First Lady Grace Mugabe sat stone-faced throughout the four-hour installation of Catholic Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu at the Harare Sport centre while President Robert Mugabe tapped his finger to the music and occasionally clapped, a cable released by Wikileaks says.
“We did not observe a word spoken between the two,” the cable dispatched on 23 August 2004 by former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Joseph Sullivan, who sat behind the couple, says.
“The volume, harmony, and spontaneity of the assembled throng’s Shona hymns throughout the installation contrasted sharply with the tepid, poorly orchestrated chanting of Mugabe’s large ruling party gatherings.”
It says although there were loud cheers and applause when bishops and church officials were introduced there was “dead silence” when Mugabe was introduced.
But surprisingly there was “considerable applause” when Mugabe was called to the podium to address the multitude.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 04HARARE1417, MUGABE TAKES ON CATHOLICS AT ARCHBISHOP’S
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
231528Z Aug 04
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001417
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVELLE, D. TEITELBAUM
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY
PARIS FOR C. NEARY
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2009
SUBJECT: MUGABE TAKES ON CATHOLICS AT ARCHBISHOP’S
INSTALLATION
Classified By: Political Officer Win Dayton under Section 1.5 b/d
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: At the August 21 installation of the new
Archbishop of Harare, President Mugabe stressed the need for
Church and state to work with each other on issues of shared
responsibility, including human rights and education. He
invited the new Archbishop to work with him but blasted
Catholic clerics who he said worked with foreign powers
against the GOZ. The new Archbishop presided over the mass
and stressed human rights in a brief public address. END
SUMMARY.
¶2. (U) The Ambassador was among an audience of thousands who
attended the installation of Robert Christopher Ndlovu as
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Harare at the capacity-filled
Harare Sports Center. In a brief address, Ndlovu addressed
principally pastoral issues but affirmed the church’s role in
standing up for human dignity, from which flowed human
rights. He added that freedom of speech and freedom of
association were the bases of legitimacy for any authority.
During the first half hour of the four hour program, a
military jet loudly buzzed the covered complex five times at
low altitude.
¶3. (U) Also in attendance were Catholic President Mugabe and
the First Lady, seated in the first row just in front of the
Ambassador. After the introduction of dozens of bishops and
church officials, each of which drew cheers and applause from
the crowd, Mugabe was introduced to dead silence. He and
First Lady Grace were later called to the stage, where they
stiffly shook the smiling Archbishop’s hand without
significant verbal exchange before returning to their seats.
The Archbishop later gave communion to the pair at the outset
of the mass.
¶4. (U) Just before the program’s close, the President, to
considerable applause, was called to the podium to address
the multitude. Speaking in Shona for roughly the first half
of a 15-20 minute address, Mugabe drew substantial laughs and
applause from the entire assembly. (Embassy is still seeking
a readout on the remarks in Shona). In English, the
President stressed moral themes and shared GOZ and Church
missions. He asserted that the GOZ and the Church agreed on
human rights and civil rights — “of course, everybody agrees
on these things.” He went on to recount a litany of
“colonial era” injustices and urged the Church to reflect on
the implications of Zimbabwe’s unique colonial experience,
which he said impelled government regulation of certain
exercises of freedom of speech and association. Conceding
differences on some of these issues, he urged the Church to
engage in dialogue with the Government, and not to go to
“outside authorities — Blairs and Bushes.” He upbraided
Pius Ncube, the outspoken Archbishop of Bulawayo, for
tarnishing Zimbabwe’s image abroad. He claimed Ncube did not
show up for a meeting Ncube sought with the President the day
before and asked him rhetorically “where are the 10,000 dead
from hunger” claimed by regime critics? Mugabe also
criticized the Jesuits for not complying with tuition fee
caps imposed by the Ministry of Education.
¶5. (U) Recalling his open communication with Ndlovu’s
predecessor, Archbishop Chakaipa, Mugabe urged Ndlovu to work
with him; he could phone any time. “You haven’t come into a
den of wolves … we want to be with the Church.” In
conclusion, he thanked the Pope for naming Ndlovu to the
position. Alluding to state media criticism of the
appointment, Mugabe said “the Pope decided and we, as
Christians, accepted.”
¶6. (C) In a visit to the Embassy earlier this month, Ndlovu
recounted to the Ambassador his strained relationship with
the GOZ over the years. He reported that the GOZ was taking
a “wait and see” attitude on his appointment notwithstanding
some adverse reporting in the state media; nobody from the
GOZ had visited him since his appointment was announced. His
Hwange diocese had worked with the the GOZ on food, water and
other social issues, but had run into problems over finances
over water provision to a local primary school, ostensibly
over exchange rate difficulties. He described ongoing
efforts by the GOZ to get into the Church’s financial books
and noted that the NGO bill (septel) was on the Council of
Bishops’ agenda. Ndlovu had negotiated a solution a year ago
to a months-long standoff in which ZANU-PF had been blocking
Church-run food relief. Church-State tensions were a
significant concern, and he planned to keep politically
oriented organs such as CCJP focused on community efforts
rather than anti-government activities. He appeared quite
sensitive to the level of state repression throughout the
country, particularly in rural areas that were obscured from
public view. Ndlovu expressed interest in building up the
capabilities of the deteriorated Catholic University,
especially as tertiary education continued to collapse around
the country. Bio notes on the 48-year old Ndebele Archbishop
will be forwarded separately.
¶7. (C) COMMENT: As democratic space in Zimbabwe continues to
shrink, churches may increasingly become venues for dissent
against the regime. The GOZ has arrested numerous clerics
and representatives from a variety of churches in recent
years, usually in connection with public demonstrations. We
understand that an Irish priest serving the parish of Defense
Minister Sekeremayi and Justice Minister Chinamasa was
recently sent packing when his pulpit critiques of the regime
became too direct. Nonetheless, the GOZ generally has tread
carefully in its confrontations with organized religion to
date. Indeed, Mugabe’s remarks at the installation were more
haranguing than threatening in tone and carried an explicit
invitation to dialogue, even if the roaring jet engines
served to remind everybody who holds the secular trappings of
authority. Most Zimbabwean Catholics we polled agreed that
Mugabe’s remarks were inappropriate for the venue.
¶8. (C) COMMENT(CONT’D): The volume, harmony, and spontaneity
of the assembled throng’s Shona hymns throughout the
installation contrasted sharply with the tepid, poorly
orchestrated chanting of Mugabe’s large ruling party
gatherings. Mugabe tapped his finger to the music and
occasionally clapped as Grace sat stone-faced throughout. We
did not observe a word spoken between the two.
SULLIVAN
(139 VIEWS)
