therefore is that Ncube’s downfall is a result of his infidelity to his religious vows.
It should also be clarified that the person who initiated the whole process is not Robert Mugabe, but the husband to the woman, who was in an alleged adulterous affair with Ncube.
Concerned Namibian Catholic