Zimbabwe Churches Mount Campaign for Violent-Free Polls
As Zimbabwe prepares for next year's polls, various churches came together on June 27 to launch an election campaign dubbed the "Christian Vote 2018," an intensive, Bible-based and protracted campaign against violence, corruption, incompetence and abuse of power.
The campaign was launched upon the initiative of 10 Christian organizations including the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Pastors' Fellowship, Christian Leaders Forum, Ecumenical Church Leaders' Forum, Zimbabwe Christian Alliance and Zimbabwe Devine Destiny (ZDD).
Organizers said the campaign was meant to ensure that there would be no repeat of previous elections marked with political harassments, beatings, destruction of property, threats and intimidation as well as killings. Organizers are banking on the support of Christians that make up 80 percent of Zimbabwe's population.
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During the launch, victims related how politicians made villagers and church members turn against each other. The Church remained quiet even if it was at the receiving end of the violence. ZDD leader Bishop Ancelimo Magaya said they will take their campaign to rural areas to make sure past abuses won't happen again.
Media accused the coalition of meddling in politics. Zimbabwe Council of Churches secretary-general Kenneth Mtata replied that every Zimbabwean has responsibility for what happens to them. It just happens that Christians make up the majority of the country's population.
"If you define politics as a way of distribution of power, of resources, then it is a concern for everyone," Mtata explained. "The only reason why we enter into this discussion because our nation has not healed. There are many problems in our nation and if we do not address these problems, people come to church every Sunday, we are hosting 80 percent of the population, if we renege on this responsibility I think we would have failed the citizens of Zimbabwe," he added.
