Pius Ncube

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pius Ncube
Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Bulawayo
Enthroned October 24, 1997
Ended September 11, 2007
Predecessor Ernst Heinrich Karlen
Successor Robert Ndlovu
Born 31 December 1946 (1946-12-31) (age 61)
Flag of Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia
Christianity Portal

Pius Alick Mvundla Ncube (born December 31, 1946) served as the Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe until he resigned on September 11, 2007. Widely known for his human rights advocacy, Ncube is an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe.[1]

Ncube received a Human Rights Award from Human Rights First on October 23, 2003 for speaking out against torture and confronting the Mugabe government for starving certain regions of Zimbabwe for political reasons. He has received many death threats for his activities. He is a member of Zimbabwe's minority Ndebele ethnic group. [2]

Previous elections in Zimbabwe have been plagued with violence and corruption. Believing that the 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections would be fixed, Ncube called for a "popular mass uprising" in the style of the Orange Revolution or Tulip Revolution to remove Mugabe from power. "I hope people get so disillusioned that they really organise against this government and kick him out by non-violent popular mass uprising," Ncube said. [3]

In response, Mugabe has called Ncube a half-wit and a liar. After the March 2005 elections, Ncube repeated his call for a peaceful rebellion. Referring to Mugabe, he said "I am praying that he goes home gently; At 84, he has lived a full life." [4]

In March 2005 Information Minister Nathan Shamuyarira referred to Ncube as a "mad, inveterate liar. He has been lying for the past two years. He, however, fits into the scheme of the British and Americans, who are calling for regime change and are feeding him with these wild ideas. Archbishop Ncube's open call for an unconstitutional uprising shows he is an instrument of the West's illegal regime change agenda."[5]

Contents

[edit] Controversy

Styles of
Pius Ncube
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Archbishop
Posthumous style N/A


[edit] Alleged Adultery

On July 16, 2007 a ZWD 20 billion adultery lawsuit (USD 1.3 million at the official rate and USD 154,000 on the black market) was filed against him. There is some confusion over whether Ncube has actively denied the allegations.[6] or whether he will wait until his court appearance[7] Ncube and his lawyers have both stated that the allegations are politically motivated, his lawyers described them as "some kind of orchestrated attempt to embarrass the archbishop."[8]

Ncube was reported to have been involved with Rosemary Sibanda, estranged wife to Onesimus Sibanda, a Bulawayo resident. It has been reported by some sources that Mrs. Sibanda herself admitted that she had an affair with the Archbishop.[9].

It has been reported by other sources that the whole event was a government honey trap from the beginning which is now falling apart."[10]. The lack of good quality reporting makes this issue unlikely to be resolved.

On 5 August 2007, it was reported that charges have been amended. Adultery charges have been dropped, but damages for the other two complaints have been raised to $10 billion each.

On 7 August 2007, Bulawayo newspaper Chronicle quoted a lawyer that the charges against the archbishop are unchanged.

In the days prior to 11 September 2007, images purporting to be of Ncube with Rosemary Sibanda [11] in his bedroom were published in the Zimbabwean press. It was also reported in The Guardian that Zimbabwean TV had been showing a video of a man and woman, allegedly Ncube and Sibanda, repeatedly over a number of days. These events led to Ncube's decision to resign from his post.

On September 11, 2007, it was announced[11] that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation of Archbishop Pius Alick Ncube from the pastoral government of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bulawayo, in accordance with canon 401, section 2, of the Code of Canon Law, which states: "A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office."[12] This resignation followed the publication of pictures of Ncube with Mrs. Rosemary Sibanda being published in the Zimabwean press and elsewhere.

In a press statement Ncube said that he had made the decision to resign because of the "vicious attack not just on myself, but by proxy on the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe". he also mentioned that this was meant to "spare my fellow Bishops and the body of the Church any further attacks". He however stressed that he would remain a "Catholic Bishop in Zimbabwe", and would continue to "speak out on the issues that sadly become more acute by the day" in Zimbabwe. Archbishop Ncube was also quoted as saying: "I have not been silenced by the crude machinations of a wicked regime." [13]

[edit] Ncube's "Mistress" Dies

On Friday, May 2, Rosemary Sibanda, the woman alleged to have had a sexual relationship with Archbishop Ncube died at Bulawayo's Mpilo Hospital, three days after she was admitted suffering from pneumonia.[14]

[edit] Call for British invasion

Ncube mentioned that Britain would be justified in invading its former colony to rid it of Mugabe July 1, 2007. Ncube said Zimbabweans themselves should overthrow the government, but they are too scared. Ncube later distanced himself from the report, saying that the Thabo Mbeki-brokered efforts to end the crisis in Zimbabwe should be given a chance to work.

In March 2007, the cleric said he was ready to face bullets in anti-government protests to help bring democratic change in the southern African nation, which is mired in a deep economic and political crisis.

“ I'm ready to lead the people, guns blazing, but the people are not ready.[15] ”


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ In quotes: Pius Ncube BBC News
  2. ^ Churchman to 'unite' Zimbabwe. August 22, 2004. News24 (retrieved from the Zimbabwe Situation website).
  3. ^ Zimbabwe cleric urges 'uprising'. 27 March 2005. BBC News.
  4. ^ Around globe thoughts turn to end of his life's journey. John Biemer, April 3, 2005. The Chicago Tribune.
  5. ^ Mugabe's party attacks archbishop, March 28, 2005. CNN
  6. ^ [1], BBC online, July 17th 2007
  7. ^ [2], Guardian online, July 17th 2007
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6902043.stm, BBC online, July 17th 2007
  9. ^ (AP) Cameras Along As Zimbabwe Bishop Accused | WKRN.COM
  10. ^ http://www.zimbabwetoday.co.uk/2007/07/zimbabwe.html#more, July 26th 2007
  11. ^ a b www.kreuz.net/article.5657.html, August 7, 2007
  12. ^ Code of Canon Law, can. 401, § 2
  13. ^ New York Times, "Zimbabwe Archbishop Resigns in Scandal." Sept. 11, 2007
  14. ^ http://newzimbabwe.com/pages/roma50.18148.html
  15. ^ Zimbabwe’s top cleric urges Britain to invade, June 1, 2007. Times Online.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Ernst Heinrich Karlen		 Archbishop of Harare
1997-10-24–2007-9-11		 Succeeded by
Robert Ndlovu